New High School

Owatonna Public Schools received input from the community to help write the next chapter for the current high school campus. In November 2019, the community voted to build a new high school and to allocate $8M toward repurposing the current high school campus for school district and/or community needs. Engage Owatonna offered the District a platform to gather ideas from community members to help decide how the current Owatonna High School property will be used and supported. District administration collected ideas and prioritized them. 

Existing Owatonna High School Citizens' Task Force

The Existing Owatonna High School Citizens' Task Force is being convened to examine the future of the existing Owatonna High School facility, which will no longer be used for 9-12 instruction when the new high school opens in 2023. As a part of the November 2019 Bond Referendum, the community voted to approve question #2 which allocated funds for the conversion of portions of the building for District use. As a part of this funding request, the District committed to engaging the community about the future of the facility, and this Existing OHS Citizens’ Task Force is a part of that process.

Click here to apply

Applications must be received by 4:00 pm CST on October 15, 2021 to be considered. It is the intent of the District to assemble a Task Force of 20-30 members to represent a broad cross-section of the community, and those who served on the 2019 Task Force are welcome to apply. The Task Force will meet approximately six (6) times, November through January. Applicants must be residents of the District, and attendance at all meetings is critical. Please review the dates below. Those selected for the Task Force will be notified by October 25, 2021.

Meeting Dates:

• Meeting #1: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Meeting #2: Thursday, November 18, 2021 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Meeting #3: Thursday, December 2, 2021 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Meeting #4: Wednesday, December 15, 2021 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Meeting #5: Thursday, January 6, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Meeting #6: Wednesday, January 19, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Prepare for School Board recommendation late January/early February

Please contact Superintendent Jeff Elstad with any questions at (507) 444-8601 or via email at jelstad@isd761.org.

Owatonna Public Schools hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new high school on Thursday, May 6. The event included remarks by Superintendent Jeff Elstad, School Board Chair Mark Sebring, High School Principal Kory Kath, and Owatonna Education Association President and teacher Todd Andrix. Many community partners, staff, students and planning committee members were present to participate in a shovel ceremony.

Participating community partners included representatives from the local business that expressed their commitment to Owatonna and the need to attract and retain quality employees through their combined financial gifts of $22 million plus in-kind donations. The tax impact for the Owatonna community was reduced by 20% thanks to the generosity of business donations from Federated Insurance, Mayo Clinic Health System, Viracon, Wenger Corporation, Wenger Foundation, and Gopher Sport.

After the community approved the construction of a new high school, other organizations stepped forward offering support. The ISD 761 Foundation and Owatonna Foundation each donated $250,000 to Owatonna Public Schools to construct a large community room within the new high school. And Cybex / Life Fitness has offered support for the weight and fitness room.

Staff and students of Owatonna Public Schools continue to be grateful for the community’s partnership and support for the school district and the new high school facility.

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Local Foundations Support Community Meeting Space at New High School

The ISD 761 Foundation and Owatonna Foundation have each donated $250,000 to the Owatonna Public Schools to construct a large community room within the new high school.

The community room will offer a 2,400 square foot meeting space that will be conveniently located near the activities entrance of the new high school with additional access to the outdoor courtyard adjacent to the stadium. The space is intended to be used for community gatherings, parent night celebrations, award ceremonies, and many other possibilities.  During the school day, the space will be set for multiple class presentations and other academic activities.

Read the full press release here.

We had over 100 applicants for the Core Planning Team and those selected include high school staff, students and community members. 

The Core Planning Team met a total of eight times from December 2019 to April 2020, including an all-day building tour of schools.  

For those not selected to be a part of the Core Planning Team, and other interested community members, additional opportunities and subcommittees were planned to gather feedback and hear input to assist during the planning process.