GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Green Bay Area Public School District board will review on Monday a facilities master plan recommendation to close some schools and build a new elementary school — but it’s not clear what action, if any, will be taken. In a memo to the board released Friday, the interim superintendent reiterates decisions may not need to be made until January.
After months of work by a study committee, the panel recommended closing 11 schools, building one new school and adding onto several others — all in an attempt to reduce operating costs by at least 10% due to declining enrollment. Several public input sessions were held in recent weeks.
The district initially targeted Monday’s meeting for a final decision on the plan. However, with various concerns raised by the community, along with the fact the district can’t hold a referendum to fund the changes until February 2024, the June 5 date does not appear to be a make-or-break deadline.
In a memo from Interim Supt. Vicki Bayer attached with the agenda released Friday, she says, “By January of 2024, the Board of Education must make decisions to address a projected budget deficit of $20 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. The financial savings made in regard to the facilities decisions will be subtracted from the projected deficit total, leaving decisions to be made to address any remaining deficit.”
Among the strategies Bayer highlights the board can consider:
- Eliminating specialized programming and pathways
- Revising class size policy
- Reducing staff
- Closing alternative school
- Changing employee benefits and eliminating legacy practices
- Pausing professional learning/conference attendance
- Freezing salary/step movement
- Reducing co-curricular and extracurricular activities
The school board meets at 5 p.m. on Monday. Because it is a special meeting, there is no public comment session planned.
Once an overall plan is approved, the district anticipates establishing a boundary taskforce to redraw attendance areas.
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