April 27, 2023 at 11:18 a.m.
Donation helps spur school district to survey community on technical education
Capital project referendum a possibility
"This isn't the kind of thing that (Swank) has normally been involved with but he sees the value of it, he sees how it can impact the community and he's really getting behind it," Burke said.
This is not the first time Swank has given generously for the betterment of the community.
A $500,000 donation from the Swank family back in 2019 was the springboard for the construction of the 128,000 square foot Hodag Dome. The mult-use indoor facility opened in 2021 and has become the community's centerpiece facility.
Last year, Swank donated 416.3 acres of property in the area known as Heal Creek to the City of Rhinelander for the development of a seasonal recreational trail system.
Burke indicated that information gathering concerning improving the district's technical education offerings has been ongoing for some time and the donation has provided a welcome boost.
A district group has visited eight schools to learn more about equipment and facilities in use elsewhere in the state, he said.
The goal is to provide students with the curriculum, equipment and facilities they need to meet the needs of employers in the technical sector.
A major component of this initiative will be a community survey, Burke noted.
"We're going to ask the board to survey the community, see if they would possibly support a capital project referendum for part of it, all of it, none of it, see what the interest is there," he said.
"The equipment is one piece and the actual facility is another piece and that's where the capital project part of it comes in," he added, noting that such an upgrade would be a "tremendous value" that would "pay off big time for our community down the road."
Board member Mike Roberts agreed the survey is necessary to gauge the community's interest.
"We know we need to do something with tech ed, we need to bring it up to date," he noted. "We need to be able to serve our partners in the community."
"We're not saying we're going to referendum, (the) survey and those meetings will help determine that," he added.
"I'm excited that we have someone that sees the value in it. I think we can build off of that, with or without a referendum," Burke added, noting that the district's technical education instructors are doing the best they can but some of the equipment they are working with is "Korean War old."
"We are currently working on finalizing a plan for facilities and equipment to take to the school board in June," Burke said in response to an email request for additional information on the technical education project. "We will be open to other sponsorship or donation from our partners and/or community members toward the project."
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