Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings from the Sioux Falls Protestant Reformed Christian School Board! As you may be aware, our school here in Sioux Falls opened its doors in August of 2021. We started with 11 students from kindergarten to 5th grade, and by God’s gracious hand, enrollment jumped to 13 students when Pastor Barnhill and his family moved to Sioux Falls in the spring of 2022.
With abundant thanksgiving, we are now entering our 3rd year of operation with 20 students from kindergarten to 7th grade. We hired a kindergarten teacher and teachers aid to help with this additional growth. Currently, our school rents the lower level of church building (Heritage PRC) which contains two medium size and one small classroom as well as a library and a couple of small storage/locker rooms. The SFPRCS School Board has been coming up with creative ways to use our limited space, but with continued growth, by God’s grace, we are quickly running out of space!
The School Board began meeting with a local architect in 2022 to discuss possible restructuring of our current space as well as beginning to look at potential expansion options. We quickly concluded that restructuring of our current space would only be a short-term solution and would not be able to meet the long-term needs of the school. We’ve also been looking for existing buildings in the area that would meet our needs, but the Sioux Falls real estate market is moving quickly and there have not been viable options available that are in the same timeline as our needs.
We have since focused on plans for expansion and received approval from the Sioux Falls School Society to move forward with raising the necessary funds. The expansion would create four new classrooms, additional bathrooms, and a learning center on the main floor with an unfinished basement of the same size. Our school does not have a gym so the unfinished basement could be used for PE and recess when it’s raining or too cold to be outside. This space would also provide additional room for future expansion.
The cost of this expansion is estimated to be $1,700,000. We hope to raise these funds through individual donations, church collections, annual drives, fundraisers and other means that the Lord will provide in His Sovereign good pleasure. We sincerely hope to eliminate or reduce the need for a bank loan and thus we write this letter to inform you of our need and ask that you prayerfully consider the needs here in Sioux Falls.
In order to keep moving forward with this project we are asking for donations or pledges to be made by December 31, 2023. Once we have an idea of the initial pledges, we will proceed with procuring a loan to cover the remaining amount, if needed. Please share this letter widely so all may read for themselves about our needs. If it is the Lord’s will that sufficient funding is received, we plan to break ground in the spring of 2024, with possible use of the new space sometime during the 2024-2025 school year.
If you feel called to help us, we ask that you please make checks payable to “Sioux Falls Protestant Reformed Christian School” with “Expansion” indicated in the memo and send to the address listed in the right column. We are registered with the state of South Dakota and will provide receipts for your tax-deductible gifts.
If you desire additional information or have any questions, please contact David Haan.
David Haan – Treasurer – 712-441-4734 / davidhaan89@gmail.com
In Christ,
Sioux Falls Protestant Reformed Christian School Board
