Red Granite Charter School opening in Wausau shifts from Monk Gardens to Hewitt-Texas

Damakant Jayshi

Wausau’s new nature-focused public charter school will operate for the first two years from Hewitt-Texas Elementary School, a change from plans approved earlier.

Co-founders of Red Granite Charter School, Dr. Meghan Hughes and Chamomile Nusz, told an Education/Operations Committee of the board that after two months of site work at Monk Botanical Gardens, they realized that a change would be needed. In December, the WSB approved the charter school’s request to reside at Monk Botanical Gardens.

Approval from the city of Wausau to use the 29-acre park premises as a home to the charter school is not expected to come through until mid-May, officials said. That made opening on Sept. 1 impossible. Hughes said the approval process from the city is lengthy because some buildings would require modification.

A two-year stay at Hewitt-Texas, the original venue slated for the new school, will allow time to secure a long-term home.

A budget shortfall is also complicating matters. The original $2 million budget has swelled to between $3 and $5 million, and though the charter school co-founders are confident they will raise the funds, doing so will take time. Wausau School District officials announced in December that charter school received $1.9 million in federal grant funding. Monk Botanical Gardens has not been ruled out as a permanent venue, but officials are also looking at other options.

Red Granite was set to operate out of Hewitt-Texas, one of the elementary schools initially marked for closure as part of the district’s restructuring plan. But after the Wausau School Board reversed its decision on those plans, the schools’ closure was halted. That meant the entirety of Hewitt-Texas was not available to house RGCS.

For 2024-25 school year, Red Granite will run grades PreK – second. The current enrollment capacity is 85%, with all the 24 spots in the pre-K to first grade already filled, said Nusz. Of the 24 spots in second grade, 10 students have been enrolled. The school officials will hold a lottery for the remaining spots on March 5, Dr. Hughes said.

Red Granite will expand through grade six from 2025-26 and ultimately, the school will be open to grades PreK through eight.

Red Granite Charter School, which draws inspiration from the Public Waldorf educational philosophy, will be the second Public Waldorf-inspired charter school in Wisconsin, according to the WSD. The school is a tuition-free public school, open to anyone from any district.