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Yes, our district’s most recent facility study was done in 2022 by ISG. The study identified our greatest needs are at Beaver Dam Middle School and Washington Elementary.
The district is partnering with CG Schmidt (Construction Manager) and Plunkett, Raysich Architects (PRA) (Architect) for projects associated with our current most critical needs. These partners were identified through a competitive bidding and interview process.
The middle school was built in 1922. It was originally constructed as a high school.
The current middle school has far exceeded its life expectancy, is in a dangerous location immediately adjacent to Business Hwy 151 (Spring Street) and just east of Hwy 33, has a severely undersized campus, and would need several million dollars to maintain basic infrastructure. As such, we believe the best solution is to build a new middle school in a new location.
Between 2017 and 2023, there were 1,352 Police Related Incident Calls within a one block radius of the middle school. Of those, 841 were traffic related incidents, including 43 accidents, as well as incidents that involved the middle school being struck by vehicles. Additionally, during that same time period, there were 5 police chases in the immediate vicinity that resulted in the school being put into an administrative hold during the school day.
A new middle school will have appropriately-sized classrooms that will allow for improvements in the overall instructional environment. These spaces will have natural light, improved climate control, and support high quality experiences for both students and staff. In addition to the improved environment for student learning, a new middle school will be a much-improved experience to work in. It is important to be able to attract and retain the best possible talent to the Beaver Dam area, and the quality of the actual physical environment is an important part of that effort.
A new middle school would have a fabrication space designated for technical education, as well as learning space designed to support agriculture education. The current middle school has a severely undersized tech ed lab and does not have space to support agriscience. Additionally, both music and art spaces would be designed into the new middle school that would be adequately laid out to support much improved learning opportunities and intentionally designed for those specialized areas.
A new middle school that could serve up to 800 students, would cost approximately 87 million dollars.
We will be forced to continue to maintain a 100+ year old building, which will stress other areas of the budget and take away from other maintenance upkeep and efforts at other schools. In addition, the added operating costs will strain the same budget that we use to support our students and staff. Finally, delays in replacement only increase the costs in the future. Cost projections for a new middle school in 10 years will approach between 135-150 million dollars.
We have reviewed the cost of a comprehensive renovation of the current middle school. The cost is projected to be approximately 71 million dollars and the project would take more than 3 years to complete. During that time, students would be displaced to modular/mobile classrooms across the street.
In today’s dollars, that same referendum would cost 87.5 million dollars.
Having recently reviewed this again with construction experts and estimators, they conservatively projected the construction costs of a new middle school in 10-12 years to be between 135-150 million dollars.
A new high school would cost 160 million dollars. We believe that it is cost prohibitive given that the current high school was recently renovated and is capable of serving our community for another 30+ years.
Our district owns 60 acres of land located centrally within our school district boundary. This property is located on the south end of the city limits a little over 1 mile south of the current middle school. It is on the “inside” of HWY 151, making it accessible to pedestrian traffic (i.e. walking, biking, etc.). Specifically, the property is East of Spring Street (Hwy G), North of Hwy 151 and South of Judson Drive.
Our district did not have any additional property outside of the campuses where its schools were located as of 2022. This meant that the district would not be positioned well when a new school or schools would need to be built in the future. There was only one section of property that was still available in the center of the district boundary that had enough acreage, was situated conveniently for transportation purposes, and was also accessible for pedestrian traffic. The district worked to acquire that property and ultimately purchased approximately 60 acres of land for $770,000.
The new middle school will be built approximately 1.4 miles south of the current middle school. It is north of Hwy 151, south of Lombardi Lane and Alvin Circle, and east of Hwy G.
Our district follows transportation guidelines and will provide students that are outside walkable distance with the option to ride a school bus. We anticipate adding 3-4 bus routes for the middle school only. The exact number of routes depends on ridership and routing.
The school board is committed to NOT contributing to blight in the community. That being said, there are three options.
- The district would work with the city to facilitate the school building being sold off to a developer to meet needs in the community.
- The school building would be razed (demolished) and returned to green space.
- The school building would be partially razed, leaving the small section of the building that was added on in the 90s for other community needs.
Washington Elementary School was built in 1949.
Washington Elementary School is in need of renovation to extend its use for decades to come. It has many original components that are beyond worn and in need of replacement and updating to improve the educational experiences for students, families, and staff. This includes removing asbestos, updating HVAC, improving plumbing, and updating electrical components. In addition, a small addition would allow us to improve important services and opportunities to support nursing/health, music and the arts, as well as an appropriate size “commons” space for students, families, and our community.
The cost to taxpayers for the renovations and additions at Washington Elementary school would be 13 million dollars. A new elementary school would be 35 million dollars.
The estimated impact on the mill rate is $1.20 per $1,000 of property value. On a $100,000 of property value, the estimated property tax impact would be $120 per year.
District-wide improvements include playgrounds, drop-off/pick-up areas, site safety (circulation & fencing), community recreation opportunities, and ADA access.
The district is committed to the community by supporting our next generation of students and staff with the best possible learning and teaching environments. The district is in the process of addressing urgent capital needs throughout the district, which includes identifying the best solution for our 100+ year-old Middle School, investing in the future of Washington Elementary School, built in 1949, and improving site safety, accessibility, playgrounds, and community spaces throughout our district. All aspects of how the district’s facilities support the district’s strategic plan and goals. A full analysis of the district’s current facilities, educational adequacy, and potential maintenance needs was completed earlier in the planning process.
A new middle school would be completed during the summer of 2027 and ready to go for the start of the 2027-2028 school year.
Renovations and improvements to Washington Elementary would be completed over the course of two summers. During the summer of 2025, the new classrooms would be completed. Remaining updates and renovations would be completed by the fall of 2026. District-wide improvements would take place primarily in 2025 and 2026, with the possibility of some remaining updates being completed in the summer of 2027.
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