MANITOWOC, Wis. (WFRV) – Big changes are coming to Manitowoc as the public school district looks for ways to right-size amid declining student enrollment.
Community members gathered at the district office on Tuesday night to learn more about a committee recommendation designed to help the district operate more efficiently despite its declining enrollment.
The committee recommendation calls for the district to close two of its elementary schools and re-purpose its middle schools. One of the middle schools would be for fifth and sixth graders and the other would be for seventh and eighth graders.
Fox Cities couple faces Hurricane Melissa on anniversary trip in Jamaica
The committee recommendation didn’t specify which schools would close. It’s up to district staff to determine that based on a number of factors, including the age of the school, the amount of deferred maintenance, and whether that building could be used for another purpose in the future, should it close.
Manitowoc Public School District superintendent Lee Thennes said he knows deciding which elementary schools will have to close will be an extremely difficult decision that will likely upset community members.
“We’re all in a community together and we’re a community of learners,” Thennes said. “The last time I checked, over the course of the years, I learned in many different classrooms. It’s been about the teacher in the classroom, not about the brick and the mortar.”
Thennes said that there are about 1200 fewer students in the district now compared to 25 years ago. He said lower birth rates, an aging population in Manitowoc, and open enrollment options for families have all contributed to the district’s declining enrollment.
It’s an issue that has impacted districts across Northeast Wisconsin. The Green Bay Area Public School District and Oshkosh Area School District are other large districts in our area that have had to consolidate schools to compensate for declining enrollment.
Thennes said they’re hopeful they can right-size the district without having to lay off staff, but said he couldn’t make a guarantee on that. Through attrition (retirements, moving districts), he’s hoping staff numbers will align with student numbers even after the changes.
Packers and Sargento host ‘Touchdowns for Hunger’ to collect nonpershiables for local food pantry
The superintendent said they’ll help families who need busing to their new schools.
District staff will now make tweaks to the committee’s original recommendation, including adding the specific schools that will close. They will then present the new recommendation to the Board of Education for approval. Thennes said the goal is to have the recommendation ready to present to the Board of Education in the next few weeks.
He said in an ideal world they’d be able to implement the changes for next school year.
Community members at the meeting said they’re concerned the changes could lead to a mass exodus of families and staff members to other districts.
For more information about the district’s facility consolidation/re-purposing plan, please click here.
