A new Wausau School District plan would close four elementary schools

And it could be decided this month yet

Grant Elementary is one of four elementary schools that would close under a plan the Wausau School Board is considering. Three of them would be repurposed and one could become a 4K center.

The Wausau School District on Monday night heard the details of a plan to close four elementary schools. The plan would decommission three schools and repurpose a fourth one.

And the board could act on that plan as soon as this month.

Here are the details of the plan, why the district is planning to make this change, how it came about and what it will mean for students, parents, and the district and its finances.

The plan

The district hired a consultant to look at its elementary school footprint and come up with a plan to consolidate its building footprint. Why? Because enrollments have been declining as birth rates have plummeted and that isn’t expected to change in the near future.

Right now, 1,100 seats in the district’s elementary schools are open - and they project that number to increase to 1,300 by 2027. And that would mean a $2-3 million operating deficit.

This came about after the board shut down a district plan to completely restructure the Wausau School District in a massive consolidation that sparked a lot of community backlash.

The consultant, Mark Roffers, formed a task force made up of parents of students, residents without children in the district, and teachers and staff members. They met for months, and recently narrowed down the best option for students. One commentator during the board meeting, who didn’t identify herself before speaking, said there was an “aha!” moment in September when the idea really came together.

The plan, in a nutshell:

Close four of the district’s 13 elementary schools:

• The district would close Hewitt-Texas with its students going to Riverview Elementary.

• It would close Hawthorne Hills with 2/3 of students going to John Marshall and 1/3 going to Franklin Elementary.

• Lincoln Elementary students would go GD Jones, and Lincoln would become the 4K academy for the West side.

• Grant Elementary School would close and its students would move to Jefferson Elementary.

• Riverview Elementary would be the 4K center for the east side (and still serve elementary school children)

Why is the Wausau School Board considering the closures? And when?