GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Many people have been questioning Green Bay’s desire to build a new elementary school as six existing schools are set to close.
The district held a tour Thursday evening to help show why one of the schools is closing and highlight the need for better learning environments.
The tour of MacArthur Elementary School provided a 30-year blast into the past for Chryssy Joski.
“I remember going to tornado drills in that same basement, the same boiler and HVAC system and all that kind of stuff,” said Joski.
In the basement, you can see Beaver Dam Creek, running underneath the school. A sump pump runs every three to five minutes to keep the water level from rising into the mechanical room.
“I can understand why there’s a need to look at closing or renovating,” said Joski.
Why would they build a school on top of a creek? Apparently, that’s also what people were wondering back in 1969 when the school was built. That’s according to one person at the tour who was around back then. He says the area was a swampy and it took nine months for the building’s footings to stabilize because it was so muddy.
“So, while at this point there are not safety concerns, the school is still safe to operate, they are causing issues with the building that in the long-term would need to be repaired in order to keep the building open,” said Blakeslee of the creek running beneath the school.
The district is considering asking taxpayers for up to $183 million that would avoid $67.8 million in deferred maintenance costs and save $5 million in operational expenses annually.
Most MacArthur students would go to a new 600-student elementary school where Kennedy Elementary currently sits, along with students from Kennedy and Keller Elementary, which closed at the end of the past school year.
The district says taxpayers would save money in the long run compared to keeping several smaller schools open.
“So having a facility that is both cost efficient to run and from an energy perspective, as well as a staffing perspective, but also has the spaces – the appropriate special education spaces, the appropriate toileting areas for 4K classrooms,” said Blakeslee.
The school board is expected to vote next week on what to include in its referendum request.
The district says taxes would not go up if the referendum is passed because debt from a previous referendum will be paid off.
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