Left, one area home already owned by the school district. (stevespoint.com)

by Brandi Makuski

The Stevens Point Public School District has come under fire recently for the decision to build a new house for student use.

In an effort to expand the Life Skills Center (LSC), which currently serves 10 students- and has involved 330 since beginning in 2000, the district wants to build a new 3,000 square foot duplex to support the program, at a cost of $400,000.

District officials say the center would be located next to SPASH, and the funds would be reimbursed to the district by Medicaid.

“This is crazy, this is not a good idea,” said Reid Rocheleau, the only resident to address the school board on the topic at the December meeting.

“You guys own properties around the city that could be used for this, this is a waste of time, of money and of resources.”

School board member Kim Shirek also questioned the need to build a new structure.

“It just seems such a waste for us to build if we’ve already got properties and homes that we own,” said Shirek.

Weninger said the district currently owned one structure on Hoover Avenue, but transporting students to that site “was not realistic”.

According to property tax records, the district also owns another home on Second Street N., which Weninger said is already rented.

“That home has lead paint and is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant,” Weninger said in a phone interview on Friday.

Weninger added it would cost more to restore and renovate the Second St. N property to meet program needs, as well as safety and ADA standards, than it would to build a new home.

The LSC works with cognitive and learning disabled students to improve daily living skills like cooking, home finances and cleaning. It currently operates out of an apartment close to the school.

Superintendent Attila Weninger said the program needs to expand so students can learn in an environment that meets ADA standards.

The topic will come before the school board again at it’s January meeting.