NEW GLARUS — The New Glarus School District is moving forward with plans to connect the new primary school to the current elementary school near 14th Avenue, and move the current football/soccer field across from the high school, the district announced in a press release Aug. 9.

The original plan was to build the primary school on 45 acres of land the district owns on the west side of the village, but costs came in too high due to unexpected delays and inflation. 

“Fortunately, building the Primary School next to the current Elementary School provides significant cost savings compared to the former building site because the two buildings can share duplicative services, such as the library, cafeteria, office, art, music, and guidance spaces,” District Administrator Jennifer Thayer, Ph.D. wrote in the press release. 

The new plan reduces the primary school’s square footage, while still providing the original number of classrooms and other high quality educational spaces for the youngest learners. Also, by building the new primary school off 14th Avenue, the district avoids the floodplain around the rest of the elementary school and alleviates some traffic congestion on 2nd Street during drop-off and pick-up each day.

Since the new primary school will be built on the current football/soccer field, the district is creating a long-term master plan for the green space across from the high school, which will include a track and football/soccer field. 

“Both a track and regulation size soccer field have been needed improvements because we currently have a large middle school track team that does not have a track to practice on, and our soccer field is not regulation size,” Thayer said. 

As part of the master planning for a new facility, the district engaged staff and community members to create a vision for a long-term plan that includes a versatile outdoor sports and community complex. Due to limited funds, the district plans to break the master plan into phases, and will only be able to construct a basic track/soccer/football field with bleachers, scoreboard, and other items moved from the current site in the short term. As other public and private funds become available, other phases will be added to the complex.

While the planning for the primary school and athletics/activities complex continues, the high school’s technology education addition project is already well underway, as well as the renovations at the high school and elementary school. 

“We look forward to starting the school year in our newly renovated spaces, and for the addition to be completed in October,” Thayer said.

For more information on any of the projects, attend New Glarus School District Board meetings in-person or via Zoom.