After years of discussion, it’s officially the start of a new era at Suttons Bay Public Schools.

The district on Tuesday hosted a “demolition and construction ceremony” to mark the tear down of more than 55,000 square feet of unused space on the north end of campus and the eventual construction of new amenities (and many more unseen upgrades).

It’s the start of large-scale and long-discussed work to “right-size” the district, though Superintendent Casey Petz much prefers the term “modernize.” Regardless, he’s glad to see the day arrive.

“This is what our kids deserve: A modern campus that is uniquely designed to the needs we have right now for our kids,” Petz told The Ticker before the ceremony. “We’re making sure that our facilities are top notch to match what our staff, coaches, mentors, teachers, families, and administration expect when they send a kid to Suttons Bay.”

Though the actual work is now just beginning, it feels like a finish line of sorts due to more than a decade of conversation about what to do with all of the unused space as the district’s enrollment – like those of many other rural districts – continued to shrink. The district has roughly half the students it had just 20 years ago.

“It feels like a weight has been lifted off our collective shoulders,” Petz says. “It’s a really complicated thing for a community to look at, plus you’ve got the sentimental side, and struggling with that for as long as we have has been a tremendous burden on our district financially, emotionally and operationally.”

District voters approved an $18.3 million bond proposal for the work in May of 2024.

The old middle school gym will be demolished, and in its place will be a new “modern, multipurpose” gym. There will also be upgrades, renovations and a relocation of exterior athletic fields, with the addition of a walking track and upgrades to playground space.

Some of the most significant upgrades, however, will be tied to infrastructure, safety and security. Those include a corridor to connect the building and new HVAC equipment. The new energy efficient ulilities dovetail nicely with no longer having to heat/maintain/repair the 70 year old north wing. 

“And in the grand scheme of things, it's maybe not a headline grabber to say we're reducing utility costs, we're reducing energy usage and improving management, we're updating our facility and modernizing it to modern building codes and standards,” Petz says. "But it's getting us more efficient and more suited to what our current needs are. And to me that means more time in the classroom, more money directed to the classroom and less money directed to sunk costs.”

Various preparatory and abatement work began back in January. Among other activities, the school cut up the old school gym and raised about $800 in donations from community members who wanted to take home a piece or two for posterity.

“The sports boosters were the ones that ran it, but we got the sections cut and stacked and then hosted a day where people could come in with their pickup trucks,” Petz says. “And it ended up kind of turning into a Suttons Bay family reunion kind of experience where a lot of people who maybe haven't seen each other in a long time came out.”

All of the upcoming work will occur in phases and is expected to be complete by the spring of 2028.