Green Bay School Board votes to close Wequiock Elementary. This is its final school year.
GREEN BAY — The Green Bay School Board unanimously voted Monday to close Wequiock Elementary at the end of this school year.
It's the first school the board has voted to close as the Green Bay School District reconfigures its facilities as part of its facilities master plan. Ten other schools were recommended to close by a community task force in May.
"This is a painful vote. We are heading to making other votes like this," Board President Laura McCoy said.
Students at Wequiock will move to Red Smith K-8, which is about 4 miles south.
Superintendent Claude Tiller said the district hasn't thought about what will happen with the Wequiock property, and no decisions have been made.
More: Here's what's next with plans to close 11 schools in the Green Bay School District
Board Vice President James Lyerly said he wants to bring a resolution dictating when the district needs to decide what to do with closed buildings.
"We do need to take some level of action to make sure that we don't end up in a situation where we're paying utilities and potentially maintaining a building that is not being used," he said.
Wequiock serves grades 4K to five and is one of the district's smallest schools with 116 students last year, according to the Department of Public Instruction's enrollment data. The district predicts its enrollment will drop to 107 students this school year. About 89% of the school's students are white, 7% Hispanic and about 3% are two or more races.
Red Smith had 828 students last year. Based on last year's enrollment numbers, combining the two schools would result in average class sizes of 15 students for 4K and between 20 and 24 students for grades K-5, according to the district.
Red Smith would have about 1,000 students if the board approves all the closures and consolidations under the current recommendations.
Closing Wequiock would save the district an estimated $884,000 a year, according to a board memo from Tiller:
$126,000 in salaries for two classroom positions (through attrition not layoffs),
$310,000 in salaries for seven other positions,
$187,000 in benefits,
$22,000 in utilities and cleaning,
$239,000 in overhead costs like technology, maintenance and software licenses.
In the next 10 years, Wequiock would need a new roof, HVAC system and windows, which was factored into the annual overhead cost savings.
When positions are eliminated, the district's usual process is to fill other open positions with internal candidates rather than hiring new staff, according to the district's chief operating officer, Josh Patchak.
There are currently two bus routes for Wequiock students; the routes would be transferred to Red Smith with no changes to transportation costs, according to Tiller's memo.
Wequiock is also home to the Children's Center for Environmental Science, which incorporates an environmental focus into daily instruction. Students have access to multiple labs and an aquaponics system. They also learn about recycling, composting, raising chickens and environmental stewardship.
The program would be moved to Red Smith in the 2024-25 school year, including Wequiock's greenhouse, chicken coop and other outdoor structures, at a one-time cost of about $60,000.
The district has made agreements with the city of Green Bay to allow Red Smith students to use Red Smith park for the environmental program.
Green Bay School Board approves 8% raises for teachers, administrators and other staff
The board also approved 8% base wage increases for educators, paraprofessionals, trades staff, administrators and other staff.
Employee salaries and benefits make up about 61% of the district's budget, according to the district's 2023-2024 preliminary budget book. In June, the district projected a balanced preliminary budget of $321 million.
However, with an 8% salary increase, the district will face a $14 million budget deficit by next year and $20 million by the 2025-26 school year, according to the June preliminary budget presentation.
The district is consolidating and closing schools to reduce operational costs by 10%. The district's facilities task force presented recommendations to close 11 schools and the downtown District Office Building, saving the district an estimated $593 million in operating costs over 10 years.
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Board moves forward with boundary advisory committee charter
The next step of the facilities master planning process is for the board to hire a consulting firm to analyze the equity of the closure and consolidation recommendations and help develop boundaries. The board also will assemble a community advisory committee to give input on school boundaries.
In response to backlash over a lack of diversity on the facilities task force, the board passed a new policy in June dictating how future task forces and advisory committees are formed. Part of that new policy requires the board to create a charter designating the committee's responsibilities and qualifications for membership, among other things.
The district is expected to review finalist presentations for the consulting firm in September, and the chosen firm will give input on the charter before it's approved by the board.
Lyerly said he anticipates a vote on the advisory committee charter in October with applications opening after the vote.
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: Green Bay School Board closes Wequiock Elementary for 2024-25
