Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com

Published - Friday, October 12, 2007

Hope Lutheran gets new land: Five-year-old Winona school to begin raising money for future home near Lewiston

By Britt Johnsen | Winona Daily News

Hope Lutheran High School’s future is on County Road 25, just outside Lewiston on the way to Rollingstone.

A sign on the side of the road marks the land: “Future Home Of Hope Lutheran High School.”

This summer, a Lewiston couple — Howard and Vickie Luehmann — donated about 10 acres of their land so the school’s growing student body and programs would have room to continue growing. The Luehmanns belong to Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lewiston, which is a part of the same association that founded Hope Lutheran.

What started as an idea is now turning into a concrete plan.

Next week, William Schatte, the school’s administrator, will attend a four-day workshop in St. Louis, Mo., to learn about long-range financial planning. Schatte, who is Hope Lutheran’s first administrator, started Aug. 1.

This fall, he plans to present a strategy for a capital campaign to the school’s board of directors.

He said the school might kick off its capital campaign for the new school as early as Nov. 17, when it hosts its annual auction.

“We’re going to approach this very seriously and deliberately,” he said.

In the next two to three months, the school will draft a more specific plan outlining the details like a timeline and cost for the project. A committee will soon begin meeting to discuss those details and a master plan for the school.

Schatte said he wants space for athletic fields for soccer, softball and baseball, as well as a gymnasium and auditorium.

Hope Lutheran High School opened its doors in 2003 in the basement of St. Martin’s School. It started with a handful of students and has grown to about 40.

There have been many firsts in those five years. First graduation. First play. First prom. First full-time administrator. First foreign exchange students.

It now has a choir director and plans to host its first musical next year. The school has also discussed accreditation.

He said the students aren’t suffering and that the space they’re in will suffice — for now.

“But we’re going to outgrow it soon,” Schatte said.

Contact reporter Britt Johnsen at bjohnsen@winonadailynews.com or (507) 453-3519.