The Mount Pleasant Community School Board hosted a special session on June 26th to discuss the possibility of acquiring buildings from the former Iowa Wesleyan University campus. The ongoing talks are over the matter of the “central campus” which includes the Howe Student Activity Center and Ruble Arena, the Student Union, Old Main, Pioneer Hall, University Chapel, and the P.E.O Memorial Building.
A central elementary school is in preliminary planning, with many obstacles to jump through. The estimated renovation cost would be 26 million on the low end and 31 million on the high end. This would allow all elementary students in the Mount Pleasant area to attend one combined school, making transportation and food service easier to navigate. The Ruble Arena boasts a large gymnasium, with a media center also on campus, and the district offices could even be on site.
9 months of design and 18 months of construction would mean this project could be completed by summer of 2026.
