SHOREWOOD, Wis. — Hundreds of students at Shorewood High School walked out Wednesday afternoon to protest the district's decision to cut teaching positions, marching from their school to Atwater Beach to show support for their educators.
RELATED: Students concerned about staffing cuts coming to Shorewood School District; Here's why
The demonstration came after the school district voted last week to eliminate five full-time positions in what officials described as an effort to balance the budget.
Senior Breckan Henkhaus, who helped organize the walkout, believes the district should be adding more educators rather than reducing staff.
WATCH: Hundreds of Shorewood High School students walk out to protest teacher cuts
"You get shaped from your teachers so much. I'm so proud to say that I get my empathy from my English teacher Ms. Kuntz and I get my sense of humor from my math teacher Mr. Andres," said Henkhaus.
Students are concerned about the long-term impacts these cuts will have on the quality of education at Shorewood schools.
"So, we want to speak up for them when they can't. Ultimately this is just a show of support to get people engaged and involved," said Henkhaus.
After walking to Atwater Beach, the students continued their demonstration, calling on community members to attend the school board's next meeting at 7 p.m. on May 13 to speak out against the cuts.
"We need parents, we need community members, we need students, this is a call to action if nothing else. The school board will not listen to teachers. They will listen to taxpayers, community members, parents, students," said Henkhaus.
In a statement to TMJ4 on Monday, School District Superintendent Laurie Burgos reaffirmed the district's commitment to the 2023 operating referendum.
"First, it’s important to reiterate that the Shorewood School District remains steadfast in the commitments of the 2023 operating referendum: to attract and maintain high-quality staff and protect robust student programs and services, and ongoing financial stewardship of community resources. Similar to many other school districts, we are working to align our staffing levels to student enrollment," the statement said.
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