Cadott School Board; Facility plan tweaked before public input
Kate Winkler, Miron Construction, guided Cadott School Board members through a draft of a survey, during a Committee of the Whole meeting Aug. 29. The survey will be sent to the community after two facilities information meetings, to gauge which proposed projects people think are the most important. Photo by Julia Wolf
By Julia Wolf
The Cadott School Board took another look at the facility plan, during a Committee of the Whole meeting Aug. 29. The facility plan is meant to be the master plan for the district, going forward, with projects in phases spread over time.
The meeting came one night before the first of two facilities information meetings, where all members of the community are invited to learn more about the potential plans, ask questions and share feedback on the ideas.
The second session will take place Thursday, Sept. 8, from 6:30-8 p.m., in the junior and senior high main gym. The public is welcome to attend the second meeting, even if they did not attend the first session.
“We’ve obviously given you a ton of detail in the last couple months,” said Andrew Daniels, Miron Construction, adding they want to contain enough information in the key that the public can follow along, without causing an information overload.
The board started by going over what changed in the proposed plans since the July Committee of the Whole meeting, based on conversation from that meeting.
Kevin Bills, ISG Architects, showed how the layout proposed for the secure main entrance, main office, and expanded commons and kitchen space would stretch north/ south off of the west side of the current commons area, instead of an L-shape, like previously suggested.
“So, it’s all here and funnels into the expanded commons,” said Bills.
The proposed addition for a fitness and multipurpose area to the north of the current small gym was also shrunk, since the last draft, with an illustration outlining where a full gym addition could go in the future.
“Thinking of this as the master plan,” said Bills. “If there was a need for additional gym space, this is where it would likely go.”
Brad Sonnentag, board member, asked if there is a space for winter batting practice for baseball and softball in the proposed addition, so flooring and mats do not get damaged. Bills said they could look into options where wrestling mats in the space are part of a powered system or otherwise the space truly is multipurpose.
“I feel pretty confident that if the mats don’t come up easily, that’s a wrestling room,” said Cory LaNou, board presi- Caleb Hundt, junior and senior high principal, also said a locker room the public could use when visiting the fitness center would be nice.
The updates to the Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) lab, and space for sixth grade, if they were to move to the junior high building, remained mostly unchanged from the previous meeting.
Board member Becca Blanchette asked what the space set aside for sixth grade would be used for, if they decided not to move the sixth grade to the building. Bills said it could be a full classroom or extra special education space. Superintendent Jenny Starck says it could also be more breakout space for small groups.
The plan also proposes moving art to the current fitness area on the second floor, which gives art a bigger room. The current art room could be transformed into more space for tech ed.
“The one thing that is kind of lacking in our tech ed area is, sort of like a, what we would see, as a clean lab,” said Bills, who added the space could be used for 3D printers or other equipment.
An auto lab addition is also proposed off of the current tech ed area.
Following another look at the proposed plan, board members reviewed the survey questions to make sure it is worded the clearest way possible, before it is sent to the public after the information meetings. The survey is a chance for the community to share which projects they think are the most important.
When it came to discussion about moving the sixth grade to the junior/senior high building, Kate Winkler, Miron Construction, suggested that an entirely separate conversation take place with the community from the current discussion on facilities. She said focus groups and a task force may even be beneficial to address the issue.
“There are so many tangential things that are incredibly important that are not even close to being obvious in here,” said LaNou.
The school board also saw a draft of the annual scorecard for the 2022-23 school year. The annual goals fit with the district’s five-year strategic plans. Board members discussed how to best measure whether the district is moving in the right direction for each of the areas. The annual scorecard will be on a future agenda for approval.
Board members did approve the hire of Kris Tolle, junior and senior high school counselor, and Erin Pilgrim, district paraprofessional.
practical to pick up, so they are easier to remove and dent.
LaNou says, if it is meant to be a multipurpose room, they need to figure out how that will work.
Bills says they will also have time to look at the projects again after the community survey results are back, when they know where project and funding support stands.
Sonnentag also wondered if there is enough locker room space near the proposed fitness addition, since the locker rooms by the small gym would turn into a hallway. Daniels asked the board if the opinion is that locker rooms would be needed in that area and board members thought the options should be explored.
