Oconto Falls school officials set community conversations

Virtual session planned for July 29
By: 
Warren Bluhm
Editor-in-chief

Oconto Falls School District officials hope to hear residents’ perspective on capital improvement projects after a light turnout at the first “community conversations” sessions.

The district held an in-person meeting July 13 and was planning a virtual session July 22, with a second session tentatively planned at 6 p.m. July 29.

Only nine or 10 people had pre-registered for the first meeting as of the school board’s July 12 session, Superintendent Dean Hess told the board.

“Folks are very busy, especially right now in the summer,” Hess said. “With that stated, this is not the only time that they will have to give input.”

Public input is “critical,” however, so Hess encouraged the public to get involved if they can. The board is considering a referendum in April 2022 to seek public approval for building projects. Hess said there’s been some confusion because the district just passed a referendum in April 2021 that covered operational expenses.

The upcoming vote will address the condition of district facilities and is expected to focus largely on Washington Middle School, part of which is more than a century old.

“Every one of the buildings in our district has needs,” Hess said. “They range from things like the safety entrances we have to ensure that we’re aligning physical environment with some of our safety practices … all the way to the middle school and whether or not we are looking at addressing those significant needs with the building that we have or whether we would be looking at actually building a new building.”

To reserve a spot in a community session, call administrative assistant Debbie Woods at 920-848-4471.