Looking to lay the groundwork for a sustainable future,
Carmen Schools of Science and Technology, a network of public charter schools in Milwaukee, is embarking on a new $55 million school.
The school, to be built at 2005 W. Oklahoma Ave. on Milwaukee's south side, would be the first ground-up project that Carmen has done, according to
Ivan Gamboa, Carmen's board chair, who said the project would be a significant milestone for the organization.
Founded in 2007, Carmen runs three high schools, two middle schools and one elementary school in Milwaukee, but thus far all its locations have been either co-located in Milwaukee Public Schools locations or in renovated schools.
The new school would primarily be used for existing Carmen students, Gamboa said. Detailed plans as to how the new school will fit into Carmen's existing network and which grade levels will move into the school are still preliminary.
With approximately 124,000 square feet of space and capacity for up to 1,100 students, the school will offer state of the art learning and multi-purpose spaces, according to Gamboa. Carmen currently has about 2,100 students enrolled.
"It really will give us the quality space that offers great athletic space, great technical space so that we can pursue different career paths for our students," Gamboa said. "It also can serve as a gathering space for the community."
Plans show a new 70,200-square-foot turf athletic field would also be built on the site, which Gamboa said is an important aspect of the project for particularly Carmen's south side families.
"We know our families have a big connection to soccer, so having a full high school turf field on the site is going to be a great asset for the school and community," he said.
The planned school is a few blocks away from Carmen Southeast, at 2500 W. Oklahoma Ave., where the school is co-located with Casimir Pulaski High School, an MPS school. Carmen leases its space there from MPS. The new school's site is currently occupied by Ascension Wisconsin Medical Arts Pavilion.
"We've been planning the need for a new site for a while, and it's been very difficult to find suitable sites on the south side," Gamboa said. "...We did a lot of research into where the existing student body lives and this site is a really good location for them."
In April, a
resolution was introduced to the MPS Board of Directors to not renew Carmen’s lease at the school as well as Carmen’s space at 1712 S. 32nd St., where Carmen South is co-located with Academia de Lenguaje y Bellas Artes Elementary School.
Carmen will still lease space at these MPS locations until the 2026-'27 school year, and MPS documents say that Carmen has the option to lease space at other MPS schools.
[caption id="attachment_592195" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Carmen South, 1712 S. 32nd St. Image from Google Maps[/caption]
"(The search for a site has) taken a long time, although with the recent turmoil at MPS, we don't have certainty from MPS as to what locations we will have available to us within the MPS network, so we have to bridge all that together to make sure that we have a good plan," Gamboa said.
Carmen's proposal is set to undergo review by Milwaukee's Board of Zoning Appeals next week. Following approval, Gamboa said the organization is planning on moving quickly to purchase the site, finalize plans and begin construction.
In the meantime, Carmen plans on further engaging with its students' families, staff and community to refine its plans. That process is getting started Thursday with a public open house from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at 2997 S. 20th St.
"We're really focused on a sustainable path for the future," Gamboa said. "We have to make sure that we will be around for many years to come and performing at a high level, so right now our main focus is sustainable planning to do that. Overall, we're just very excited about this opportunity."
