School board discusses old middle school’s future
By Angie Landsverk
If the Weyauwega-Fremont School District intends to keep its old middle school building, it needs to address issues there.
That was one of the messages from Wes Schroeder when he presented a building and grounds update to the school board last month.
Schroeder is the district’s maintenance/buildings and grounds supervisor.
“I know some wanted to discuss it a few years ago,” he said.
The old middle school is located on East Main Street, in Weyauwega.
Schroeder noted how the building is currently being used.
The district has a maintenance shop in the space.
Youth sports use the gym, including baseball and softball teams in the spring until they can get outside, he said.
Weymont Food Pantry also has a space in the old school.
Board member Debi Bartel said she wants to see what the actual usage is in the building – who is using the old school and at what percentage.
Schroeder referred to the facilities study the district completed in 2014, and the two large projects that resulted from it.
That included remodeling and building addition at the high school, as well as a project at Fremont Elementary School.
The high school project included adding new classrooms for science, as well as the Performing Arts Center and a second gym.
The addition of the second gym was meant to replace the gym in the old middle school building.
With the completion of those projects, it is time for the district to look at and plan for other facility needs, Schroeder believes.
Schroeder, along with District Administrator Phillip Tubbs and Director of Business Services John Kiefer, are talking about putting together a plan that looks at current facility needs throughout the district.
It saves money to do some projects together, Schroeder said.
That is when he brought up the need to also talk about what the plan is for the old middle school.
Board member Matt Betz said theh property is prime real estate.
Tubbs said he reached out to the Boy’s Club, YMCA and Fox Valley Technical College to see if any of them have interest in the building.
For the building to be functional, it would need some remodeling, he said.
“We would have to bring it up to code,” Tubbs said. “We have had a lot of conversations.”
The district needs a good financial plan, Schroeder said.