This petition requests the Wausau Board of Education (hereafter “the Board”) agendize district restructuring and halt any implementation of the current plan to restructure the Wausau School District. It further requests the Board authorize an advisory referendum on district restructuring and make a decision based on the will of the community rather than the ambitions of a superintendent and a few board members. 

 

Background 

On February 13, 2023, the Board passed a motion authorizing the restructuring of grades 5-12 in the Wausau School District.  Implied in this motion is that five (5) elementary schools will also be closed. The motion passed on a 7-2 vote.

The board members who voted YES to restructure the district are: 

James Bouche

Lance Trollop

Lee Webster 

Jon Creisher

Joanna Reyes 

Karen Vandenburg

Cody Nikolai

The board members who voted NO to restructure the district are:

Pat McKee 

Cory Sillars

The restructure will mean that grades 5-7 will be at the current Horace Mann and John Muir middle schools; grades 8-9 at the current Wausau East campus; and grades 10-12 at the current Wausau West campus resulting in a single high school for the Wausau School District. 

The elementary plan includes the closure of five elementary schools despite the fact that not even one year ago (April 2022), the district promised voters as part of the $119 million referendum that no schools would close. The five schools proposed to close include: Franklin or Hawthorne Hills, Grant, Hewitt-Texas, Lincoln, and Rib Mountain.

It is unclear whether the district will reallocate funding from the successful $119 million referendum to now fund construction and other costs associated with the district restructure. 

Combining schools means decreased opportunities for students:  fewer leadership opportunities, fewer theater and choir opportunities, fewer athletic opportunities, and more. A mega high school will result in graduating classes of 600-700 students and deprive students of the ability to create meaningful relationships. Rather than better supporting families, this district restructure plan will add burden to families who will now be forced to travel much further away from their neighborhood schools. In some cases, families may have students in each of the four schools (K-4, 5-7, 8-9 and 10-12) at the same time, causing distress and hardship. 

Transportation for students under this plan is not yet clear or certain. District administration indicated 5th graders may have to ride Metro with transfers, and transportation needs across the district will increase dramatically. Both First Student and Metro Ride have been facing staff shortages now and there is no guarantee the increased bus staffing needs will be met with the proposed restructure. 

The manner in which this plan was passed is deeply problematic. District administration cited outdated and biased surveys and distributed vague communications to parents. Administration did not engage a neutral third-party consultant that specializes in restructuring of large school districts. District administration presented “draft” measurable outcomes without data to support the proposed outcomes. A detailed transit study was not conducted, nor was any data gathered or presented on the potential disparate impact of closing proposed schools on certain minority and/or socioeconomic groups. These numerous procedural errors and lack of transparency further render the proposed plans dubious, at best, and more likely, illegitimate. 

Changes of this magnitude should not be rushed and should have community support.  Reasonable district restructure understandably may need to occur after a transparent, fully- informed and community-engaged process; sweeping changes that affect every single family in the Wausau School District in this expedited, speculative and misleading manner are not acceptable. 

This petition requests the Board agendize the district restructure, vote to pause any steps to implement the current plans, and proceed with an advisory referendum that asks the following question:

 Should the Wausau School District restructure the entire district, moving grades 5-7 to the current Horace Mann and John Muir middle schools, grades 8-9 to the current Wausau East campus, grades 10-12 to the current Wausau West campus, and close five (5) elementary schools? 

This petition further asks the Board to honor the results of any advisory referendum.

For more information, please review the following materials: 

Jayshi, D. (2023, Feb. 9). Exclusive: Wausau School District violated open meetings laws during restructuring discussion. Wausau Pilot & Review. https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/02/09/exclusive-wausau-school-district-violated-wisconsin-open-meetings-law-during-restructuring-discussion/?fbclid=IwAR0KJQS__jI4QEOb7C54FXUX_daS82lA5JjrZKKVKtD4sRnsBW6PFL4cqLY 

Jayshi, D. (2023, Feb. 14). Wausau School Board passes restructuring, shifting sharply from approved  April 2022 referendum. Wausau Pilot & Review. https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/02/14/wausau-school-board-passes-restructuring-shifting-sharply-from-approved-april-2022-referendum/?fbclid=IwAR1LAXpM4k_2w0Li1qsVUjh8DbPZZBzZVavzyutKv5Lp4nSk-qsOWOCBPSA

Rasmussen, L.  (2023, Feb. 15). Letter to the editor. Wausau Pilot & Review. https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/02/15/your-letters-wausau-city-council-alder-blasts-school-board-calls-for-advisory-referendum/?fbclid=IwAR1Azf77rI1a1nQ_Vg4bGmyFnzbo3799WthxtqQySkMcvj2wQFrDt_Xu5nc 

Siewert, S. & Jayshi, D. (2023, Feb. 1). Questions swirl over Wausau School District restructuring, from busing to timing to board member attitudes. Wausau Pilot & Review. https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/02/01/questions-swirl-over-wausau-school-district-restructuring-from-busing-to-timing-to-board-member-attitudes/?fbclid=IwAR2eTi3W7Yj68DOHUCw__v7exKH7H9Im0CmCTymOzavgFbR_EkNpeNECwgw 

Siewert, S. & Jayshi, D. (2023, Feb. 16).  City alder calls for advisory referendum on Wausau School District restructuring plan. Wausau Pilot & Review. https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/02/16/city-alder-calls-for-advisory-referendum-on-wausau-school-district-restructuring-plan/?fbclid=IwAR0m3eZ1axVUCmwBd0D-xZEm3Y_OPwD0nd6wHh1VhMVh8GH0EvJYd-DXCwU

 

You may also e-mail your concerns directly to the Board at: toboard@wausauschools.org