RHS, JWMS referendum construction ahead of schedule and under budget

Nearly $3 million of the School District of Rhinelander’s $26 million bond referendum to upgraded technical education and science classrooms at Rhinelander High School and James Williams Middle School (JWMS) has been spent in as many months.

And that’s money well spent, according to superintendent Eric Burke.

“We’re doing well on our timeline — we’re ahead of schedule and we’re under our budget right now,” Burke said at the June 16 Rhinelander school board meeting.

Last week, Burke told the board, the roof was placed on the high school’s new automotive lab building.

“That’s good, that means soon the concrete can be poured for the flooring in there,” he said.

On the other side of the high school, the walls for the construction lab are almost complete. Soon the joists will be placed and then the roof can be placed there as well.

Over at James Williams Middle School, things are currently being torn down rather than built up, as demolition ramped up last week, removing the front wall and gutting the entire office area.

Over the summer months, the school entrance will be the focus with completion expected by the start of the school year.

“They’re making really good progress, it’s looking great,” Burke said.

The project scope for the high school includes new construction and auto labs, renovations to all technical education classrooms with modernized labs designed for building sciences, CAD/CAM, HVAC, auto, and small-engine repair, and the installation of cutting-edge equipment.

The middle school will receive dedicated and improved spaces for technical education integrated into the broader renovation of family and consumer sciences, art, music, special education and health classrooms. With new, modernized classrooms equipped to cover industrial tech, coding and early fabrication skills, JWMS will provide a technology foundation crucial to building future high school technical education success.

Project work began in March, when crews from Musson Brothers of Rhinelander arrived at RHS and started work on installing new gas and electric services to the tech ed wing of the building. They later poured the footings for the auto lab addition before beginning wall construction.

The project is being funded by a $26 million referendum approved in April 2024 by more than 66 percent of vote. Facilities at both schools are expected to be fully operational by August 2026.

Michael Strasburg may be reached at [email protected].