SDR board receives construction update, lockdown drill report

The School District of Rhinelander’s board of education received an update on fall school violence and lockdown drills during its Dec. 15 meeting.

Board president Ron Counter reported on the school safety grant, saying lockdown drills had been completed at all schools. Pelican Elementary had their drill Dec. 10. Central Elementary completed their drill Sept. 22, Crescent Elementary Dec. 9, Northwoods Community Elementary Oct. 28, James Williams Middle School Dec. 9 and Rhinelander High School on Oct. 3. He said each school announced their drills in advance and all procedures were followed as directed. Counter stated school reports indicated all drills were successful. 

After the drills, principals held debriefing meetings with staff to address any questions or concerns. Counter said a second lockdown drill is scheduled for the spring of 2026. Lockdown and violence procedures for the school district are developed with the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office and are reported to the Department of Justice School Safety Grant Office as required, he said.

Construction

The board was updated on the progress of construction. The middle school construction should be done by March. There will also be a ribbon cutting ceremony for the middle school, directly before the April school board meeting. At that time the community will be able to tour the new construction.

As far as the high school construction, he said, the auto classroom and the construction lab were close to being completed. The plan was to be using those spaces starting in second semester of this school year. This work was about all that could be completed until the end of the school year. At that time, construction crews will be able to access the rest of the areas that are to be remodeled. Those areas include the welding lab, the woods lab and fab lab. The ribbon cutting for the high school work will be in September 2026, at the start of the new school year.

Bob Thom reported approximately $18 million of the $26 million dollar budget had been spent thus far for these construction projects. The projects, he said, are more than halfway done, so the remainder of the budget will be used up after the school year was complete. Everything seemed to be on budget, he said. 

Project SEARCH

Rod Olson appeared at the meeting to give his update on Project SEARCH, an endeavor that helps students with special needs gain skills and confidence with the hopes of them finding a job that suits each of their unique abilities and skillsets. 

Olson said there are eight students in the class at this time, making their way through the nine month internship program. He said the project was off to a great year, and was the biggest class yet. Students come from Rhinelander, Lakeland, Tomahawk and one from Antigo.

He said the program consists of three 10-week rotations through various departments throughout the hospital. The second rotation will start Jan. 5, and several new departments were being added this year. The project is gaining good traction in the hospital, he said.

Of particular note was that two students were already slated to start an externship on Jan. 5 and 12, meaning they will be taking those students off campus to the Aspirus YMCA, where two rotations have been created for students. This is unusual, he said, and normally not something that happens until the third rotation of the program. However, these particular students had shown great progress and independence.  He said job offers had been extended to a few students as well.

He invited the board to participate in a tour on Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. This would allow the board to tour the intern rotations to learn more about how the students are being trained and to learn more about Project SEARCH. He also invited the board to attend graduation for the Project SEARCH students to fill the audience for those students.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].