Andrea Johnson/MDN Minot Public Schools Superintendent Mark Vollmer and school board president Jim Rostad address a crowd at a focus group held Thursday night at the former Cognizant office buildings at 200 21st Avenue NW, which the district hopes to turn into a second high school for grades 9-12.

Dreams of a second 9-12 high school for Minot were in the air Thursday night at an invitation-only focus group held by the Minot Public School District.

Four input sessions were held with groups including high school students, parents, educators, and other community members Wednesday and Thursday at the former Cognizant office buildings at 200 21st Avenue NW, which the district owns and plans to turn into that second high school.

“We are not at the point where we know what that ask might be,” Superintendent Mark Vollmer told one group, “but we don’t believe we will below the $60 million mark to do the work that we need to do.”

The district has plans to ask voters to approve a school bond issue later this year, perhaps in December.

While the amount of the bond issue has not been decided on, Vollmer told the group that one estimate shows school taxes would increase by $11.91 per month, or $142.92 per year, for the owner of a $187,000 home in Minot. Vollmer said $187,000 is the average cost of a home in Minot. If the district asked for a $100 million bond issue, school taxes could go up $18.08 per month, or $216.96 for the owner of that $187,000 home.

Educators are aware that another bond issue could be a tough sell right now but say there is a need.

A bond issue passed in 2014 paid for the construction of the new John Hoeven Elementary and school additions at Edison and Perkett Elementaries, helping to address overcrowding at the elementary level. Now educators say that higher class sizes are impacting the middle schools and high school levels in Minot. Jim Hill Middle School, which is over capacity, utilizes portable classrooms and the new Erik Ramstad building, built following the flood of 2011, is at capacity.

Cognizant sold the two buildings and surrounding land at the site to the school district for the nominal fee of $10 last year and the school district also has purchased additional land near the site that can be used for a new high school.

Vollmer said he believes the district will save about $15 million on the price of a new school because it owns the former Cognizant properties.

However, extensive remodeling and additions will still be needed at the site to make it usable. The existing space will have to be converted to classroom space. Other spaces such as a high school auditorium, a gymnasium and a swimming pool – all “big ticket, expensive items,” said Vollmer – might need to be constructed.

Educators said not everything will have to be duplicated at a new school that is already offered at Magic City Campus for the education offered to be equitable.

Assistant Superintendent Kim Slotsve said students could also be bused back and forth between Magic City Campus and the new high school for certain classes, including vocational and technical classes offered at Magic City Campus’s tech center. High school students already attend classes offered at either Magic City Campus or Central Campus. The district regularly runs shuttles between Magic City Campus, which is attended by students in grades 11 and 12, and Central Campus in downtown Minot, attended by students in grades 9 and 10.

If voters approve a bond issue, the district would also remodel Magic City Campus to accommodate students in grades 9-12, and would convert Central Campus into a third in-town middle school.

Ideas put forward at the focus groups will help with the planning process for a second high school. The school board hired Ackerman-Estvold of Minot, working with LSE Architects from Minneapolis, earlier this year to develop a comprehensive plan for the use of the school district’s properties moving forward.

The next step in the process will be forming a steering committee to direct the process leading up to a bond issue election.

Educators said they also want input from other members of the public.