In 2023, the Unified School District of Antigo began the process of establishing a Facilities Task Force to evaluate the district’s current facility needs and possible solutions. A task force made up of community members, families, and staff met four times during the summer of 2023, and developed a report with recommendations for the Antigo Schools Board of Education.
In 2024, the Facilities Task Force 2.0 was established to work directly with the Blue Design Group, contracted architects who will be assisting the district with needed facility projects. Their work is ongoing and will continue the efforts of the original Facilities Task Force.
On April 16, 2024, the Facilities Task Force 2.0 voted to recommend that the board consider building a new elementary school rather than expanding the existing elementary buildings.
The current elementary school buildings in the district are 60 years old and have been used far beyond their intended life. Additionally, there are significant needs in each elementary school preventing students from receiving the best possible education. Some of those needs include:
- Lack of ADA accessibility in bathrooms
- Water damage causing deterioration of facilities
- Safety and security concerns due to lack of safety vestibule and monitored check-in
- Lack of adequate space for needed classrooms and student support
These are just a small sample of the many significant issues currently impacting our elementary schools. Because the needs are so extensive, the Facilities Task Force 2.0 voted to recommend building one new elementary school instead of repairing and renovating the three existing buildings.
On November 5, 2024, the Unified School District of Antigo community will vote on a $54 million capital referendum question. If it’s approved, the referendum would fund the construction of a new elementary school and urgent facility updates at our middle and high schools.
A new elementary school would be for all pre-kindergarten through 4th grade students in Antigo Schools, and would allow us to move our 4th graders back to the elementary level. This would allow the middle school to house 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students, moving 8th grade out of high school.
A new school would centralize elementary operations and provide an improved educational experience for all students. Additionally, building a new elementary school would minimize disruption to current students while construction is ongoing.
Staff interviews were conducted to help Blue Design Group better understand our curriculum and teaching methodologies solely to determine the number and types of spaces needed in our school(s). The actual design of a new school will not happen until after a successful referendum. At that time, the district will develop a team of stakeholders who will collaborate with Blue Design Group to create a building design that is tailored specifically to the needs of the USDA.
While building a new school requires a significant amount of funding upfront, there are long-term benefits that will save the district money over time. The age and condition of the current elementary facilities requires extensive ongoing maintenance. As facilities continue to fail, those costs will only increase over time.
Additionally, a newly constructed building would incorporate energy-efficient systems, leading to utility savings over time. Improved insulation, lighting, and HVAC systems contribute to lower energy consumption, translating into substantial long-term savings.
Finally, high-quality facilities demonstrate our commitment to providing an excellent learning environment for our students. Quality facilities can enhance student engagement and academic performance, which can lead to long-term benefits for the community. It is our belief that enrollment may increase as a result of a new school building, as we are able to accommodate more students and provide them with improved facilities.
The planned improvements at the middle and high schools would also increase energy efficiency and reduce maintenance costs in those buildings.
The deterioration of our current school facilities has a negative impact on student success and wellbeing. Additionally, our current schools lack dedicated facilities for essential components of a well-rounded education, including world language, music, arts, and libraries. A new school building would feature additional classrooms that could be used for these learning experiences, as well as a library space for student use.
Due to space issues in our current schools, there also is a lack of meeting spaces available for teachers and staff. In addition to providing meeting space for teachers, consolidating all elementary teachers in one location would enhance communication and coordination among all grade levels.
With ample space for specialized services, students’ individual needs can be better met. Additional classrooms could provide space for students to receive one-on-one attention and necessary services.
The district is working with the Blue Design Group on this project. The group is conducting a comprehensive facility study and analysis on the existing elementary buildings. Once that is completed, we will have a better understanding of the property value and best next steps for these buildings.
The Unified School District of Antigo is seeking voter approval for $54 million in general obligation bonds to fund the planned capital projects. The total $54 million will be used to build a new elementary school, address the most urgent needs at the middle and high schools, and relocate central office staff to existing Antigo facilities.
Our current elementary school buildings are more than 60 years old and have reached the end of their intended lifespan. All three elementary buildings have significant facility needs that would require extensive renovations, and they are in need of significant structural repairs. They also do not have adequate space required to provide a high-quality, modern educational experience for students.
Additionally, the current buildings do not have space to provide adequate Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) education, special education services, and physical education. Some of the shared spaces for specialized instruction are loud and not appropriate for an elementary learning environment due to the interruptions that occur throughout the day.
These issues could be addressed with substantial renovations and expansions to each individual elementary school. However, we believe a better investment of taxpayer dollars would be to build one new elementary school building to replace the existing buildings. This plan would allow us to address all the facility needs while providing an enhanced educational experience for students in all of our Antigo Schools.
The Facilities Task Force is made up of a group of volunteers who are committed to supporting the Antigo Schools. They have dedicated themselves to helping the district make the best decisions for students, our schools, and the community. Members of the task force include parents, staff, and interested community members. The complete list of Facilities Task Force members are listed on the website here.
Over the course of a year, members of the Facilities Task Force have been extensively researching the elementary facilities and the district maintenance plan. They have evaluated the elementary facility needs, as well as all possible solutions. The task force has also reviewed a building evaluation that was completed by CESA in 2010. After a year-long review, the task force made the recommendation to build one new elementary school to address the elementary facility needs.
The task force was not limited and was open to any community member. In addition, their meetings were open to the public and advertised on the Antigo Schools website.
The Facilities Task Force is an open dialogue group of individuals who are free to ask questions, make their own decisions, and offer opinions to one another and the whole group. The only unifying goal is to make the best decisions for students, staff, and the community. Members of the group come from diverse backgrounds and they have a variety of perspectives on the best plan for addressing the district’s facility needs.
The task force has voted to recommend building one elementary school to the Board of Education.
Building a new, single elementary school to house all students instead of maintaining three separate schools would result in significant cost savings and efficiencies for the district over time. Consolidating into one school would enable the district to reduce staffing redundancies, allowing fewer specialist and administrative staff to cover larger or more classes. Support services would also be streamlined.
Utility costs would also be lower because the new building would be more energy efficient than the existing buildings. Finally, maintenance expenses would also be lowered, as new buildings require fewer repairs than older ones.
In Antigo Schools, we believe in teacher autonomy. Our teachers are professionals entrusted with the education of our students, and we are confident in their abilities to provide a high-quality academic experience. The expectation is that teachers and staff follow best practices in teaching and learning, as well as guidelines for the curriculum that have been established by the Board of Education.
Building one consolidated elementary school would not restrict our teachers, but it will allow them to increase collaboration and work together to seek out the best outcomes for our students. Currently, the grade-level teams do not have time to meet to analyze student data and collaborate. One building would allow elementary teachers to meet within their grade levels and better serve their students.
The projected lifespan of a new elementary building would be several decades, with the potential to last up to 100 years or more with proper maintenance. Our middle school, constructed in 1930, has served our community for nearly a century.
The new elementary school will be budgeted and designed to meet current educational needs and standards. Regular maintenance and updates will help maximize the building’s lifespan, ensuring it remains a valuable asset for many generations to come.
The middle school building is still being used and has a solid foundation and infrastructure. While there are some maintenance needs, they are not as extensive as the issues impacting the elementary schools. The building will last for the foreseeable future, and it is up to a board decision whether to address the outstanding maintenance issues now or in the future.
If approved, the referendum will address the most pressing facility needs at the middle school, extending the time before a building replacement becomes necessary.
The district’s decision to pursue a referendum at this time is partially due to the potential to receive state funding, which would significantly reduce the burden on our local taxpayers. In fact, the majority of the costs for the projects covered in this referendum can be covered by state aid if a referendum is passed.
The cost of this referendum would be $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $100 a year for a property valued at $100,000. Wisconsin’s state funding model is complex, but it provides a unique opportunity for Antigo Schools to take advantage of additional state funding designed to equalize aid. Passing a referendum now would allow us to do more for our schools with a lower burden on our taxpayers. If a referendum is approved, the state of Wisconsin would fund $31 million of the projected $54 million project, reducing the local taxpayers’ total cost to $23 million.
In addition, the district is pursuing strategies outside of a referendum to reduce the amount of funding needed from local taxpayers. Notably, changes in the funding limits set by the state of Wisconsin mean the Antigo Schools can increase its per pupil state funding from $10,000 to $11,000 in the 2024-25 school year.
The Blue Design Group has determined that the cost of building a new elementary school that would provide enough space to house all of our PK-4th grade students and ensure educational adequacy in classrooms would cost approximately $46 million.
Simply renovating all three of our existing elementary schools to bring them up to current standards would cost about $47.8 million. However, that does not take into consideration the needs at each site for additional space, adequate playgrounds and green space, and parking areas.
The estimates are calculated based on the following assumptions:
- New construction: 112,775 sq ft x $408 per sq ft = $46,012,200
- Total for additions and renovations = $47,810,256
- Additions to existing buildings: 81,682 sq ft x $408 per sq ft = $33,326,256
- Renovations to existing buildings: 71,000 sq ft x $204 per sq ft = $14,484,000
Because renovating the existing buildings would be nearly $2 million more than building one new building, it was determined that building a new elementary school building was the best option for our district.
If the Antigo community approves a capital referendum to build a new elementary school and address the most urgent needs at the middle and high schools, the district will be able to allocate annual funds for capital improvements prioritized in a long-range facility plan.
Currently, the needs impacting our schools are too significant for the district to fund without passing a capital referendum. However, if this referendum passes and the planned projects are completed, the remaining needs in our district would be manageable enough to allocate funding from our annual operating budget.
It’s also worth noting that the cost savings realized by addressing these needs now would free up additional funds that could be used for capital improvements over time.
If the capital referendum is not approved, the district and Board of Education will face tough decisions regarding the future of our school facilities, as their needs will only continue to grow. Our facilities are reaching a critical point and we need to act soon to prevent further deterioration.
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