Since our last facility survey, the Lake Mills Area School District has been revising our long-range facilities plan to address our most pressing needs. The goal of the survey was to determine what projects, if any, should be done.
All district residents received a survey in the mail by mid-April. Residents were asked to complete the survey by May 6. The survey code could only be used once. To obtain additional surveys for other adults in their household, residents were instructed to call the District Office at 920.648.2215, ext. 361.
To begin this process, the District updated the facilities assessment and established the Collaborative Advisory Team (a committee of 42 people, including staff, parents, community members, and local business representatives). Over the last year, this group studied the facilities assessment, prioritized our needs, and recommended the projects explained in the survey.
|
THANK YOU to our families, staff, and community members who completed the facility survey!
Rob DeMeuse, Research Director for School Perceptions, presented the results of the community facility survey at a Special School Board Meeting on Monday, June 3, 2024.
Key survey findings include:
-
86% of staff (residents only) respondents support the base plan
-
68% of parent respondents support the base plan
-
Non-parent, non-staff respondents were evenly split at 46% in support of the base plan, with 46% not in support
Respondents who replied “No” to the plan stated the biggest reason was that $0.16 per $1,000 of property value was too expensive (78%). Respondents noted that the District is doing a good job of delivering a high-quality education (79%) and building pride in the community (78%).
Statistically, School Perceptions places more weight on the non-parent/non-staff results in determining the likelihood of passing a referendum. When that formula was applied to the results, the support for the base plan was 51.5% with a +/- 3% error. If the referendum for the base plan were held today, the outcome would be too close to call. However, there is enough support to consider taking a plan to referendum in November.
The Collaborative Advisory Team will meet on June 12 at 6:00 pm to determine a recommendation for the School Board regarding the next steps in the facility planning process.
|
Option Development Components
- Prioritized Capital Maintenance items
- Diagrammatic Site and Floor plans
- Square footage, level of renovation, and general description of intent will inform pricing estimates
|
High Priority & Safety Items Continued
- Upgrade LED lighting at the elementary, middle, and high schools
- Upgrade CCTV (security cameras), fire alarms, and door access controls at the entrances at the elementary, middle, and high schools
- Replace domestic water piping at the high school
- Replace selective flooring at the high school
- Replace the bleachers and elevator at the high school
- Upgrade electrical panelboards, generators, and devices at the middle and high schools
- Update stage lighting, sounds, and controls at the high school auditorium (built in 2005)
- Create additional parking spaces at the high school
Budget: $17.7 million
|
The Bus Barn is in a congested area (creating safety concerns between vehicles and pedestrians) and requires repairs (dirt floors, aging garage doors, and lack of security systems).
Bus traffic is a problem at all times of the day because many events happen at the high school from early morning until late evening. Some issues include:
- Difficulty backing out at 6:30 a.m. when students, parents, or staff arrive for activities.
- Traffic jams during morning drop-off at 7:45 a.m. when buses return to the barn.
- Lines of cars from lower to upper parking lots.
- Buses blocking paths used by students and parents.
- Tight space for buses to maneuver.
- Cars blocking bus barn doors during events.
- No concrete floor and old garage doors need to be replaced.
- The barn was built in 1988 on a $90,000 budget resulting in compromises.
Budget: $1.4 million (which includes the potential purchase of new property for relocation)
Expand classrooms to better serve students receiving special education services by renovating underused spaces. Renovate special education spaces and locker rooms to accommodate program locations, access to restrooms, and consolidate locker room access for building security.
We do not have sufficient or ADA-compliant access to space for students with sensory needs. Expansion and renovation of functional workspace for life skills programming, to include but not be limited to; personal hygiene, self-care, and independent living skills, as well as other privacy needs. Expansion and renovations to current areas to allow resource space for successful delivery of IEP-mandated services without disruption to other students' learning environments.
Budget: $5.1-$5.6 million
Renovate the music classrooms (band, choir, orchestra), cafeteria, and kitchen in the current location, no expansion of the space.
Budget: $2 million
Keep the current single-station upper gym and replace the smaller (single-station) lower gym with a larger (2-station) gym and support space that includes the gym lobby, bathrooms, and concessions.
Budget: $13.9-$15.3 million
Renovate library space to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) student opportunities: update technology, circulation desk, book shelving, and electrical supply.
Move one wall in the office to create increased space for health room privacy and confidential meetings.
Budget: $0.5-$0.6 million
Remove the deteriorating tennis court, consolidate the playground area west of the school, and improve the baseball field in place.
-
The stone retaining wall around the tennis court on the west side of the middle school is crumbling and has been flagged by the district's insurance company as a potential safety risk.
-
Campus Field does not drain properly, causing large areas of puddling throughout the field. This limits the use for baseball in poor weather.
-
In an effort to keep Campus Field in good playing condition, student access to the field as greenspace and physical education space is limited.
-
With the current layout of the playground area on the west side of the building and greenspace behind the building, there is no direct access between these two spaces. This makes it difficult to supervise students in both areas.
-
Currently, students use the staff parking lot on the east end of the building when they want to play on a hard surface (i.e. four square and basketball). There is a lack of hard surfaces to accommodate students.
-
The retaining wall that runs along Campus St. and around the infield of Campus Field is cracking and crumbling, causing unsafe conditions for players and students on or around the wall.
Budget: $1.9-$2.1 million
4K Addition: Incorporating four new classrooms for 4-year-old kindergarten, with the potential to accommodate Early Childhood Education.
- Currently, we have four 4K sections (two morning and two afternoon), with class sizes ranging from 21 to 25 students. Recommended class sizes indicate a shift to five sections, each with 18 students.
- While discussions with the Department of Public Instruction regarding a full-day 4K program persist, no concrete plans are in place yet. Implementing this change would require the addition of two 4K teachers.
- We currently provide afternoon childcare for morning 4K students, which has been beneficial for parents with limited childcare options.
- To accommodate the 4K classes, early childhood education has been relocated to the special education space. There is currently no dedicated special education room as they are operating out of one of the 1st-grade breakout areas.
- Additionally, we are utilizing the lactation room to support a student with additional needs, while staff are using the server/network storage closet for their lactation requirements.
Budget: $5.8 million (4 classrooms total)
|
Completing these additional projects along with the base plan as part of the long-range facilities plan would save money and time compared to doing them separately later. The Base Plan updates these areas but does not expand them.
|
Relocate the crowded and outdated cafeteria, kitchen (which serves as the central food production hub for our entire district), and multipurpose room. This relocation would create space for expanding the music classrooms (band, choir, orchestra).
Budget: $15.2 million
Middle School:
- The middle school tennis court is only used for recess because it is crumbling.
- Campus Field does not drain properly, limiting use in poor weather.
- The varsity baseball field's location at the middle school (Campus Field) limits greenspace and playground areas for middle school students. The varsity softball field is at Rotary Park (city park). Both locations require high school student-athletes to travel, creating safety concerns and supervision challenges.
Remove the deteriorating tennis court, existing playground, baseball diamond, and retaining wall while also enhancing draining at Campus Field. This will provide room for middle school students to have outdoor areas for recess and learning, as well as community greenspace for recreational activities.
High School:
Move the baseball diamond and establish a softball field at the high school. Resurface the tennis courts and expand ADA parking.
Budget: $6.7 million
|
The mill rate impacts for the debt portion of the mill rate are as follows:
Additional Projects:
-
Music and Kitchen /Cafeteria $15.2 million = $0.65 per $1,000
-
Outdoor Athletics $6.7 million = $0.30 per $1,000
|
Last Updated: 9/3/24 |
|