Green Bay School Board votes to keep district headquarters open as well as KJ Academy

GREEN BAY — The Green Bay School Board voted Monday to keep the district's downtown headquarters open, along with the Katherine Johnson Academy of Enriched Virtual Learning.

A community task force in May recommended closing the district office building, 200 S. Broadway, as well as 11 schools. However, the district estimated earlier in November that it would cost more than $26 million to close and relocate the office.

Closing the office building, which is home to 242 district employees and top administrators, is widely supported by the community with 78% in favor, according to a school district survey.

Board President Laura McCoy said that when the community took the survey last spring, it did not have the district's cost estimate for consideration.

The district estimates it would cost between $20 million and $26 million to renovate a different location, like West High School, to accommodate the district leadership, operations department and school board. But that's not everything housed downtown. There are also an automobile shop, mechanical workspace, wood shop and areas for electrical and plumbing work. Constructing space for those maintenance spaces would cost $1 million.

Relocating the technology department and the internet fiber would cost between $430,000 and $1.5 million. The district hasn't gotten quotes on the costs of moving companies to relocate furniture and office items, but District Chief Operations Officer Josh Patchak estimated it would take dozens of semitrucks.

In total, the district calculated the move would cost almost $30 million. It estimates it could sell the property for $2.9 million.

Board member Andrew Becker, the most vocal about closing the DOB and relocating it, was the only member who voted against keeping the building open and encouraged other board members to do the same.

"It's not because I think the answer is carving up West High School and spending millions of dollars to put huge chunks of the office building in there," he said. "... However, I am concerned that this doesn't reflect listening to the community that overwhelmingly spoke up that they want this office closed."

More on closures: When will the Green Bay School Board decide the fate of the remaining schools recommended to close?

The original recommendation was to move part of the district headquarters into West High High School or a school that closes.

Board member Laura Laitinen-Warren said for the price, closing the DOB doesn't make sense. However, she'd like to see what could be done in future strategic planning to decentralize the office.

"Even though (the public) didn't have access to the data, it was like an environmental scan," Laitinen-Warren said. "There's a clear feeling about the DOB."

Board votes to keep Katherine Johnson Academy open

At the last meeting, the district presented the board with three options for the district's online school, the Katherine Johnson Academy:

• Maintain the current operations and expand instruction to eighth grade;

• Reduce the grades to six through eight;

• Close the school and no longer offer online schooling for grades kindergarten through eight.

On Monday night, the board decided to keep KJ Academy open and expand it to eighth grade. It unanimously recognized the school as an important option for students and encouraged the district to find ways to strengthen it.

Superintendent Claude Tiller said the goal is to expand KJ Academy so that it's "viable" and the district won't have to come back to the board about the school in the future. It currently has 47 students with an annual operating cost of $950,000, according to a memo from district administrators.

The plan to potentially close KJ Academy was presented at the Nov. 13 board meeting, where seven people spoke in support of keeping it open, including parents and teachers. Another three people submitted written testimonials online.

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

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay School Board votes to keep DOB and KJ Academy open