Sauk Rapids-Rice Looking Toward Solving Pleasantview Problems

SAUK RAPIDS -- After a fire ruined four portable classrooms at Pleasantview Elementary, the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District is trying to game plan for the school's future.

Several things have had to be shifted around in the already strapped-for-space school.

Superintendent Aaron Sinclair says they've had to create classrooms out of whatever space is available, including the teacher's lounge.

"We've done some work to try and make the space we have a little more usable. We've constructed additional walls and partitioned the media center to make more classrooms. The teachers gave up their teacher's lounge so they had to move into a construction trailer."

At their meeting Monday night, the school board approved going into a service agreement with ICS Consulting. This comes on the heels of several community meetings the district held to get a feel for what Sauk Rapids-Rice wanted to see.

Sinclair says Pleasantview was the most pressing topic of these community meetings. He says the district is bringing ICS in to get a professional opinion on some long-term solutions.

"[The community meetings] left us as a district knowing we need a little more clarity for what people want for this school in particular. So ICS's role will be to help us determine what Pleasantview's long-term needs are, and also the district as a whole."

Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise says officers were called to a report of a fire and heavy smoke at the school at 9:00 p.m. Sunday, January 13.

Fire Chief Jason Fleming says the fire happened in the attic area of the portable classrooms. He says that area doesn't have a sprinkler system. The fire impacted four classrooms with the fire and smoke damage, however, the main part of the school was not damaged.