Backers say referendum overdue

If voters approve a Nov. 3 referendum to modernize Shawano Community Middle School, administrators say the school likely will continue serving the community for another 25 years or longer.

The school district is asking voters to authorize borrowing $9.25 million to replace the middle school’s heating system and make other improvements to the 60-year-old building.

Proponents of the referendum say the upgrades will bring the aging and inefficient middle school up to the same standard of quality that the Shawano School District has established with other schools built or remodeled in recent years.

It also will get the school at 1050 S. Union St. ready for another generation of students — maybe more.

School Board member Marcia Yeager, who attended classes inside the building during the 1960s, said it is disappointing to see how the school has deteriorated and become so dysfunctional for students and teachers.

Yeager said she is excited by the opportunity presented in the Nov. 3 referendum to preserve the past and prepare for the future.

“There’s history there. I’m proud of that school,” she said. “You want to be proud of what we have in this community.”

In addition to a new heating and air-conditioning system, the referendum will pay for renovations or expansions to the school’s front entrance, kitchen and cafeteria areas, gymnasiums, student locker rooms, band and orchestra rooms, restrooms and more.

Paying off the project over the next 20 years would require property tax increases of about $35 a year — less than $3 a month — for the owner of a $100,000 home.

With no sign of organized opposition, school administrators and boosters are confident that members of the community recognize the importance of bringing the middle school up-to-date. But they also are working hard to promote awareness of the referendum so that supporters remember to show up at the polling places on a day when nothing else will be on the ballot.

Rich Belongia, a parent and volunteer coach at the middle school, said he urges people every day to turn out Nov. 3 and help the referendum pass. Mindful that taxpayers are often sensitive about government spending, Belongia said, he reminds people that Shawano historically takes pride in having quality schools, and that the middle school has been overlooked while other facilities were modernized.

Future generations of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders deserve the same opportunity for a quality education as others in the community, Belongia said, adding that the cost is relatively low.

“It’s such a small sacrifice,” he said. “It needs to be done. We need to take care of our kids and our grandkids.”

It is the Shawano School District’s first referendum since 2010, when voters approved an estimated $27 million initiative to build Hillcrest Primary School and remodel Olga Brener Intermediate School.

Built in 1954, the middle school building at 1050 S. Union St. served as Shawano’s high school until the current high school was erected in 1996. Much of the older building’s heating system and other equipment is original or near-original, forcing students and teachers to endure spotty service, frequent repairs and uncomfortable conditions in many of the areas blueprinted to receive upgrades.

With help from outside consultants, administrators studied the 155,000-square-foot property to craft a modernization proposal that would improve the building’s efficiency and functionality without adding needless frills. The School Board in August approved the final $9,250,000 package of improvements, which will be augmented by another $700,000 in operating funds not included in the referendum.

Jeff Easter, the school district’s building and grounds director, said the building appears structurally sound and likely will serve its purpose for another 25 years or longer if the current proposed updates are completed.

“It should be good to go for quite a while,” Easter said.

If voters give the go-ahead, officials hope to start work inside the middle school by April and be finished by the time classes begin in September.

Shawano Alderman Fred Ponschok, who represents the middle school neighborhood, said he has heard nothing but support for the referendum. Ponschok said he is pleased to see school administrators moving forward with the modernization.

“We’ve got to invest in our schools,” he said. “It’s probably long overdue.”