Teutopolis Grade School recently hosted a community listening session to discuss upgrades, additions and future planning. Teutopolis Unit 50 Superintendent Matthew Sturgeon hosted the listening session so the school could hear what the community envisions for the grade school.
The evening began with six breakout groups touring Teutopolis Grade School to observe daily functions and brainstorm improvements for the facility. The tours were led by grade-school staff and St. Francis Perish Foundation Committee Member Chuck Deters.
Following the tours, audience members wrote ideas for improvement on sticky notes, which staff then categorized: accessibility, safety, storage, class sizes/staffing, gym/stage/fine arts area, plumbing/restrooms and miscellaneous – and hung them up on the walls of the gym.
“We’re going to take all of this information, and we’re going to put it into a document – a written document – for the board of education,” said Sturgeon. “So every post-it note will become a bullet point. Every bullet point under the category will be shared with the board. We’re providing them with your feedback, with your perspective.”
Some improvement areas that community members brainstormed included: elevator access, modern-day ADA compliance, appropriate teaching spaces for individual learning and small-group instruction, proper/updated plumbing, student restrooms in the cafeteria and more.
The St. Francis Perish owns the TGS property and building and rents it to the school district. The current contract expires in 2038, and has the opportunity to be extended. Per the agreement, Unit 50 has three primary responsibilities: daily operations, utilities’ management and capital projects – such as roofs and restrooms.
Sturgeon highlighted that several online documents exist for the public on Unit 50’s website, including “Facility Needs & Completed Items (2025),” that lists the previous and future facility needs that the Unit 50 board of education identified.
After the tours and sticky-notes activity, audience members asked Sturgeon questions, one of them being about how additions and re-modeling would work since the perish owns the property.
Sturgeon said it depends on the type of project, who initiated it and what the purpose for it would be. He wasn’t sure what responsibilities the perish would take on, but it does use the space for certain events, such as perish picnics, summer programs, park district activities and more. The building and contract have certain days and times blocked out for the school year.
Another community member asked once renovations begin, where they stopped.
Sturgeon compared the school renovations to house renovations. Once someone renovates the kitchen, they want to upgrade the dining room. Then, they want to re-do the flooring, and so on.
“Once a certain percentage of the facility is touched or renovated, it will be deemed uncompliant with today’s modern code,” said Sturgeon. “Once we hit a certain percentage of how many spaces have we touched or have we renovated, the district may also be obligated to install elevators.”
While he didn’t know what percentage that is, Upchurch – the district’s architect and engineering firm – does.
For example, if the two restrooms in the gym hallway were to be renovated, upgrades would include new water lines, sewer lines and more. If that were to be done, the renovations would have to comply with modern-day ADA standards.
Unit 50 completed two recent projects using only its surplus funds in reserves: the high school cafeteria upgrade during summer 2025 and the current junior high school expansion. Neither project needed bonds or grants, and neither impacted taxpayers.
However, there aren’t enough funds in the district’s surplus to complete all the suggested renovations at the grade school.
“Hypothetically, if multi-millions of dollars are spent by the school district, could you expect the lease agreement to be extended upwards of 30, 40, 50 years? I think that the property owner would be very willing to entertain that type of an extension,” said Sturgeon. “Those conversations are ongoing, but I think there’s great strength within that partnership today.”
The board of education hopes to receive more community feedback, or else the board members will have to make decisions based off of what was heard that night. Everyone is invited to share their thoughts, opinions and ideas on how to improve Teutopolis Grade School.
“All of the information shared tonight … will be shared by our team to the entirety of the board. These conversations will continue as we make decisions and prognostications about how to best continue to serve its community and its students,” said Sturgeon. “Tonight, you helped us to see more clearly – not from my perspective and not from theirs – but from yours. These conversations will continue, and we appreciate your participation and listing, learning, and we hope you can continue to work with us, together, for a brighter tomorrow.”
The Unit 50 board of education is scheduled to meet next on June 15 at 6 p.m.