WAUWATOSA, Wis. — Parents in Wauwatosa filled the district's school board meeting to speak out against the potential closure of two elementary schools next year.
While the board says nothing is set in stone, concerned parents say the closures shouldn't even be an option.
The Wauwatosa School District announcing this week that financial troubles are forcing them to make some hard decisions for next school year.
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A community led task force is now coming up with options to relieve budget strains, two of those options would mean closing Jefferson and/or Washington elementary schools.
“People move to Tosa for our schools, they are the heartbeat of our community,” one parent said during public comment. “The financial and community health of our neighborhoods is directly connected to these institutions, and we all need to stand up and fight for them.”
District board members blaming a lack of proper funding from the state as a factor in the tough decisions to come.
Superintendent, Dr. Demond Means, saying, “We have clearly been told by legislators in Madison that they're not going to give us any more money. It's going to require us to do some really difficult things over the next 10 months.”
The task force has until May of next year to offer more solutions and the school board has until the end of August 2024 to choose a path forward.
Parents say no matter what the options on the table are, closing schools should not be one of them.
The board says in the coming months, public comment meetings will be planned specifically to hear more from parents before a decision comes next summer.
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