Manitowoc holds off on school consolidation; District building could get the ax

A costly problem at the Manitowoc Public School District leads to a crucial decision that the board made on Thursday.

• Manitowoc schools face a $160-million cost in school wide repairs.
• The board decided to get more public input before consolidating any schools.
• Superintendent Jim Feil says he is looking into what a sale of the district building could mean.

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)

On Thursday night, the Manitowoc school board decided not to consolidate two schools for now.

Superintendent Jim Feil says this could push the consolidation back a full year.

"We backed it up so it could be up to a $3 million loss of savings,” Feil said.

But even when facing a $160-million cost in district-wide school repairs, it is a sacrifice that he understands.

"Time is money,” Feil said. “But on the other hand, we do want everybody to feel informed in terms of what we're doing."

Feil says the board will take some time to gather more information from parents and community members.

To save in the meantime, the board decided to have Feil look into the district building itself.

"Jeez, do we really need this facility?” Feil said. “So, it wouldn't be to repurpose this, it would be to move us out and sell it."

Feil says the property is valuable but he does not yet have information on how much it would be worth in a sale. He says this sale would not solve the whole problem.

"What it really comes down to is that we know our facilities, we know what it costs to operate, we know we don't need as many,” Feil said. “Some things seem pretty straightforward."

Brenda Raatz and her granddaughters, Emery and Jayla, fear that their local elementary would be closed.

"She just finished Riverview,” Brenda said of Emery. “I think it's a nice school, there's a nice park there."

"I know some of my friends go there and I don't know where they would go,” Jayla said. “Because I don't think some would come back."

Feil does not know when he will have a recommendation on the district building to the board. He did say that relocating the whole district staff could be a hefty cost.