Proposed change isn't elementary
Whitnall district considers regrouping younger students
Greenfield — Major changes could be afoot for elementary school families in the Whitnall School District.
District administrators are considering using Hales Corners Elementary School only for students in 4-year-old kindergarten through second grade and Edgerton Elementary School for students in third through fifth grade.
The district has generated the proposal as a means to save money and balance the enrollment at the two schools. By restructuring the elementary schools, officials say they could cut four full-time teachers to save about $280,000 and would save more money by consolidating services.
Enough time to study?
School Board members and district administrators admitted it will not be an easy decision. Several board members said they had not made up their minds and were looking to be swayed in either direction.
The board is scheduled to vote on the proposal Feb. 22, but several parents attending Monday's School Board meeting said a vote then would be rushed and that more study and parent input is needed.
However, the principals at Hales Corners and Edgerton said they would need as much time as possible to begin preparing for the change if the board decided to do it, meaning a sooner-than-later vote would be helpful.
Used elsewhere with success
This model is in place at other school districts in Wisconsin. In telephone surveys conducted by Whitnall, officials there reported success, said Sally Habanek, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.
Matt Karshna, Whitnall's director of building and grounds, worked in the St. Francis School District while it transitioned to the separate elementary schools.
He said support was mixed when St. Francis decided to do it, and there were logistical problems in transitioning, but that problems were eventually ironed out.
The change would help ease class sizes at Edgerton, where first- and fourth-grade classes have 28 kids, though board member Rick Kollauf said reduced class sizes may only be temporary.
School officials said they may cut two full-time teachers regardless of whether the proposal goes through, but could definitely cut four under the new arrangement.
Not immediately popular
But among the roughly 75 people attending Monday's School Board meeting, most spoke out against the proposal.
Many parents said it would create hardships for families with two elementary-age children and wondered about the logistics of transitioning to the new model.
They expressed concern about the effect on busing. Specifically, the idea of creating a transportation "hub," where some of the elementary kids riding the bus would get dropped off at one of the schools and shuttled to the other, troubled them.
Administrators did not know the cost of such a busing change.
Combining parent-teaching organizations and the loss of a program in which fifth-graders mentor first-graders were also oft-mentioned during a nearly 2 1/2 -hour discussion between parents, School Board members and district administrators.
A recycled idea
The Whitnall School District proposed the same changes about five years ago, leading some to wonder why the board was taking it up again.
But board members said things are much different now than they were then, pointing to the state's fiscal crisis that has trickled down to school districts.
Ongoing budget stress
This proposal may only be the beginning of possible budget cuts, as the district could face a deficit between $1 million to $3 million.
Whitnall lost about $1.3 million in state aid last year and officials are unsure how much they will get from the state for the 2010-11 school year.
"We're looking for creative solutions, and that will mean change," Board President Bill Osterndorf said.
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