Students across the Northwoods are headed back to school this week.
Those in the Three Lakes School District are going back to some changes in place and others in progress.
The district is in the middle of its multi-million-dollar capital improvement projects approved by voters last year.
Three Lakes School District voters approved two capital referendums in 2025 totaling more than $21 million.
One project is focused on upgrades to athletic facilities including track replacement, a concession and bathroom building, and parking lot expansion.
The other is for district-wide improvements to building infrastructure and security as well as adding classrooms and a cafeteria/multipurpose room at Sugar Camp Elementary.
District Administrator Teri Maney says voter support for these capital improvements on top of the operational referendum they need to function was “everything.”
“This was an additional ask, and it was a big ask of $21.6 million,” said Maney. “The community supported us overwhelmingly with positive feedback at a high approval rating and passage rate, and they’re very much excited and behind us in this project.”
Construction started at the end of last March and is in full swing.
Some of the initial work includes the improvements to the athletic fields, kitchen upgrades, hallway work, and additional bathrooms.
Phase one is expected to wrap up in late fall. Then they’ll immediately jump into phase two in areas where students aren’t, like the former elementary office.
Then it will be back to full swing construction once school is out next summer.
“Our goal is to not interrupt instruction in teaching as much as we can during the school year,” said Maney.
Maney says the last major upgrade the district saw was more than 30 years ago.
Three Lakes School District is delaying the start of the school year to September 3rd and the open house isn’t until September 2nd to make sure everything is good to go.
Parking at Three Lakes elementary will be a bit different and so will parking for football games when the parking lot is redone later this month.
Sugar Camp Elementary is the same as the end of last year as construction is still ongoing up front.
Maney asks families to be patient with them as work continues.
“As they say, ‘They are building the plane as it's flying.’ Sometimes I don't feel like it's that dramatic, but you know what? There's changes every day that are happening,” said Maney. “The kids and the staff are safe at all points in time, but it's just not real pretty sometimes.”
All projects are expected to be completed by early 2028.
