MJSD meeting answers additional questions on possible Jefferson Elementary closing
MENASHA - Facing a deficit of $3.5 million for the next school year, the Menasha Joint School District plans to recommend closing Jefferson Elementary school to help address the shortfall.
District superintendent Matthew Zimmerman met with about 60 members of the public Tuesday to provide information and answer questions about the proposed school closing. The meeting also addressed next steps — for students, caregivers, staff and the district.
The meeting was set to last for an hour — but because of community interest, it went for nearly twice that long. In addition to Zimmerman, several members of the school board, administration, Jefferson staff and Butte des Morts Elementary principal Kristi Gonzalez were on hand.
Why would the Menasha Joint School District close a school at all?
The district faces challenges similar to many other school districts statewide: declining enrollment and a lack of funding.
The district faces a $3.5 million deficit in next year's budget, partially due to pandemic-era ESSER funds coming to an end and partially because state aid for next year will fall short of rising costs to the school, Zimmerman said. According to the district, this is the first time MJSD has faced a "substantial" budget deficit in the last decade.
And, over the past 10 years, the district's enrollment has dropped from about 3,700 students to about 3,200, primarily because of an aging population, without much possibility for expansion.
There isn't an "exodus (of school-age families) out of Menasha," said Marci Thiry, MJSD director of special services. Instead, she said, people are living out their lives within the district's boundaries because they love their community and want to stay.
But, since the state gives money to schools based on a district's number of students, the declining enrollment further exacerbates the budget shortfall. Schools still need to hire staff and pay building and service costs, even with a reduced number of students.
The 2022 referendum doesn't help with the situation, either. The money voters approved was for building the new Maplewood school, while the budget shortfall has to do with Menasha schools' operating costs. For school districts, capital and operating costs are two separate funds.
Why Jefferson Elementary? And why now?
Before recommending closing the school, Zimmerman said, the district looked at "all options," including redrawing district boundaries and delaying closing the school for another year. But Zimmerman said that closing Jefferson would save the district the most money and allow the most "efficiency" in the district's spending.
One reason for closing Jefferson is that the school serves only 4K to third grade without being able to expand, whereas other Menasha schools have the space to accommodate more students. Another reason is that Jefferson students move to Buttes des Morts for fourth grade already, meaning an easier transition for Jefferson families.
During the meeting, Zimmerman made clear that the closure has nothing to do with the dedication of Jefferson's teachers or the school's quality, saying, "If we had the funding to support Jefferson, we would do it."
How would closing the school save MJSD money?
Closing Jefferson would make the district's staffing budget more efficient, Zimmerman said. Even though the district has no plans to lay off teachers, combining the two schools would still reduce staffing costs. Here's how:
For the 2022-23 school year, Jefferson had an average of about 30 students per grade level. The district considers 30 students too many for one classroom, but splitting each grade into two classrooms would mean only 15 students per room. That's below the district guidelines of 17-20 students per room for 4K to first grade and 20-24 students for second and third grade.
But combining Jefferson's students with Butte des Morts' would mean one school could have three classrooms of about 20 students per grade level, rather than two schools with four classrooms of about 15.
Overall, combining the two schools means class sizes could stay within or close to the district guidelines, while reducing the overall number of staff the district employs. Even with the additional costs of busing former Jefferson students, Zimmerman said closing Jefferson would save the district around $1 million.
If the district had decided against recommending a school closure, Zimmerman said, it would have had to reduce programming in other schools, reducing the quality of education for district students in general and increasing the risk that more students would opt to enroll elsewhere
What happens to the Jefferson Elementary building?
The district has no plans to sell the building at 105 Ice St. Instead, it will explore the possibility of using the building for a district-sponsored preschool in the future or other opportunities to repurpose it.
Though the district sold the Nicolet Elementary building after that school closed at the end of the 2021-22 school year, part of the reason it's holding onto the Jefferson building is because of the "community's deep sense of pride" with that building, the district said.
If Jefferson Elementary closes, what happens to the staff and students?
If Jefferson closes, the district would assign the school's students to Butte des Morts Elementary School, 501 Tayco St., which is about a mile and a half northwest of Jefferson. Part of the reason for choosing Butte des Morts, the district said, is because the school can absorb Jefferson's student population while maintaining class sizes within the district's guidelines.
Acknowledging that parents might have moved within Jefferson boundaries specifically to send their children to that school, Zimmerman said the district plans to provide five years of district-funded busing for Jefferson families to Butte des Morts, then revert to the district's rule of busing students more than 2 miles out. He also said further plans for busing would move forward if the board votes to close Jefferson.
As for Jefferson staff, the district said they would look for open positions across the district for them to work, including Butte des Morts. The district does not expect any Jefferson staff to lose their jobs due to the closure, partly because of staffing needs at Buttes des Morts and partly because of other staff retirements and resignations in the district.
Will any other schools close?
Zimmerman said the district has no plans to close any other schools at this time. The district is working on other ways to make up the remainder of the $2.3 million budget deficit.
District priorities in making further reductions include maintaining class sizes within district guidelines, continuing co-teaching, early intervention and professional development for teachers. That last piece is important, Zimmerman said, because a third of the district's teachers are new to the field; providing continuing education would decrease the chances of losing those teachers..
How did community members react to the news of the school closing?
Caregivers and community members had plenty of questions after the district's announcement of the proposed school closing on Friday. A meeting handout addressed nearly 40 separate questions the community had raised over the weekend.
During the meeting itself, community members raised concerns about larger class sizes at Butte des Morts, busing, special education services and the overall trend of declining enrollment.
Several of those at the meeting went to Jefferson Elementary themselves as children and expressed how much they loved the school and its staff.
Still others expressed gratitude that everyone involved in the meeting was deeply concerned about students and providing the best school experience possible with the resources available.
What happens next?
The district plans to submit the recommendation to close Jefferson Elementary to the school board Feb. 12; the board is scheduled to vote on that recommendation Feb. 26.
Caregivers and community members can share their thoughts and concerns by attending either of these meetings or by contacting school board members before the vote.
Rebecca Loroff is an education reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Contact her with story tips and feedback at 920-907-7801 or rloroff@gannett.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @RebeccaLoroff.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Jefferson Elementary closing proposal: what we learned at Tuesday meeting
