CADILLAC — Some schools in Northern Michigan are already back in the swing of things, kicking off the new school year.
That includes Manton. There’s lots of excitement in the air about the upcoming year because of the facelift the district is getting thanks to a $7.3 million bond and sinking fund millage passed back in 2023.
Manton Consolidated Schools superintendent Len Morrow said to expect big changes this year.
“It’s a lot of stuff. I’m super excited about it. We’re really excited about [what] it means for our kids. We have a number of things that we were lacking in,” said Morrow.
The most noticeable so far has been the restrooms that were upgraded to be ADA compliant, while also giving students more privacy and staff the ability to supervise better.
“We have a private bathroom that everybody can take care of their needs privately without having gaps in the door or having anxiety of that common space in the bathrooms. So, we’ve eliminated that common space where that often causes problems in a bathroom and just put some eyes on that so that that area can be supervised to make things better,” said Morrow.
They will also be installing vape detectors.
Sophomore Delaney Carstens said she likes the way everything has turned out
“The walls and doors are floor to ceiling. So, you know, you don’t have to like, see who is in a stall because sometimes the stall doors would be shut. But then it was just like a broken door or something. You can see whether the bathrooms are vacant or occupied. And it’s just everyone will be much more aware,” said Carstens.
Big changes are also coming to their band facilities. Morrow said they are building a state-of-the-art band room they hope to have ready by Thanksgiving, if not sooner.
He said a little more than a third of kids participate in band.
“We have great kids. But when you have 95 kids squeezed into a very small area, that can be problematic even with the best of kids,” said Morrow.
Carstens said she’s most excited about that.
“It definitely has the biggest effect on everyone, at least a part of the band,” said Carstens.
Morrow also said construction of a new softball and baseball diamond should be complete by this fall, so it’s ready to play on by next spring.
“It takes a while for that grass to be really mature enough to take the cleats, baseball cleats that kids are playing in and softball cleats,” said Morrow.
Morrow said he’s grateful the community understand the importance of supporting the students,
“Despite the fact that times are tough for families to have a community that stepped up and said our kids really need this, I can’t say enough,” said Morrow.