Sevastopol Committee Forming to Investigate Building Extra Gym

Sevastopol schools superintendent and boys basketball coach Kyle Luedtke invites district residents to join a committee to investigate construction of a third gymnasium.

The Sevastopol Board of Education approved in February a proposal for a committee to explore what sort of facility the district could or should construct – whether a gym with one full-sized court for practices, one with two courts, a gymnatorium with a stage, or a new competition gym with locker rooms.

“We’re keeping all options on the table at this time,” Luedtke said.

He will contact Bray Architects to see if the firm will help provide options, needs and potential costs. Luedtke said general contractors or designers often help with preliminary work at no cost if there’s a potential for voters to consider a project at a future referendum.

In January, town resident and youth basketball coach Justin Borkovetz told the board he and other community and school supporters see a need for a third gymnasium. He said the Mighty Pioneers’ fifth- and sixth-grade basketball teams, which are not affiliated with the school, sometimes have practices that last until 9 pm and games past 10 pm. 

Demand from school teams’ practices, early in the morning and late after school, as well as school activities and onstage productions, make available court time scarce for school teams as well, Borkovetz said.

“This is definitely driven by community,” Sevastopol Athletic Director Brooke Tanck said. However, the shortage of gym space causes school softball and baseball teams to start late-winter practices with batting-cage time a couple hours after school. It forces teams to practice before school or in the evening all year, and causes scheduling challenges for physical education teachers.

Borkovetz did not speak at the February board meeting, Luedtke said, but a few community members who support the push for a new gym sat in the audience.

Anyone interested in joining the committee can contact Luedtke at school or [email protected].

The district received voter approval in November 2018 to demolish the 1924 and 1946 portions of the school and build new additions for $25.1 million. Greater reconstruction plans, including but not limited to the addition of more gym space, were dropped the winter prior to the successful referendum.

District officials will seek a proposal from the committee, and if feasible, a question for an April 2025 referendum.

After Closed Session

Also this month, the board approved hiring Robert Schartner, a 1990s Sevastopol graduate who has been teaching at Sturgeon Bay, to teach high school English, and approved hiring Chris Moe as district bookkeeper after business manager Karl Volkmann took another job in January.