By Brian L. Gray

The loss of the Great Plains Academy, also known as the former junior high, could mean a loss for Mandan athletics.

Talks have begun on whether the school district should keep the gym portion of the former junior high in its possession when the facility is sold, or to sell the building in its entirety.

The Mandan School Board discussed this topic at its meeting on Monday, Dec. 21.

Activities director Lorell Jungling said before the construction of the Mandan Middle School in 2008, practices and games were held in just about every elementary school in town, including the Great Plains Academy and Christ the King. Space is also rented twice a week at the Youth Correctional Center. “That’s how we did business two years ago,” he said. “It was not easy for coaches to get practice times.”

During the peak of the winter season, when all practices and games must be held indoors, Jungling said he has so many teams to book, that at one point 41 different teams had to be scheduled in one morning. Parents often had to look at the practice schedules daily because the locations changed so often.

When the school district takes over the Community Center in July, plans at this time are to keep the gym intact, but during the building’s reconstruction period it will be unavailable. Jungling said it would aid the athletic department if the former junior high gym is available during that time. “When the Community Center is open for use, the GPA won’t be as critical. But until that time, we still need the GPA for our students,” he said.

School Board President Kirsten Baesler asked if keeping the gym made sense financially. “For me, the question is, what number of times do we use that single facility, and how much it costs us, and how much would it cost per use, since there is no academic purpose for that facility anymore?” Baesler said.

Baesler asked if the district continued to own the gym after it is sold, how it would be able to calculate such figures. Architect Al Fitterer told the school board that a separate metering system could be installed on gas and water, and that whoever purchases the old junior high would probably upgrade its gas and water services.

Mandan Parks Director Cole Higlin told the board that space for athletics is limited now, and it will only become more troublesome when the old junior high and Community Center are no longer available.

He said from the park district’s point of view, recreational sports will take a hit because the district will not be able to afford a gymnasium for another three to five years.

Higlin asked that the school board keep the park district attuned to any decisions it makes, and brought up the possibility of a partnership between the two entities to operate the gym in the future.

Higlin said both the park and school districts have a good track record of co-managing facilities. One example he cited was the All Seasons Arena, which is located in the middle of the high school campus and managed by the park district.

Higlin then asked the board if it was more financially feasible to continue maintaining the former junior high gym, which was built in 1974, or add a third gym to the middle school.

Baesler said she is inclined to go in the direction of letting activities continue in the gym until the sale of the old junior high takes place.

“And then we could see about the chance of making an agreement with the buyers to allow the school to use it until construction of the Community Center is complete, and then turn the entire portion over to that buyer,” Baesler said.

No action was taken at the meeting. Superintendent Wilfred Volesky said with the sale of the junior high coming up soon, the board must make a decision within three months. “If there truly is a purpose to the gym at the GPA, we need to look at that and come to a decision,” he said.