Over the course of seven stakeholder listening sessions, our district met with administrators, school board members, teachers, staff, high school students, and community members to identify the great things happening at Wadena-Deer Creek (WDC) and the top challenges facing our schools. To help facilitate the process, our district hired ICS, a leading facilities and construction management consultant with extensive experience helping districts across Minnesota prepare their schools for the future.

A comprehensive facilities assessment was performed by ICS to examine the integrity of our buildings, including the infrastructure and systems within the building, building envelope, outbuildings, and grounds.

The assessment results were carefully considered by district leaders and used to develop recommended investments. These recommendations (linked below) are not necessarily reflective of the final plan – the final plan approved by the school board can be found here.

An educational adequacy assessment was completed, which reviewed the physical layout of our facilities and compared them to the Minnesota Department of Education’s recommended guidelines to identify where the district lacks the space to accommodate the needs of students. With input and feedback from administrators, the findings identified improvements to better serve the needs of students today and in the future.

A demographic study reviewed historical enrollment and projected future enrollment to help district leaders determine whether our schools are “right sized” for our current and future student and staff population.

Financial advisors helped review the district’s financial health and consider all available funding options to make new investments in the long-term success of our schools.

In November 2023, WDC proposed a two-question referendum to voters to provide the funding support needed to address the challenges facing our district. Question One sought to increase the district’s operating levy by $790 per pupil, while Question Two sought to invest $17.745 million for additions and renovations at our schools. Voters rejected both questions.