Because of the start of the school year, the Manitowoc Public School District might not focus on what’s next for facilities issues until October.
Superintendent Jim Feil gave an update at this week’s monthly school board meeting about the next step the school board could take for trying to update needed fixes in every school throughout the district.
Feil said he and his team wanted to schedule meetings about facilities, but with the start of the school year beginning next month, they want to focus on student achievement.
“In October, we are planning to meet with every building staff on their site,” he stated. “We are also planning immediately after that to review the condition of their building with them as well as the condition of the district in general.”
Following meetings with his staff, Feil says there will be community sessions set to share findings of a CESA 10 facilities audits and will be talking about the three-phase plan for reconstruction or the possible closure of two elementary schools and turning the Stangel Learning Academy into a new elementary school.
Following that, Feil wants to take board members on tours of the schools.
“A picture is worth a thousand words,” Feil said to the board. “Seeing it in person is really critical and I think it’s really important to see some of the condition of our facilities.”
Feil reiterated that it’s important to secure support for the projects or find an alternative for the project, which could include another referendum for fixing problems at the school.
The facility issues stem from a report from that CESA 10 audit showing that there needs to be $161 million in improvements throughout every school in the district, mostly because of age and deterioration.
The next step is to see what can happen in the summer of 2025 for some immediate fixes.
The school board voted down a phase one facilities plan in July.
