Lester Prairie Schools Capital Improvements

Project Background

Lester Prairie Schools is located within a conservative, agricultural-focused community that doesn’t support large, capital referendums. As a result, Lester Prairie Schools were beginning to show their age, enrollment was on the decline, and their increasing operational and maintenance costs had resulted in the loss of valuable general fund resources. While the facility structures were sound, the internal systems and amenities were outdated and ineffective, so it was critical to create and implement a long-term master facilities plan that would ensure a sustainable future over the next 40 years. This meant revitalizing the facility infrastructure and modernizing amenities in order to negate rising annual costs and appeal to open enrollment students. With updates to the electrical, mechanical, ventilation, and lighting systems, as well as a revamped media center, Lester Prairie was able to add twenty-four open enrollment students per year, improve standardized test scores, and create an educational facility that will serve its community proudly into the future. As a result of these improvements, Lester Prairie has been able to reduce their annual operating costs by nearly $50,000.

Project Specs

Average Age of Facilities: 39 years District Sq Ft.: 81,394