This project has created the funding to expand and rehabilitate a second elementary school project on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Batesland, South Dakota. The current Batesland school is in serious disrepair with part of the facility unusable.

The expansion includes the addition of a new gymnasium, classrooms, support areas, reading room/library, community room and a new cafeteria with kitchen, as well as a new geothermal heating/cooling system. Approximately 28,478 sq. ft. is renovated with an additional 61,629 sq. ft. of new space. The renovated buildings connects to the new addition and include classrooms for pre-school through 8th grade. One of the largest employers on the Pine Ridge Reservation, the school district’s annual expenditures of $4-$5 million for staffing create a material economic multiplier effect in the region.

The school district will maintain a total of 356 permanent FTE jobs for residents, including teachers, administrators, aides, janitors, food service and other positions in Shannon County, within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This county illustrates the highest priorities for economic development with unemployment as high as eighty percent in some areas of the reservation.