The new weight room is already being used, crews are digging the orchestra pit, Dumpsters are filled with old lighting fixtures and, oh yes, the stadium is nearly ready to welcome the Hawks football and soccer teams for the 2026 season.
Those are just some of the updates underway at Shawano Community High School.
“Pretty much every square foot of the high school is being touched at some point,” Superintendent Kurt Krizan said during a tour in late June.
Updates include work on the ceilings, lighting, HVAC systems painted walls, new additions, the auditorium and remodeled spaces, as well as the parking lot and athletic complex.
The commons has been turned into a warehouse-type atmosphere and is used as a staging area for the construction crews.
“We’ve been running about 120 workers on site every day,” said Sean Duncanson, senior project manager for Hoffman Planning, Design and Construction.
Work is on schedule and on budget, he said. There have been a few supply issues, but the company and school district have worked through them, substituting products when necessary. Those issues are few, as supplies were ordered far enough in advance to ensure they would be here when needed.
“Every time I come in, there’s a lot of updates, a lot has happened,” Krizan said.
The chairs, stage, control room and everything else from the auditorium have been removed. The new orchestra pit is being dug.
“They went down 10-12 feet and are now framing up the walls,” Krizan said.
The old equipment, chairs and other parts of the auditorium have exceeded their life cycle.
“We’ve been scrapping what we can, recycling what we can as well,” the superintendent said.
The family and consumer education rooms are nearing completion.
In addition to the standard classroom, there is the kitchen that features six work stations for students a teacher’s station.
“It has a full camera system in it, where they can demonstrate,” Krizan said. “It will project on the TVs out to the kids.”
There is also a commercial oven and refrigerator.
“A lot of thought went in here,” Krizan said. “Our teacher can teach six classes over a two-day time, and she’s full.”
There are 150-180 students enrolled each semester.
The weight room and expanded fitness area fill the space formerly occupied by Shawano School District offices. Summer school classes used the space already.
“Kids started in here on June 8 and have been using it ever since,” Krizan said. “The response from the kids has been great. They love working out in here.”
Parents who had to drop their children off for summer school faced challenges when entering the school grounds, as the reconstruction of entrances and driveways is in a constant state of flux, Duncanson said.
Work is done on the new entrance to the school, with access from County Road B between Union and Evergreen streets.
Then there is the crown jewel – the football stadium and athletic complex.
“The field is down. The base layer of the track is down,” Krizan said. “The yard lines on the field came on the turf, but the numbers, the hash marks, the letters in the end zone, the Hawk logo all got cut in and sewed in.”
Duncanson said there are six secure storage areas underneath the grandstand, five for sports teams and one for maintenance.
“We had to move the whole thing (football field), because there wasn’t a track here,” he said.
The drainage system underneath allows the field to be used without having to wait days for the field to dry.
“As hard as it rained (June 24), they could have played on it last night,” Duncanson said. “I walked it this morning, and there wasn’t even a drop of water anywhere. That’s how they’re designed.”
While most of the work from the $51.2 million referendum is focused on SCHS this summer, there are some more projects taking place at other schools.
Krizan said new playground equipment is being put in place at Hillcrest Primary School, while mechanical work is slated for Olga Brener Intermediate School. Both schools’ work will take place after summer school ends in July.
An open house for the athletic fields will be held in August, and an open house for the school will be held in early September.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
An average of 120 workers are on site every day at Shawano Community High School. Crews are touching nearly every square foot of the building as well work in the parking lot and athletic complex. (Greg Mellis | NEW Media)
Shawano School District Superintendent Kurt Krizan reads through some paperwork for the new commercial oven installed in the new family and consumer education working classroom. (Kevin Passon | NEW Media)
Progress on the concession stand near the stadium moves along. Nearby, the ticket booth is also nearing completion. All work at the high school is expected to be ready when classes resume in the fall. (Kevin Passon | NEW Media)
