Dec. 13, 2023 12:20a; Updated 12-13 with quotes
(WGTD)---A divided Kenosha School Board approved a district consolidation and downsizing plan Tuesday night that was largely recommended by administration. It came after nearly five hours of at times passionate discussion among school board members and, earlier in the evening, from citizens during the public comments portion of the meeting.
The main points of contention dealt with the future of Lincoln Middle School and the alternative education program at Reuther.
The board narrowly voted to close Lincoln but decided to keep the Reuther program intact, albeit with a reduction in staff. Five elementary schools will close, and students who attend the aging Washington Middle School will be moved to the Edward Bain School of Language and Art, a newer building designed for grade school students that'll now be turned into a middle school. KTEC, a charter school operated in two locations, will be consolidated and moved into the Lincoln Middle School building.
The votes came after months of study and discussion on how to deal with a sharp decline in enrollment due to a lower birth rate. Many other school districts around the nation are dealing with the same dilemma.
The 'right-sizing' question may not have been entirely laid to rest. School Board member Todd Price said he believed that closing Lincoln--a school in the inner city with a high minority enrollment--was discriminatory and created a situation ripe for a lawsuit. "Part of the issue is that our moral imperative is to do no harm to the students in our district," Price said. "I remain unmoved that the harm that would be done by saving a couple of million dollars, especially and particularly in the Lincoln neighborhood, is not worth it. It is not worth the savings," he said.
The school has a high percentage of minority students. The vast majority of students walk to school. With Lincoln closed, students will have longer walks to the next closest middle school or will be eligible for busing.
Board member Eric Meadows argued that the board needed to face budgetary reality. "There's no logical reason to staff five middle schools in KUSD," Meadows said. "We don't have the students to do that and we're going to be continuing to lose students. We need to make a tough decision and made the district the right size for the number of students and the amount of funding that we have."
The moves approved Tuesday night are expected to cut next year's projected $15 million budget deficit by two-thirds.
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