Thursday, September
10, 2020
Biting the Bullet
THE TREND TOWARD CLOSING SMALL SCHOOLS
Many Wisconsin school districts appear to be more aware of the
economic realities of maintaining small schools and are focusing on
consolidating within larger school districts. They also cite the
academic advantages provided by larger schools.
Ben Meyer of radio station WXPR in Rhinelander did a news report
about the controversial proposed closing of the 80-student Maple Grove
Elementary School in the Merrill area school district. “Disagreement
Over Merrill School Symbolizes Rural Elementary Closure Trend in the
Northwoods”, was the title of his comprehensive study.
Meyer reported that 27 elementary schools have been closed since
1993 in an eight-school district area which includes Rhinelander, Phillips,
Wausau and Merrill.
The Mercer K-12 School District, with 145 students, has been
involved in similar speculation. Suggestions have included keeping
the school as is or consolidating it with the Hurley School District and
keeping the lower grades in Mercer while transferring the middle and high
school students to Hurley.
The argument has been made that because of Mercer’s small class
sizes it does not have the advantage of the broad curriculum that a larger
school provides. Apparently for that reason, some parents have
transferred their children out of the Mercer School to Lakeland Union High
School in Minocqua.
Years ago, the Mercer School Board discussed a possible
consolidation with the Hurley School District but gave up the idea
because it was thought it would result in tax increases for Mercer
property owners. However, recent studies by several people have indicated
that a consolidation could now be done without any increase in school taxes.
It cost Mercer taxpayers $25,097 a year to educate each Mercer
student. The state average for all 421 school districts is $13,505,
and for Hurley it cost $13,816 per student.
For that $25,097 per student cost, Mercer’s academic results
have been abysmal. A Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
school report card score of 50.4, “fails to meet expectations”, placed Mercer
alone in that category and at the very bottom of the list of all the state’s
421 school districts. Also, Mercer’s ACT scores have consistently
been below averages for the state and all 20 Northern Wisconsin school
districts.
Of course, those results were under the former administrator and
his inept and culpable school board. Mercer now has a new
administrator and an entirely new school board.
As school districts face tight budgets, they often must choose
between more physical schools or better programs, Meyer said in his news
report.
“Any time you close a building like that, it does become very
contentious,” Meyers quoted Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance Executive Director
Kim Kaukl as saying. “What’s important for our kids? A building or
strong programming? To be viable, programming, to me, is always
going to come out ahead.”
Maple Grove plays a role not just as a place of learning, but as
a community hub. That’s common among rural schools, according to Wisconsin
Department of Public Instruction Deputy Superintendent Mike Thompson.
“There’s a lot of passionate ownership around that school,
around the smallness of that school. That’s really where there’s the
tough decisions to happen,” Thompson said.
The money saved by closing Maple Grove is needed to improve
programming and educational support across the district, according to Merrill
School District Superintendent John Sample. “Right now, in my opinion, our
student achievement is unacceptable, and that’s across the district.”
According to the latest DPI school district report cards,
Merrill scored a 66.8, putting it into the “meets expectations” category,
according to Sample.
“Yes, (Maple Grove is) holding their own as far as meeting the
expectations, but I think the resources that we can provide in town (Merrill)
are much richer than what they’re receiving right now because of where they’re
located,” Sample added.
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