District celebrates $7 million project

A chance to celebrate roughly $7 million in improvements to the Cromwell-Wright School brought out students and community members Monday.

Cromwell graduates Tracey Goranson, 62, Pauly Granholm, 65, and the Koivistos - Ken, 77, and Sue, 74 - gathered on the edge of the student body, bright blue skies overhead.

"It's exciting to see the progress," Goranson said.

"It's been a long time coming," Granholm added.

"I've been looking forward to this, to see the expressions of the kids," Ken Koivisto concluded.

Elementary school students debated among themselves if the shovel heads used in the groundbreaking ceremony were made of real gold. Superintendent Nathan Libbon led a cast of students pitching the first dirt into the air, celebrating a project that is expected to be mostly finished by the start of the next school year.

Seventh-grader Jolene Zimmer appreciated the communitywide turnout.

"They're a big help to all of us," Zimmer said. "They help us get a good education and give us a good place to learn."

With 56 percent of the vote, voters in the district approved $6.45 million in improvements during a February 2023 referendum. The district had reserve funding set aside to cover the remainder of costs for expansion of a second regulation-size gymnasium, security improvements throughout the school, and parking lot updates.

It's the first facility investment in the district since 2018, when the district opened a $2.1 million industrial technology facility paid for out of district funds.

Libbon thanked a long list of folks, including the school board, community members, staff, students, and Adolfson & Peterson Construction and Widseth architects and engineers - both outfits from Duluth.

"What a great afternoon this is," Libbon said, the sun reddening his face. "This is a big deal for us."

Afterward, Libbon pointed out the start of demolition to the south gymnasium wall to accommodate expansion. The new gym will include seating for up to 200 people.

"This is going to be a regulation court," he said. "Right now, it's not even close to that size."

The varsity teams will continue to compete in the main gym, he said. The gym expansion is expected to be opened later than the rest of the work, sometime around the Christmas holiday, he said.

Libbon was thrilled by the turnout, saying it was important to have students involved in the ceremony.

"This is very exciting," he said. "I'm so happy for our community, so happy for our school and thrilled for the students who will benefit from this for many years."

Additional improvements include:

• A newly resurfaced parking lot that will add capacity and address deterioration and drainage issues, while also incorporating a new dropoff/pickup cul-de-sac solely for busing.

• Security updates including the creation of a new main entrance for the building, and arming other doors with security alarms that trigger in the main office when a door is ajar.

• Facelifts to the restrooms throughout the school.

The work will be the first substantive change to the existing school building since it was constructed in 1995. Libbon said the changes make the school "future-ready."

"It was important to keep the building up to date," he said. "It's a nice building and we needed to keep it updated and current."