Pulaski schools plan for future growth

The Pulaski School District is growing to the point where at least one elementary school is going to exceed capacity by 2025, and other schools could be reaching capacity levels in the next 10 years after that.

To that end, district officials are seeking community input on how to address school needs and whether they would support a referendum in November 2022 or beyond. The district held a listening session Feb. 23 to talk with families and community members about immediate and future needs to gauge what they’d support in a large improvement and renovation project.

“I’m really glad that we have a nice crowd tonight,” said Superintendent Allison Space. “This evening couldn’t happen without all of us working together.”

Hillcrest Elementary School, located in Brown County south of Highway 29, is expected to exceed its capacity by 2025 and would need to build on to the existing building soon unless other steps are taken, like transferring students to other elementary schools in the district. However, Sunnyside Elementary School, located east of Pulaski, is expected to exceed its capacity by 2030, and Lannoye Elementary School, the closest school to Hillcrest, is forecast to reach capacity by 2035.

Besides growth at the elementary school, the district predicts that enrollment of middle school students could grow by about 100 between now and 2035, meaning that an expansion of Pulaski Community Middle School could be on the horizon. However, that capacity could be reached sooner, as the middle school has 50 students attending from outside the district due to open enrollment and could potentially grow.

The district also estimates that the high school could grow its in-district student population by over 150 students but does not believe it will reach capacity there unless its open enrollment count grows there, as well.

If the district decides to go for a referendum, it could be in a good financial position to do so, according to Mark Logan, the district’s business manager. The district had a tax rate of $8.84 per $1,000 of valuation in 2016, but the current rate is $6.32, one of the lowest in the area and significantly below the state average of $8.67.

Logan noted that the district recently became debt free after paying off its 2013 referendum six years early, resulting in a savings of $100,000 for the district. He said that the property owners in the district could see their tax rate go up 72 cents if $50 million in bonds were approved, $1.27 for $75 million in bonds and $1.82 for $100 million.

The district is estimating that the infrastructure needs of the existing schools, not including the expansion, could cost anywhere from $39.4 million to $43.4 million, according to Clint Selle, an architect with Bray Architects. About $8 million of those infrastructure needs fall in the immediate category and another $16 million are needs that could emerge as a priority in the next few years.

Pulaski is looking at an expansion of Hillcrest that could almost double the size of the building. The expanded areas would house classrooms for kindergarten and second grade, a commons area, gymnasium, music and art classrooms, administrative offices and more. Hillcrest’s expansion could cost the district up to $27.7 million, which would be cheaper than building a new school, estimated to cost close to $38 million.

“It would provide us a challenge if we were to build a new school in the Hillcrest area, taking and demolitioning that building and putting something in the same place,” Space said. “We have had those conversations.”

A similar expansion is being eyed for Sunnyside, as well, with classrooms for kindergarten and first grades on the upper floor, the main offices and a new cafeteria. The expansion is estimated to cost as much as $24.3 million.

Other, smaller expansions are also being considered for the Lannoye, Fairview and Glenbrook elementary schools, ranging from $1 million to $7 million.

Pulaski High School could expand to include a new pool and athletic facilities on the northeast corner of the building, including an indoor practice facility for the sports programs. The high school could expand on the south end, too, with more technology education facilities, and there are also plans to provide more than 200 additional parking spaces. All of these projects are expected to cost as much as $45.7 million.

If a pool is built at the high school, the existing pool at Pulaski Community Middle School would be removed and turned into technology education classrooms for those students. That could cost the district as much as $3.1 million.

At all of the schools, plans are in the works to redesign classrooms for the modern era, moving away from the rows of desks concept to something more interactive.

Space noted that the information and input received from the community will be posted on the district’s website, www.pulaskischools.org, with a question-and-answer format to help inform residents.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com