SAUK RAPIDS -- The students and staff at Pleasantview Elementary in Sauk Rapids are just a few days away now from checking out the brand new school.

Superintendent Brad Bergstrom says the building is about 97 percent complete now.

What we're doing right now is finishing up items and then what we call punch list items, things like scuffs that need to be repainted, those kinds of things.

Bergstrom says the first layer of blacktop went down this week in the parking lot. He says they are also in the process of installing the new playground, but asks neighborhood kids to stay off the equipment until the first day of school.

The teachers will take over their classrooms on the first day of in-service on Monday, August 29th and the families will get a chance to see their new classroom on open house night on Wednesday, August 31st.

I would suspect we'll probably have more attendance at Pleasantview for this year's open house than we probably have had in the past.  I'm sure everybody wants to come in and get a peak at that building.

The open house on Wednesday, August 31st is only for parents/guardians and students.  The district will host a grand opening for Pleasantview for the entire community at a later date.

Tuesday, September 6th is the first day of school for kindergarteners, 6th graders, and 9th graders throughout the Sauk Rapids-Rice school district, and new to the district 7th and 8th-grade students at the middle school.

For the rest of the students, their first day is Wednesday, September 7th.

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Practice is underway for fall sports teams across the state. In the Sauk Rapids-Rice school district, one new amenity is the brand new tennis courts outside the high school for the Storm teams. Bergstrom says the courts should be ready to play on by September 19th.

We're very excited to bring that activity to the high school.  We have been utilizing courts either at Bob Cross from the city or from our friends in either Sartell or St. Cloud over the last several years.

Bergstrom just recently agreed to a new three-year contract with the district. He is starting the third and final year of his initial contract. The new contract will run from the fall of 2023 through the spring of 2026.

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