The Boundary Discussion is Back in Eau Claire!

Shifting priorities
Low enrollments could force boundary changes
By Julian Emerson
Leader-Telegram staff
Low enrollment at many Eau Claire schools plus building maintenance costs topping $30 million equals district officials contemplating school boundary changes designed to shift the student population northeast.

Of the district's 19 schools, 11 are at least 20 percent under target capacity, according to recently released district enrollment figures for the current school year.

One, the Montessori Charter School housed in the former Lincoln School, is only about half full, if viewed as a two-section school using the Montessori education plan. Figure the building's space as the three-section school it once was, and the occupancy drops to 32 percent.

Other schools, especially those on the city's north side, also have plenty of empty desks. Longfellow School is at 62 percent of target capacity, meaning just 285 students attend the school with room for 459. Likewise, Locust Lane is at 63 percent of capacity while Sam Davey School is 79 percent full.

The extra space extends to the city's south side, where enrollment at Putnam Heights School is 174 students below its 459 capacity.

Low enrollment isn't just an elementary school issue. Middle schools are far under capacity, with South, DeLong and Northstar middle schools 72 percent full or less. Both Memorial and North high schools are at 78 percent of target enrollment, or a combined 923 students below capacity.

In all, district enrollment is nearly 3,200 students shy of its 13,132 target, a fact prompting discussion about redrawing school boundaries to increase efficiency. The district faces a $2.8 million budget deficit next school year and more projected shortfalls in future years, along with mounting building maintenance costs.

"There certainly is a lot of space in our schools, and you have to question the efficiency of continuing like that given the budget challenges we face," school board member Carol Craig said. "It's expensive to have so many of our schools under capacity. There's no other way to say it."

District officials have a couple of choices. Either continue to pay for schools with many vacancies, or shift boundaries - and possibly close one or more schools - in a cost-cutting move intended to stave off further teacher and program cuts.

"This is a balancing act between the neighborhood school concept and what we can afford," school board member Michael Bollinger said. "In today's financial climate, we have to look at cost efficiencies regardless of boundary preferences."

Leaving the boundaries as is would preserve neighborhood schools, but to pay rising costs voters would have to approve a referendum. Failure to do that would result in program and staff reductions.

"That's really what this comes down to," Deputy Superintendent Gregg Butler said. "If the community says yes to the status quo but no to more money via a referendum, it really hogties the board into either changing boundaries or making cuts."

Boundary concerns

The possibility of boundary changes is an outgrowth of discussion about whether to close Little Red School, a one-section building just south of Eau Claire on Highway 37 in the town of Brunswick.

A Little Red Study Committee comprised of district officials and community members Thursday recommended closing the school and sending its 122 students to Putnam Heights School beginning next school year. The school board is scheduled to vote on the issue later this month.

The committee also recommended conducting a districtwide boundary study with the aim of reaching target enrollments in all schools to make them more cost-efficient.

It remains uncertain whether school boundaries will be altered, or what those changes could look like. But given more crowded south side elementary schools, it's likely any switches would involve shifting students to the northeast, Butler said.

That move would make sense, Craig said, not only because there is generally more room at north side schools but also because of anticipated population growth on the city's south and west sides.

The shift northward could mean some children might not attend the school they live closest to, a fact many parents - especially those of elementary students - find unsettling.

Todd and Sharon Nerbonne bought a house along Huebsch Street in the city's East Side Hill neighborhood in 2006 specifically so their two daughters could attend nearby Flynn School. The couple liked the two-section school's warm atmosphere and thought it would be a good match for their children.

"We knew a lot of the people who lived in this neighborhood, and we felt comfortable with our kids coming to Flynn," Sharon Nerbonne said.

The couple's older daughter, Erica, now attends South Middle School, but the prospect of moving third-grader Sarah to a different school doesn't sit well with the Nerbonnes.

"If they send my daughter to another school, I will go absolutely nuts," Todd Nerbonne said. "We moved close to Flynn specifically to avoid having to switch schools, so there's no way we would support that."

School board members acknowledged that discussion of the dreaded "b-word" - boundary changes - typically elicits an outcry among district parents, most of whom are reticent to switch their children's schools. In 2003, the district closed the rural Cleghorn School and subsequently changed boundaries affecting several south side schools, moves that prompted an angry reaction by Cleghorn parents and others.

"It's never easy to discuss shifting school boundaries," Bollinger said.

School board member Trish Cummins agrees, but said proceeding with a referendum asking for money to address school building needs without discussing the enrollment issue isn't likely to fly with voters.

District officials have discussed a possible referendum but haven't agreed on when or how much money to request. Voters overwhelmingly turned down a referendum last April seeking $21.6 million to exceed state-imposed spending caps.

"How can we sell a referendum to voters if we haven't even looked at our space issue?," Cummins said.

Necessary debate

Reduced enrollment isn't necessarily a negative. Smaller class size is viewed in the education realm as a positive, allowing teachers to pay more attention to individual students. That idea was the impetus behind the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education plan, better known as SAGE, implemented in recent years in classrooms across Wisconsin.

Despite lower enrollments, class size is up in Eau Claire schools, the result of 60 staff reductions as part of budget cuts last school year that included 40.5 teaching positions.

"Just because we don't have high enrollment doesn't mean we have small class size," said Jo Burke, president of the Eau Claire teachers union. "Teachers are feeling a lot of stress right now with bigger classes."

Burke backs a review of district boundaries, saying discussion about the topic should help establish budget priorities and educate the public about district needs. More efficient use of school buildings could free up money for employees, she said.

"Maybe this will allow us to retain staff," Burke said. "We just don't know how this is going to play out."

School board members are unsure how the issue will be resolved and are seeking public input before making any decisions. No matter how the situation plays out, board members including Bollinger said discussing possible boundary shifts is necessary.

"Anytime you talk about shifting boundaries, it causes unrest," he said. "But with the budget problems we face, we don't have any choice but to explore this."

Emerson can be reached at 830-5911, 800-236-7077 or julian.emerson@ecpc.com.