The Franklin Public Schools (FPS) district leadership and school board have been honored for over 25 years to run the Community Education & Recreation Department (Rec) through the district.  Our Rec Department's goal is to offer opportunities for infants through seniors that involve multiple activities and socialization opportunities.  Our biggest challenge in providing these types of programs is lack of space.   Currently, the Rec Department manages waitlists and reservations for popular offerings.  In early 2023, the Board and District Leadership worked to approve a Community & Recreation building, including outdoor green space/fields, to be built adjacent to the current ECC District Office. 

Rec Department funds circulate through Fund 80 (not our general FPS operating budget).  Over the last 15 years, the Rec Department has saved approximately $2.3 million dollars to expand facilities for more offerings, which would allow more citizens access to activities that benefit them physically, socially, and emotionally.  In addition to the financial support from Fund 80, a tax levy was approved for October 2023 and October 2024 as a 2-year impact on tax dollars paid to the city from members of the community that reside within FPS boundaries.  

  • LIMITED SEATS: Currently, the Rec Department is securing limited enrollment seats in local businesses to provide many of our youth and senior programs that we don't have adequate space for within the district.  While we fully value the partnerships with these organizations, these limited spots leave us with long wait lists for community members.  In addition, most of our current classes held within district facilities also have waiting lists.  Building our own center will alleviate many enrollment issues and provide more programming opportunities.

 

  • INDOOR SPACE:  We are unable to provide adequate programming during the school day as our schools are utilized for learning and our district safety plans limit outside visitors during school hours.  The expanded facility will allow for more residents to participate in our most popular classes and class sizes would be able to be increased. In addition, programming would be allowed during the day for all citizens and not constricted by school times. In 2018, we conducted a community wide needs assessment where the community identified programs and preferences around classes and when they would be offered. This facility and program expansion would meet those needs, including the ability to offer senior programming during weekdays, which was identified as a top rated request.   

 

  • OUTDOOR SPACE: Currently, FHS Athletics and Rec Department activities share the same green space. In addition, we provide green space and gym usage for practices for Franklin area youth offerings that feed into our school programs. These activities are expanding each year which impacts the amount of space we have left to offer programming for the community.  The addition of outdoor field and activity spaces will allow us to expand and fulfill wait lists while offering new opportunities that we haven't had the space for.  

 

The following is a video we shared with the public in early 2023 to share the overall scope and details about this project moving forward

 

 

The Community & Education Recreation Department in Franklin resides under the operation of Franklin Public Schools, and therefore so does managing the funds for recreation (Fund 80).  Funding for recreation and activities does not have the same requirements as does general education, nor is it subject to revenue limits.  In the State of Wisconsin, local school boards are given authority to levy into recreation as needed and/or deemed necessary to support recreation programming.  To support this new facility and green space, we are using an estimated cost of $5 to $6 million, based on estimates from six construction firms.  Over the last 15 years, the Community Education & Recreation Department has saved $2.3 million specifically for an expansion project such as this.  Therefore, between $2.7 and $3.7 million would need to be levied between the 2023 and 2024 tax years.