Wentzville School District Purchases Property for Third High School

The has purchased 79.6 acres on Sommers Road in O’Fallon, between Highway N and Highway DD, where the district will soon start construction on a new high school.

“This will be a great location for our third high school,” said Superintendent Dr. Terry Adams. “We are the fastest growing school district in the state, and that area is the fastest growing part of our district. The new high school will be complete for the educational needs of 1,000-1,200 students, so with this addition we will be able to better serve our growing student population.”

The purchase price of the property was $5.971 million, and was funded primarily with revenue from Proposition A which passed in 2008.

“Construction of the new high school will be financed with proceeds from Proposition 3 which was approved by voters in April. Our estimates are that the construction cost will be between $36 and 40 million dollars,” said District CFO Kari Monsees.

Proposition 3 is a 30-cent tax levy created to fund construction on the new high school and additions on several existing buildings in the district. The levy is expected to raise $60 million for the construction costs.

This will be the third high school in the Wentzville School District, joining , the original Wentzville high school, and which opened in 2002.

Later this year the district will form a boundary committee made up of parents, staff and community members to help determine the attendance area for the new high school, scheduled to open in the fall of 2013.

District Growth

There are now 71,390 residents living within the boundaries of the Wentzville R-IV District, up 39,048 over the count from the 2000 census. The City of  alone grew 322 percent, according to .

The Wentzville R-IV School District covers all or part of the cities of Wentzville, Lake Saint Louis,O'Fallon, Foristell and Dardenne Prairie. All five areas saw population explosions over the past 10 years. 

There are nearly 13,000 students enrolled in Wentzville schools, and according to Adams, that number is growing by an average of 650 students each year.

Prop 3 Projects

The following is a list of projects to be funded by Prop 3. Also included is an estimated completion date.

• Eight new classrooms at , fall 2012
• Eight new classrooms at , fall 2012
• Eight new classrooms at , fall 2012
• Eight new classrooms at Lakeview Elementary, fall 2012
• Eight new classrooms at Discovery Ridge Elementary, fall 2012
• Four new classrooms at Crossroads Elementary, fall 2012
• Four new classrooms at , fall 2012
• Twenty classrooms at , fall 2012
• Four classrooms at , fall 2012
• A new high school, fall 2013