Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Facilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Superintendent presents options to keep Wanamingo building; cites $793,000 ballpark saving for full consolidation
Summary
Superintendent Denise Giese outlined three building options in a strategic-planning presentation: full consolidation to Kenyon (Option 1), repurposing Wanamingo as an early-childhood/community-ed hub (Option 2), or exploring a four-day week (Option 3). Board members pressed on costs, busing and space fit.
Superintendent Denise Giese presented a strategic-planning update showing three options for district facilities and enrollment alignment, telling the board that Option 1 (consolidate to a single Kenyon site) would yield a ballpark first‑year savings of $793,000 but would require a multi-step closure and MDE hearings.
Giese said the district’s senior class is 71 and kindergarten is 36, and showed maps indicating classroom fits and restroom availability at the Wanamingo building. She outlined Option 2 as a compromise that would move K–4 to Kenyon while converting Wanamingo into a preschool, community‑education and day‑care hub; she described Option 3 as a possible four‑day week but said it would require a separate, full analysis. “Ballpark option 1 saves us $793,000,” Giese said, and later noted Option 2’s projected savings around $534,000.
Board members asked detailed questions about busing, food service and bathroom code compliance for preschoolers. A public commenter who identifies as the district’s early‑childhood coordinator asked specifically whether preschoolers would be provided transportation and whether Knights Kids before‑and‑after care would be accommodated at Wanamingo. Giese acknowledged substantial unknowns and said she would gather clearer cost and logistical details and bring a running log of community questions back to the board.
Giese described some cost assumptions and uncertainties: a small bus lease could be about $21,000 per year, insurance savings originally estimated at $43,000 were later zeroed out because the board indicated they would not eliminate building maintenance, and utility savings were approximate. She said the district currently has about 625 students and that site‑capacity estimates ranged widely in internal modeling. “I took the entire leadership team. We walked the building. We checked every single room to make sure that I was correct,” she said.
The presentation did not propose immediate closure; instead Giese asked for permission to meet with staff and community stakeholders and said decisions would likely be needed by January if the board wanted to act. The board expressed appreciation for the research and emphasized more stakeholder meetings and financial detail before any formal decision.
