Community members come out in force opposing Green Bay Area Public School District plan to close schools
GREEN BAY ― Green Bay's community turned out in force at Washington Middle School Wednesday evening, with over 50 families and community members pleading with the Green Bay school board to not close their schools.
The Hispanic community, families from Wequiock and parents from Leonardo da Vinci had the most amount of speakers.
They criticized the way the Green Bay School District developed its plan to close 11 schools. Parents and community members repeatedly said the board and district did not take diverse communities into consideration and that the plan doesn't make sense financially.
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Community members also complained there was a lack of transparency and communication with how the plan, called Schema 12, was developed.
Members of the Hispanic community criticized an "afterthought" approach to providing materials in Spanish and a lack of translators at previous community engagement sessions.
About 20 people spoke from the Hispanic community, many from the Northeast Wisconsin Latino Education Task Force or NEWLET. NEWLET is a grassroots organization that formed in response to the district's lack of representation on its own task force for developing recommendations on closing schools.
Over 40 community members stood in solidarity with speakers from the Hispanic community and about 20 supporters each stood with speakers from Wequiock and Leonardo da Vinci. The public forum ran for three hours and community members spoke the entire time.
Speakers had the opportunity to talk for three minutes to board members. Board members did not respond.
Here's what they had to say:
Steph Guzman says if the board doesn't change course, the Hispanic community will have to run for their seats.
Steph Guzman, who went to Washington Middle School and is a part of NEWLET, told the board the public forum was not equitable and not the setting to engage families of color.
"If this right here is a signal of where we're going with this (plan), you should be alarmed," she said. "There are parents here who won't speak today because they do not feel like this was the venue for them to do so. I want to make sure that it is noted that just because many parents who came and did not speak, it does not mean they had nothing to say."
Guzman stood in the middle of the auditorium of her old school, talking to the seven board members who were seated on the stage. Washington's slated to close under the current plan, despite its auditorium being completely renovated in 2018.
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"I am glad that you get to be here in this beautiful facility that you see here today, but I want it forever, not just now," she said.
Guzman also criticized the district's recommendation to hire a firm to complete an equity analysis, saying that the community knows more about what boundaries should be.
If the board doesn't start considering what it's doing, she said, "we will soon have to run for your positions."
Kateesha Mitchell is a Washington parent worried about not having a neighborhood school.
Kateesha Mitchell, who is a Black woman and a Washington Middle School parent, demanded that the board take pause. No votes should be taken until all stakeholders are well-informed and their concerns addressed, she said.
She is worried about students not having a neighborhood school within walking distance and how that will impact low attendance rates in the Washington area. For the 2021-22 school year, more than 45% of students at Washington were considered chronically absent, according to the Department of Public Instruction.
"As a parent, I am disappointed and extremely concerned about the fact that I, along with many parents, feel like the district's done an absolutely terrible job informing parents and other stakeholders of these public forums and other meetings, concerning the school closures," she said.
Mitchell found out about Wednesday's public forum from a fellow community member. She's heard "crickets."
"That is not OK," she said.
Iliana Herrera-Flores says the public forum was 'very intimidating,' no wonder parents might not want to speak.
Iliana Herrera-Flores, a member of NEWLET, said she understood why some parents might not want to speak at Wednesday's public forum.
"This is very intimidating," she said. "Holy cow, I'm in front of a whole audience just to give you my opinion?"
One of Herrera-Flores' main complaints was a lack of information translated into Spanish. She said the translators felt like an afterthought.
"Nobody said anything. How are we supposed to know what they look like?" she said. "It's not like stamped on their face or anything."
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She said watching the board's meetings and the process has been questionable.
At Monday's board meeting, the board spent half an hour debating what to call dogs used in school settings, about the same amount of time they spent talking about the plans to close schools.
"Watching your guys' board meetings has been very questionable now that 'curriculum dogs' are a go, not therapy dogs," she said. "... Whatever we're asking for is not unreasonable."
Leah Weakley says Wequiock Elementary could support growth on the east side, if marketed correctly.
Leah Weakley, a Wequiock parent, said the school's environmental programming isn't properly marketed to families.
"This district has fallen short on marketing the specialty schools to the community, especially Wequiock," she said.
She's concerned that closing Wequiock will leave overcrowded schools on Green Bay's east side as the Red Smith neighborhood expands.
Leonardo da Vinci Principal Tammy VanDyke questions financials of closing the school.
Tammy VanDyke, the principal at Leonardo da Vinci School for Gifted Learners, said she doesn't see the educational benefits of moving the school to Webster Elementary, as is recommended.
"We chose to be a part of downtown Green Bay so our students can take advantage of learning opportunities," she said. "So students of all socioeconomic backgrounds to get to school easier."
She also said it doesn't make sense as a taxpayer.
The costs to fix Leonardo da Vinci's highest priority maintenance needs are significantly lower than those needed at Webster, according to a report by ATSR, an architecture firm hired by the district. Webster has $1.6 million in high priority maintenance costs whereas Leonardo da Vinci has $3,000.
Danielle DuClos is a Report for America corps member who covers K-12 education for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at dduclos@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @danielle_duclos. You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Community comes out in force opposing plan to close Green Bay schools
