Wausau School Board Education/Operations Committee meeting. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau School Board voted unanimously to open up a formal discussion around possible restructuring at the secondary level and consolidation of their 13 elementary schools.
Monday’s vote followed a presentation from Superintendent Keith Hilts, who noted that both parents and district staff see the same potential benefits in the move such as a better student experience and a more streamlined work environment for staff.
Board President Jim Bouche says the first part is what he’s most concerned about, and where he sees the most benefit in the proposal. “My focus has always been on the students- the triple-A students; academics, arts, and athletics. The bottom line is, we want to give them as many opportunities as possible.”
Board member Karen Vandenberg said she was surprised to learn that some Wausau businesses have passed up on opportunities to work with the district on programs that could prepare students for careers following high school because of the district’s current East and West set up because of the complications of offering a program at two campuses. “To hear that from employers ‘this is why we haven’t been able to move forward’ with some really exciting things that Wausau should be able to provide. That to me [would] benefit everyone.”
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Others noted that enrollment trends and an overall decline in enrollment have forced the conversation. Some also suggested that the move could leave the district with space to offer childcare services to staff, which could help ease staffing issues. Other benefits could include allowing staff to work out of one building instead of splitting them up among multiple sites. That not only proves to be inconvenient for the instructor but could mean students don’t have access to their teacher when they need them. Board member Pat McKee said all of those positives sound good, but the hard part will be implementing them without any negative side effects.
“Bringing a level of specificity to all of those benefits and making sure that we, collectively, are signing off on that- that is going to be the hard stuff. That will ultimately determine whether this thing is going to fly,” said McKee.
The community will have a chance to learn more about the proposal during a public input session Wednesday evening at Wausau West High School. A second will be held at Wausau East on December 7th. Both sessions will begin at 5 PM. The district has also launched a special section on consolidation on its website and produced two videos that are available on YouTube.
It’s important to note that no formal plan exists at this time, and any action on the issue would have to be approved by the Board. Hilts says at this point the earliest a vote could be taken on that is in the winter of 2023, If that happens implementation would not happen until the 2024-’25 academic year.
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