The James Williams Middle School shop class lab is one of the facilities slated to be upgraded if the the School District of Rhinelander referendum is approved April 2. Star Journal photo

Voters to decide fate of proposed facility projects April 2

By Eileen Persike, Editor

RHINELANDER – A $26 million school building and facility improvement project will be on the April 2 ballot for voters in the School District of Rhinelander.  The referendum is the result of a more than two year study and planning process that began with a needs assessment in 2021. 

Community information meetings will take place 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at James Williams Middle School, 6 p.m. March 6 at the Rhinelander High School library and 9 a.m. March 20 at the Hodag Dome.

The most dire need, it was determined, was to upgrade tech ed labs and classrooms at James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School, provide additional space for art, family and consumer ed labs, special education, update office space at JWMS, the science lab and some restrooms at RHS, among other projects.

“It’s going to have an impact on a lot of students,” said SDR Superintendent Eric Burke. “We can’t do it all, but we thought that as we look through our facilities needs there’s a long list. We had to make decisions on what would have the most impact right now – for not only our students but our community.”

There is a demand in the Northwoods for employees in the trades, manufacturing and service industries, Burke said.  Area business leaders toured the current facilities and told SDR administrators school facilities should be upgraded to provide the training students would need to be properly trained.

JWMS principal Kyle Raleigh said interest in what were traditional tech ed classes has grown with the evolution of the subjects.

“The newest class to be added four or five years ago was innovation and design, which is all about designing and 3D printing, the whole design process,” said Raleigh.

The potential addition would highlight the school’s technology facilities by pushing out the exterior wall facing the bus loop at the front of the building and adding large windows.

“When we toured schools that were improving their tech ed, a lot of them put [those classes] out in front, whereas in the past in a lot of schools, the tech ed and the shops are kind of in the back corner and no one sees them,” said Raleigh. “Another part that we are looking at is adding designated classroom spaces; we call them ‘clean labs.’ We’ve started doing things with 3D printers, we want to get into some robotics, really building them up to the high school fab lab. So we’re trying to get them excited here with some of that so when they hit their freshman year they look at that dream and design class, which is more of their fab lab stuff.”

The referendum expansion would allow expansion of the family and consumer education foods lab and kitchens at JWMS. The foods class, Raleigh said, is perhaps the most popular class among students.

The main office area would also be pushed out several feet to create a more secure perimeter. The  current life skills space adjacent to the main office, for students working on cooking, laundry and other basic skills would also be expanded. And that bus loop in front of the middle school would be made larger allowing for all the buses to fit in the loop at the same time.

The $26 million cost would amount to approximately $29 on $100,000 in property value. The homeowner of a $300,000 home would pay just under $90 per year. Full details on the proposed referendum can be found at https://www.rhinelander.k12.wi.us/district/referendum.cfm, and by attending one of the above listed community sessions.