Upgrades set for school courtyard

The courtyard at Shawano Community Middle School will get its makeover after all.

The Shawano School Board has agreed to spend $50,000 in an effort to transform the courtyard area into a functional space for outdoor learning and enjoying.

“It’ll just come to life,” said Jeremy Gretzinger, a landscaping contractor awarded the job of renovating the courtyard.

The project was previously included in a list of improvements planned as part of a comprehensive middle school renovation, which was approved by school district voters in a referendum in November.

But with cost estimates for the courtyard improvement running as high as $500,000 at the time, it was trimmed from a package ultimately reduced to about $10 million.

School district administrators have since identified surplus district funds to move forward with a scaled-back courtyard effort.

School Superintendent Gary Cumberland said the project no longer includes drainage improvements or other high-dollar components.

“It’s a little less complex, but looks nice,” Cumberland said.

School Board members approved the contract Monday night.

Officials said work on the courtyard area at the center of the middle school complex, 1050 S. Union St., will include removal of deteriorated trees, installation of new brick pathways, and the addition of such amenities as circular patios, benches and tables.

Work is expected to begin soon and must be finished by mid-July because of other renovation work planned all summer under the voter-approved initiative being led by Miron Construction Co.

For the $50,000 courtyard project, district administrators selected Gretzinger Landscaping & Evergreens LLC of Shawano after soliciting competitive bids.

Gretzinger, a former Shawano student, said the middle school courtyard has been under-developed and under-utilized dating back to when the building housed the high school. Comparing it with other schools in the region, Gretzinger said the courtyard should be more of a public resource.

He plans to add some accents in the red-and-black colors of the school district.

“It’d be kind of nice, to take some pride,” he said.