Courtesy of CCISD Rendering of the proposed expansion of the Copper Country ISD building on Hecla Street, in Hancock.

HANCOCK – The Copper Country Intermediate School District has announced plans to request a transformative $45 million bond proposal aimed at modernizing educational spaces and significantly expand services for students and families throughout Houghton, Keweenaw and Baraga counties. The bond proposal will appear on the Aug. 4, 2025 ballot.

A Tuesday release from the CCISD says this milestone initiative represents the first infrastructure millage proposal from the CCISD.

If the proposal is approved, the first year’s projected 1.15 millage would repay the bonds that would be issued to fund the construction, renovation, and significant expansion of facilities to better support growing demands Career & Technical Education (CTE), Special Education, Early Childhood Education, and professional development spaces. The average millage projected over the life of the bonds is one mill per year.

“Our students and educators would benefit from spaces that reflect the quality and future-oriented vision of our educations programs,” CCISD Superintendent Jim Rautiola said. “Right now, many of our facilities date back to the 1950s and simply can’t accommodate the evolving educational needs of today or tomorrow.”

The bond proposal, is about ensuring every learner in our community has access to the resources and environments necessary to succeed, Rautiola said.

Key components of the project would include:

• Expansion and enhancement of the Hecla Street campus in Hancock, creating a regional hub for CTE, Special Education, and professional development use for students, educators and the community:

• Transformation of the current CTE building in Downtown Hancock into a dedicated, modern Early Childhood Education Centure, featuring tailored classrooms and secure indoor/outdoor play areas;

• Development of a new, strategically located facility in Baraga County, expanding critical educational access for students and families closer to home.

“This proposal reflects the hopes we all share for our kids and our region,” Rautiola said. “It’s not just about buildings, it’s about creating opportunities. We would be building spaces where students can discover their passions, where educators can collaborate and grow, and where families know their children are supported in every step of their learning journey.”

Rautiola said construction and renovations would begin following voter approval and the completion of the final engineering studies. The project is anticipated to take three to four years to complete.

The CCISD is committed to involving local contractors to the greatest extent possible, investing in regional businesses and the local workforce.

The buildings the CCISD currently occupy and use are old, outdated, and have become too small. The Hecla Street building, for example, was built as a Catholic school in the early 1950s. Due to lack of space, the CCISD currently leases offices in the Skyline Commons, formerly the Jutila Center, in Hancock.

The CTE program is currently housed in the former Lindrus Auto Sales and Service building, on Quincy Street, which is also more than 60 years old, and is now too small.

Rautiola addressed the Adams Township School Board last Tuesday, saying there are 15 public schools under the CCISD, umbrella, comprising 96 school board members, approximately 6,500 students, about 1,000 educational staff across all districts.

The ISD covers 2,448 square miles, from the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, to Elm River Township, then east to Arvon Township, in Baraga Township.

In that area, the CCISD serves more than 900 children with special needs, Rautiola said. There are currently 191 ISD employees. The CCISD operates 13 CTE progams, where there are 391 students enrolled in class, in addition to supporting 312 early learners between the ages of 0 and five years.

Overall, the CCISD serves students aged 0 to 26 years.

“We could go on and on,” Rautiola told the Adams Township School Board, “But for REMC1, Special Education, General Education, Behavior, Mental Health, business services, work-base learning, GSRP, sitting on advisory committees for the Michigan Dept. of Education, working with the legislative bodies as a liaison between local schools and whatnot – we’re involved in a lot of conversations around a lot of tables.”