Growing larger by a school site

The Village of Saukville is poised to become about 10 acres larger.

The Village Board on Tuesday was expected to approve the annexation of land for a new Saukville Elementary School to be built starting in spring on 10 acres of primarily farmland directly west of Bucktrout Street on the village’s west side. The land is being annexed from the Town of Saukville.

Key to the agreement that paved the way for the annexation is the village’s desire and the Port Washington-Saukville School District’s plan to limit traffic on Bucktrout Street.

Although the school at 2803 Orchard Ln. will be accessible via Bucktrout Street, the primary access road will be Orchard Lane, which extends from the school site north to Hillcrest Road. 

Orchard Lane, a gravel town road, will be improved and maintained by the district. It will remain in the town, which is an advantage to the district because it will not have to be improved to village standards that call for the construction of sidewalks, Supt. Michael McMahon said. Instead, the district is planning to create a paved pedestrian path along the road to ensure children can safely walk to school.

“Our engineers have worked to create a parent-friendly primary access on Orchard Lane north to Hillcrest and limit traffic on Bucktrout,” McMahon said.

The School District purchased the 10 acres for the school from the Elda V. Bunk estate in July for $552,000. The land was part of a larger parcel, and the 90 acres of primarily farmland that was divided from it were purchased by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District for conservation purposes.

That means that the school will be flanked to the west by a nature conservancy that remains in the town and by a residential area in the village to the east. 

In October, the plans for the school received conceptual approval from the village Plan Commission, which on Tuesday was scheduled to review a site plan and plan of operation for the school.

The 91,000-square-foot building will appear as a one-story school from the front, east-facing side but have an exposed lower level on most of the west side that will provide views from classrooms of the largely undeveloped remainder of the school grounds and the 90-acre nature area bordering it on three sides.

The school will have a “two-story look from the back” with a “full exposure of windows looking out to the conservancy,” Mike McGraw, a partner and director of construction administration for Groth Design Group, the architectural firm designing the school, told the Plan Commission in October

“The views are going to be spectacular,” he said. 

While traffic congestion during drop-off and pickup times is a problem at the current Saukville Elementary School on Mill Street, the plan for the new school seeks to avoid that with dedicated bus access on the north end of the property.

Parents would access the property via a long drive extending from the intersection of Orchard Lane and Bucktrout Street that would loop around a parking lot in front of the school and is designed to keep traffic off nearby residential streets.

“The idea is that the main bus traffic would come in and out on Orchard,” McGraw said, adding that the pickup and drop-off area is designed to keep traffic on the school property.

“We’re doing everything in our power to keep it (traffic) out of the neighborhood,” he said.

The building, in addition to being designed for academic use, features a layout intended to encourage community use of the school and grounds outside of the school day.

The cafeteria, kitchen and gym — facilities that could be used by outside groups — will be in the north end of the building, while classrooms and offices that are not intended for community use will be isolated in the central and southern end of the facility. 

“Security was very much a hot topic in our conversations,” McGraw said. “We’re looking to use the north side (of the school) as our public space — a gym use, community use-type area — and be able to secure the rest of the building.”

The gym will feature a regulation-size basketball court with telescoping, motorized bleachers so it can be used by club, high school and adult teams.

McMahon said the school is being designed to meet not just the needs of the School District.

“We truly see this as a community space,” he said. “We continually hear from groups like Port Hoops and others about the need for gym space, and we believe the new Saukville Elementary School can help meet those needs.” 

Saukville Elementary School has a current enrollment of about 300 students. The new school is designed to accommodate a maximum of 425 students.

The new school will feature pods of three classrooms per grade level, with “breakout spaces” that can be used for collaborative activities or converted into classrooms to accommodate a fourth section of each grade level, McMahon said.

The school project is on schedule, he said this week, with construction to begin in spring and be completed by summer 2027.

A new Saukville Elementary School was the focus of a $59.4 million referendum approved by voters in April, which also provides funding for maintenance projects at the district’s other four schools.

The replacement of the current school at 333 N. Mill St. is a priority for the district because of its age, maintenance needs, design and location in a floodplain on a parcel that includes wetlands.

The school was built in 1955 and last underwent a major remodeling in 1989.Beyond its age, its space limitations and open concept create a noisy, distracting environment that is being blamed for compromising academic achievement and an exodus of students from the district through open enrollment. 

The new school, McMahon said, will be a “gem” for the district and Village of Saukville.

“I think this is a really exciting opportunity for Saukville that will showcase the community,” he said. “I would say it will be a destination elementary school, and with open enrollment it will keep students in our district and attract others from outside of it.”