Damakant Jayshi
A Wausau School Board committee on Monday approved closing four elementary schools but will wait for further input on the fate of three elementary schools and planned early childhood learning centers.
The Education/Operations Committee also approved moving the Montessori Charter School, now housed at Horace Mann, to an elementary school slated for closure.
The committee’s decisions will be considered by a regular board meeting likely next month. Given that there was no dissent from any of the nine members of the board, the decisions of the committee – which has all nine board officials as members – are likely to see final approval.
The Education/Operations Committee approved closing and merging Grant with Thomas Jefferson Elementary, Lincoln into G.D. Jones, Hewitt-Texas into Riverview and Rib Mountain into South Mountain.
But the future of Franklin, Hawthorn Hills and John Marshall elementary schools, as well as the deciding on number of early childhood learning centers, has not yet been set in stone. Some board members wanted to see actual costs before approving the closure or mergers, which meant some actions were taken out of the elementary school assignments proposal that district officials presented on Monday. The rest of the plan was approved by the committee unanimously. The school buildings that will not be used for any future alternative will be sold.
In February, the board approved moving 5th grade students to middle school as part of a controversial Wausau District School restructuring plan that drew strong opposition from more than 2,000 parents and community members.
Montessori to have its own building at Lincoln
On Monday, the committee approved a measure to give Montessori its own building when it moves into Lincoln, a change from plans that were part of a voter-approved referendum. Previously, Montessori was to remain at Horace Mann with an allocation of over $7 million for that purpose.
District officials and board face the immediate challenge of housing 5th grade students from Lincoln since it has now decided the future space for the Montessori.
The discussion over Montessori’s own space has drawn significant discussion. After district officials and a few board members suggested reallocating the Montessori funding (the figure keeps changing with the current estimate at $5.3 million) and $2 million for Grant Elementary to fund two early childhood learning centers – a clear breach of the approved April referendum plans – other board members objected, with one board member terming it “integrity issue.”
Of note, two meeting agendas listed on the district’s page, that of Dec. 20, 2021 and Jan. 17, 2022, appear to be missing. Those agendas contained details of the proposed allocations that were part of the roughly $120 million referendum proposal that the board approved in January 2022. The missing documents are among those that district officials no longer stand by or were not properly noticed, including a Oct. 6, 2022 meeting.
District officials and a few board members have said that giving Montessori its own dedicated building would meet a longstanding request from Montessori Charter officials and parents whose children study there, in addition to eliminating the need to invest $5.3 million for capital improvements upgrades at Horace Mann. Montessori would now require capital improvements amount of $3.6 million at Lincoln.
During public comments, a number of parents and Montessori-related board officials urged the committee to ensure that the location of the Montessori is more suitable for students from both the east and west areas of the district, with some specifically naming the centrally-located Lincoln building. Horace Mann is on the far east side of the city.
Later, during the discussion, board member Cory Sillars asked whether the board was prepared to make a decision on closing the listed elementary schools without any further input from the community.
Superintendent Keith Hilts responded by saying that officials have changed the district’s communications strategy.
“We used to schedule large meetings. We didn’t get a lot of attendance,” Hilts said, adding that district officials have been going to different service groups, PTOs and target groups of 20 to 40 people where the discussions have been “productive.”
