ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) — A joint meeting scheduled this week between Ashwaubenon School Board and Village Board officials will hash out whether or not to allow the Ashwaubenon Performing Arts Center to sell alcohol during non-school events. Ashwaubenon Performing Arts Center Director Kate Green says the public has been requesting beer and wine sales for some time.
“Our patrons…they’d arrive and be in the lobby prior to the performance and ask if we had any beer or wine offerings, which we don’t,” Green told WTAQ.
The Ashwaubenon Performing Arts Center is attached to and on the grounds of Ashwaubenon High School. That makes obtaining a liquor license more complicated than it otherwise might be, but it wouldn’t be the first place in the state where liquor is sold on school grounds.
“They found ten other venues in the state that have a similar structure, being connected to a school,” Green said. “Four of those do offer beer and/or wine and one has a full liquor license.”
The school board and village board are expected to approach the issue from two different perspectives.
“The school district is coming at the issue from a student safety perspective,” Green said. “From the village perspective, I think it’s more like ‘what would the permitting look like?’”
The meeting will be held Wednesday at 5pm in the Ashwaubenon High School Auditorium.
