Bonduel High School gets sizable donation of tools

BONDUEL — Students in the technology education program at Bonduel High School will have a shorter wait time to use tools for their work after a donation from Milwaukee Tools.

“They’re all power tools from skill saws to grinders, drills. The wide variety of tools Milwaukee Tools makes, they sent us,” said Travis Schindel, who teaches middle school and high school technology and engineering.

Schindel said he’d heard about Milwaukee sending a donation of tools to another school, so he inquired as to whether Bonduel could also benefit. The answer was a big yes, as Schindel learned two weeks later when a pallet of tools was rolled into the shop.

The total value of the tools is somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000, Schindel said, so getting them for free is quite generous. The tools can be used for assembling wood projects, construction, metal fabrication, welding and engineering research and design.

When the students saw the boxes of tools in the shop, it was like Christmas had come early, according to Schindel.

“The students were jacked right up, and they started tearing stuff apart to see what we got there,” he said. “They were excited, and it just fires them up.”

Schindel added that technology in some the tools allows students to control them through apps on their cellphones. “We’re teaching these students the latest technology with these tools.”

Milwaukee Tools have been a staple at Bonduel for many years, Schindel said, but most of the existing tools were basic items. What came on the pallet will help move the technology education program up a notch or two.

“We’ve always used Milwaukee Tools here, and they’ve always been great,” Schindel said. “When I heard about the opportunity, I thought it would be good for us since we already use Milwaukee Tools.”

News of the tool donation quickly swept through the community after the school district and the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department posted pictures of students with the tools on social media.

“The community is like, ‘Hey, this is awesome. This is what all businesses should be doing — partnering with schools, getting kids excited about the trades careers,’” Schindel said. “There’s such a huge demand for the trades and technical skills. Companies stepping up are going to help drive that interest further.”

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com