See what upgrades suburban Milwaukee school districts have done this summer

Summer is often when school districts take on their larger facility projects, which can include upgrades to athletic facilities or maintenance for older school buildings, for example. Such projects are usually funded through facility referendums, capital project funds or operating budgets.

Here are examples of recently completed and ongoing projects going on in suburban Milwaukee school districts.

Elmbrook School District

The district has been working on several large facility projects this summer.

They include:

• Brookfield East High School pool and pool locker room renovations. The pool will receive updated finishes and HVAC ductwork, and will be regrouted, have drains replaced and new epoxy flooring installed. There will also be structural repairs on the pool deck and walls' underside. The pool lockers were to be gutted and remodeled, and walls removed to allow for underground plumbing and the installation of new walls, lockers, showers and bathroom fixtures. A unisex family Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bathroom, group and individual showers were reconfigured. Cost: $2 million

• Brookfield East High School robotics and automation space renovations. The work involves renovating the school's automotive and small engine classroom spaces and will provide a dedicated space for the school's robotics team. It will also create two indoor parking spaces for the school's plow and facility equipment. The project is expected to be completed in December. Cost: $1.6 million

• Burleigh Elementary School library renovations to create a new layout and add new furniture. Cost: $891,000

• Brookfield Central High School auto shop renovations, including adding air conditioning to the auto shop and wood shop, modifying ductwork to allow clearance for auto lifts, replacing light fixtures, refreshing walls and flooring and installing new garage doors with windows for natural light. Cost: $668,000

• Wisconsin Hills Middle School restoration of all six tennis courts, which are 30 years old. Two of the courts will be made into multiuse tennis and pickleball courts. Cost: $605,000

• Swanson Elementary School playground equipment replacement. Cost: $100,000

• Brookfield Elementary School playground equipment replacement. Cost: $50,000

Except for the Brookfield East High School robotics and automation space renovations, the other projects are expected to be completed before the start of the school year and are funded by the district's annual operating expenses and district reserves, according to district communications specialist Eric Hagen.

"Elmbrook has a 10-year Capital Planning strategy that has funded $54M in projects since 2013 without going to referendum, a feat rare for school districts," Hagen said in an email.

Fox Point-Bayside School District

A groundbreaking ceremony in July kicked off the construction projects approved in April 2022 as part of a $58.5 million facilities referendum. The funds will go toward building a new Bayside Middle School and renovating Stormonth Elementary School. Once the new middle school is built, the old Bayside Middle School will be torn down.

The district said the projects are needed because both buildings are aging, and feedback from a fall 2021 community survey indicated support for replacing the middle school and renovating Stormonth Elementary School.

The cost of building the new middle school is $42.325 million, while the cost of renovating Stormonth Elementary School is $16.175 million.

Greendale School District

The district has projects updating Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility at Greendale Middle School, addressing air quality and temperature control at College Park Elementary School and an equipment addition to Greendale Middle School's woodshop to "provide access to additional curricular programming," said district communications coordinator Kitty Goyette.

One-time stimulus ESSER allocations of $450,000 will cover the ADA accessibility project at Greendale Middle School and the air quality and temperature control project at College Park Elementary School.

The remaining $200,000 needed to cover the cost of the projects will come from annual capital project funds the Greendale School Board approved during the annual budget process. Those funds will cover the cost of the equipment addition to the middle school's woodshop.

Kettle Moraine School District

The district is renovating Kettle Moraine High School's main stadium and tennis courts, as the main stadium was built in the early 1980s and was "beginning to fail structurally." The tennis courts were also built in the 1980s "and were becoming unsafe and nearly unplayable due to a failing structural base and years of use," according to an email from district communications coordinator Sara Otto.

The new stadium will maintain seating for 2,500 spectators and will include new bathrooms, team rooms, a concession stand, scoreboard and nine-lane running track. The new tennis complex will have 10 courts that have been designed with post-tensioned concrete that Otto said "will significantly reduce maintenance costs and disruption for student/community use."

The stadium project will cost $7.5 million, and the tennis complex will cost $2.2 million. The projects are being financed through capital improvement funds, fundraising and a budget surplus, Otto said.

"The private fundraising component has engaged the community in several ways, as the district is funding a significant portion of the project through sponsorship agreements, youth invites, community education/club program contributions, and naming rights agreements," Otto noted in an email.

Otto said the tennis courts are finished, and the stadium is scheduled for completion on Sept. 1.

Muskego-Norway School District

After voters passed a $44.6 million referendum in April 2022, a STEAM and health science addition is being built at Muskego High School as well as a new gym at Lakeview Elementary School, according to district communications coordinator Alyssa Meyer.

"Some elements of the project will be completed for the 2023-24 school year, while most will be completed during the summer of 2024," Meyer said about the timeline for the referendum projects.

Construction started on some of the projects in March, and an official groundbreaking for the referendum projects took place in June.

The district is also working on the construction of new restrooms at Bay Lane Elementary School, renovating Lake Denoon Middle School's administrative office and installing turf on the Muskego High School varsity baseball field and new fencing at softball fields. These projects are being funded by the district's capital projects fund at a cost of $750,000. Separately, the Muskego-Norway School Board approved the use of $1 million in operating funds to renovate and expand Muskego High School's band and choir rooms, Meyer said.

Nicolet Union High School District

The first phase of facility projects funded by a $77.4 million facilities referendum has been taking place this summer, according to district superintendent Greg Kabara.

That first phase includes 14 tennis courts, a multipurpose stadium with a turf football field, a new track, new entryway and new concession stand. On the west side of the school is a new soccer stadium with a synthetic turf field; it has a 1,000-seat capacity.

"We are able to bring all of our sports and athletics back on campus, including the new WIAA sport of lacrosse," Kabara said.

Kabara said the new facilities would allow for hosting of WIAA tournaments, and the turf fields and tennis courts will be able to be used by physical education classes at the school.

There are also projects taking place inside of the building, including a new "innovation arts wing" that includes art, engineering, technical fields, culinary arts and photography' most of it will be completed by this fall. Also this fall, a new performing arts wing will open that includes a dance studio, new scene shop, new green room for the theater, new band room and recording studio, an updated digital keyboarding classroom and updated orchestra and choir rooms. In addition, the district and high school offices will be updated, Kabara said.

In addition to the athletic facilities, the renovation and relocation of the career, visual arts and technical education classrooms are scheduled to be completed before the start of the school year Sept. 5. The renovation and expansion of the fabrication, robotics and technology labs, music and performing arts spaces are in progress and are scheduled for completion during the first semester, Kabara said.

During the 2023-24 school year and into next summer, the math, social studies and English classrooms will be renovated. Next summer, all of the science labs and physical education spaces will be renovated, Kabara said.

Oconomowoc Area School District

The district has several capital projects in the works that are funded by the district's capital projects fund. One of those projects is a bathroom remodel and Americans with Disabilities Act renovations at Oconomowoc High School costing $123,500. Another includes replacement of the main entrance doors and window wall at Oconomowoc High School, costing $102,000. Oconomowoc High School's field house synthetic floor was renovated, costing $90,500. Other projects include a bathroom remodel involving paint, sink and partition replacements at Park Lawn Elementary costing $72,500 and asbestos abatement, carpet, flooring and tile replacement at Greenland Elementary and Oconomowoc High School costing $60,000.

The district is in the planning stages of projects voters approved in April as part of a two-question referendum. Voters approved the first question that asked for $38.65 million to replace Oconomowoc High School's HVAC system and oldest roof sections, replace Ixonia Elementary School's oldest roof sections and gym floor and add more classrooms to Ixonia Elementary. Voters rejected the second question, which asked for $36.8 million to renovate the music and arts areas and add additional cafeteria space and physical education spaces at Oconomowoc High School.

Pewaukee School District

The district took on three large projects this summer: upgrading the Pewaukee High School varsity softball diamond at a cost of $965,000; replacement of playground equipment at Pewaukee Lake Elementary School, which cost $150,000; and refinishing Pewaukee Lake's gym, which cost about $48,100, according to an email from Julie Toole, Pewaukee School District executive assistant to the superintendent and school board.

The high school varsity softball diamond and the Pewaukee Lake Elementary gym refinishing projects are being funded through the district's capital projects funds, which support items identified in the district's long-range capital improvements plan, Toole said.

Funding for the Pewaukee Lake Elementary playground replacement is coming from the school district PTO, according to John Gahan, district assistant superintendent and chief financial officer. He said the group's initial contribution from 2022-23 school year fundraising was $75,000. Fundraising for the 2023-24 fiscal year "is anticipated to cover a majority of the costs" and is a two-year project. Gahan also said the final cost is expected to be less than the $150,000 estimated for the project.

Richmond School District (K-8)

The district spent $1.047 million on projects this summer, which included replacing HVAC equipment and adding seven new indoor air-quality sensors. Other projects included replacing lockers, classroom cabinets, stair treads, WiFi access points, phones and paging system, according to district superintendent Jeanne Siegenthaler. About $500,000 of the funds came from COVID relief funding, and the rest came from the district's operating budget, Siegenthaler said.

Shorewood School District

This summer, the district finished the last of $65 million worth of facility referendum projects approved by voters in April 2019.

"Due to school closure during the pandemic, we were actually able to complete some of the work early," said Heather Heaviland, Shorewood School District director of business services. "The rest was substantially complete as of early summer."

The referendum featured two questions. The first covered $65 million for facility improvements. The second was for $275,000 per year to fund ongoing districtwide maintenance costs, maintain the spaces included in the $65 million worth of projects and ongoing annual costs of roof maintenance, asphalt and masonry repairs and HVAC maintenance.

Swallow School District (K-8)

The district has two main capital improvement projects ongoing this summer: replacing two outdated HVAC units at a cost of $136,600 and replacing old windows and a few doors on the south side of the school building at a cost of $103,500.

Replacing the old HVAC units with more efficient ones should result in cost savings, according to a email from district superintendent Jill Ries. Because the new HVAC units are on backorder, the district is projecting the project won't be completed until September.

Replacing the windows will also increase energy efficiency, Ries noted.

Both capital projects will be paid for by the district's capital improvements budget.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee area school districts working on building upgrades