The Manitowoc Public School District could approve an offer for Madison Elementary School tonight.
The Board of Education is set to hold its regular May board meeting tonight at 6:00 p.m. at their district office on Lindbergh Drive, where they will vote on the City of Manitowoc’s offer to buy Madison Elementary School for $1.00.
If approved, the Manitowoc Common Council would then finalize the deal. The school has come under some scrutiny due to the low price tag.
Superintendent Lee Thennes was on WOMT’s Be My Guest program yesterday, where he reiterated that this deal is what’s best for the district, pointing to the history of old buildings staying vacant for years.
“We’re interested in building a thriving Manitowoc, not contributing to its blight,” he noted. “So, we were very concerned about if we were to sell it, the building as is, what would happen to it.”
Thennes also called demolishing the building itself a risk, because they could have to spend close to $2 million to knock it down without a guarantee that it would be developed in the future.
With the city taking ownership of the property, the district would no longer have to pay for building maintenance, and the city would oversee what’s next.
Manitowoc has also given the Manitowoc Public School District property before, including Ron Rubick Field and Bruce Steinbecker Field.
The MPSD school board will also discuss a new position for one of the schools and approve an agreement with UWGB.
