GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The future of the headquarters for the Green Bay Area Public School District is expected to be put to a vote tonight.
The school board has been looking at the cost of relocating district office operations as it tries to cut costs amid a looming budget deficit.
A community taskforce recommended closing the 95-year-old district office building on Broadway in spring.
However, school board members sounded reluctant to do that when the price of relocating operations was revealed at the board’s last meeting. District administrators have estimated it would cost between $20 million and $26 million.
The community taskforce that recommended closing the building in spring didn’t have that estimated cost at the time.
Neither did the public when a survey found about 78% of people supported relocating district office operations.
The district pays about $147,000 a year in utilities for the building.
It’s estimated selling the building would fetch about $2.9 million.
Combine those minimal savings with the high price of relocating, and most board members have expressed a desire to move on from the idea of closing the building.
“The resolution, in my view, would be to remove it from consideration as part of the master facilities plan, and therefore the district is relieved of the duty to explore alternatives for this building,” said James Lyerly, a school board member, during the board’s November 13 meeting.
Others have said the idea is worth exploring more.
“I think there is. People are very nervous about change that a motion…if we vote to kill the concept of closing DOB, that does something different than if we just say, ‘yup this isn’t the time,” said Andrew Becker, a school board member, during the board’s November 13 meeting.
The school board will also vote tonight on a resolution to seek approval from the state to start school a few days early in 2024. That would allow the district to close schools when the NFL draft is being held at Lambeau Field in April 24-26 2025, eliminating safety and traffic concerns for schools those days.
