Green Bay School District recommends removing Leonardo da Vinci from closure plans
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GREEN BAY — The Green Bay School District is working fast to reconfigure its facilities and cut costs before the 2024-25 school year when it will face a projected $6.5 million budget deficit.
An increase in funding under the new state budget helped reduce the district's once-$20-million fiscal cliff, but it still has a structural deficit to tackle.
The district launched a facilities plan to address maintenance needs in its schools and increase efficiencies by consolidating schools that aren't full. Through the plan, the district hopes to reduce the operating budget with fewer staff members and lower building costs.
More: Parents reflect on what makes Wequiock Elementary special on its final first day of school
As part of that plan, a community task force recommended closing 11 schools and modifying about 15 others.
Here's an update on school closings, including the district's recommendation to remove one school from the list:
District backtracks on closing Leonardo da Vinci
The Leonardo da Vinci School for Gifted Learners was originally recommended to close, with students moving to Webster Elementary.
However, after community backlash over the planed closure, the district recommended Monday that the Green Bay School Board not close the school.
A survey of Leonardo da Vinci parents found that 48.5% of respondents were against moving the school to Webster, while 43.7% were in favor. Families appear "unsure" about moving the school, according to the survey report.
"Moving da Vinci to Webster does not create any short- or long-term savings," Superintendent Claude Tiller said Monday.
The district also wants to respect recent investments in schools, Tiller said. Over $10 million has been invested in the Leonardo da Vinci school since 2014, according to the district's fixed assets chart.
The board is expected to vote Sept. 25 on whether to remove Leonardo da Vinci from the closure recommendations.
The district tees up projects for 2024 referendum
To consolidate and reconfigure schools, the district will need a capital referendum in 2024. It has until November to designate an amount and create a project list.
A few known projects include security upgrades at seven schools and building a new west side elementary.
The district told the board Monday that it will soon begin the bid process for an architectural design and engineering firm to build the new school. The design process will be mostly done by April so construction can start shortly after a spring referendum, if it passes.
More: The Green Bay School District needs to reduce staff, but it's still hiring. Here's why
More: What Green Bay school referendum projects are completed or underway?
Another project would move the John Dewey Academy of Learning from its Cherry Street building to West High School on the other side of the Fox River. The downtown district offices might also move to West, and the district has started preliminary designs for both relocations.
What's going on with the closure of Tank Elementary?
In June, the board pumped the brakes on closing Tank Elementary and moving those students to Fort Howard after it became clear enough space didn't exist for all students.
Under the architecture firm ATSR's recommendations, Tank's 114 students would fit into Fort Howard, which has a capacity of 388. But the plans failed to account for Fort Howard's expanded special education programming, which means the school doesn't have enough general education classrooms to house Tank's students.
The district was tasked with exploring whether additional classrooms could be added to Fort Howard.
At Monday's meeting, the district said it would bring a recommendation to the board in October.
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 District recommends Leonardo da Vinci to not close
