GBAPS Back to School Family Celebration. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Public school kids across the area will return to the classroom in about ten days.
To welcome them back, the Green Bay Area Public Schools held a Back to School Celebration at West High School. And while the event is supposed to be fun, the new superintendent also has an ulterior motive for the celebration.
There was plenty of fun to be had at the first Green Bay Area Public School District Welcome Back Family Celebration.
“We’re playing games and spending the day with my mom,” said incoming 4K student, Mai.
Elementary school mom, Sam Cigler, added, “The rock climbing wall the highlight of my 6 year old’s day. The giant bubbles, you saw this. We’re all having the best time.”
The brainchild of new superintendent Claude Tiller, the event was not only a way for Tiller to introduce himself to the community, but for families from across the district to gather, too.
According to Tiller, “I wanted families to understand that Dr. Tiller is in the house. I’m in the neighborhood. I’m here. I want to say thank you and it gives a chance for the community to come embrace and see one another.”
The celebration and upcoming school year comes as the district is estimating it will face a $20-million shortfall by the 2024-2025 school year. For months, with the help of outside consultants, the district has been examining the issue and coming up with possible resolutions, which includes closing and or repurposing about a dozen school district buildings.
The idea to close some schools has divided the district, even though the board of education has yet to make a final decision.
Tiller hopes this celebration will help to ease the divide, adding, “Just butter ’em up, just a hair bit out there. Let them know that Dr. Tiller, I’m not a bad guy, I just gotta make decisions.”
Parents believe, having the opportunity to mingle with families from all different schools, on both sides of the river is a good way to break the ice. “I think there’s not a lot of people that are exposed to one side or the other and I think it gives them the availability to come and see what other schools are about,” said district mom, Shanie Williams.
Because in the end, as Sam Cigler said, “Maybe everyone can see, you’re not bad, we’re not bad. It’s okay if we get mixed together because we’re all just parents who love our kids.”
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