UNION GROVE — Union Grove High School (UGHS) is undergoing a $34.9 million renovation to upgrade safety, accessibility, and infrastructure, with major improvements set for completion by the start of the 2025–26 school year.
With the bathrooms being in rough shape, Superintendent Thomas Johnson said it’s one of the district’s main priorities along with creating two secure entries into the high school on the north and south sides.
“The problem with that is you now don’t know who’s in and out of your building,” Johnson said. “That is a problem and we don’t live in a world where you could have unlocked doors at schools. It’s not something you can do.”
The secure entrances will be a three-door vestibule to make sure that you can secure and check an ID before people enter the building, Johnson said.
Along with the secure entrances, Johnson said contractors are adding a bottom-floor corridor to connect the high school building to the exterior AG building, which stores a greenhouse, two agricultural classrooms, and numerous animals.
Another part of the referendum is adding four science rooms to the second floor, which is currently unfinished after the 1998 expansion. These won’t be complete by Sept. 2.
“My guess is that when they passed the referendum to build the large gymnasiums I think they wanted to do something with it (the unfinished classrooms,)” Johnson said. “And in 1998 they ran out of money, would be my thought.”
Near all bathrooms will be remodeled
Union Grove High School students and personnel can expect a full remodel of most bathrooms this fall. The only two not being remodeled are those near weight room and near the bottom floor gymnasiums because they are in good condition, Johnson said.
“We’re gutting the bathrooms. We are gutting 14 bathrooms. Most of them were not ADA compliant, accessible, so we’re adjusting that so most of the doors are going to be wider,” Johnson said.
The bathroom floors and walls will be tiled too, Johnson said.
Accessways will be added to several classrooms that were previously not ADA accessible.
The building is undergoing significant renovations aimed at improving both energy efficiency and security. One major component of the upgrade involves replacing all the existing windows.
The current windows are outdated single-pane units that were installed decades ago, Johnson said. These windows are highly inefficient at retaining heat or cool air, making it difficult and costly to regulate the building’s internal temperature. To address this, all windows will be upgraded to modern triple-pane units, which are much more effective at insulating the building, Johnson added.
Another focus is security enhancements due to many of the classroom doors currently having glass panels, making them vulnerable and ineffective in emergency situations.
These doors offer little resistance to forced entry and compromise the safety of occupants. As part of the improvements, all classroom doors will be replaced with more secure, solid-core alternatives that can better withstand forced access and support safety protocols, Johnson said.
Phase two of referendum planned for summer 2026
Congested parking and accidents have been a long-term dilemma at Union Grove High School’s along U.S. 45.
The long-term plan, Johnson said, the eastern portion of the high school is to significantly develop and expand 80 additional acres through eminent domain. There’s currently an ongoing lawsuit on the land acquisition.
The plan includes constructing a road that exits onto 58th Street, providing more efficient traffic flows, Johnson said.
Additionally, a new 500 space parking lot is planned to be built. This is part of phase two of the referendum, which is scheduled to begin next summer. This also includes relocating the baseball and softball fields.
Originally Posted on The Racine County Eye: Union Grove HS begins major renovation project
