LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Lake Geneva Schools Superintendent Pete Wilson said the district is making hard choices because of declining enrollment. The district will soon phase out Eastview Elementary School and send all fifth-grade students to Lake Geneva Middle School.
Parents were notified of the final decision about the change in the past month. The reorganization will take effect in the 2027-2028 academic year.
"Funding really is linked to declining enrollment, so less kids means less dollars for local districts," Wilson said.
Watch: Lake Geneva Schools superintendent explains plan to dissolve one of its elementary schools
Eastview currently serves students in fourth and fifth grades. The fourth-graders will move to Central-Denison Elementary, a school a half a mile away, which now educates students between kindergarten and third grade.
"Running two elementary schools that are only four to five blocks apart, that would be a hard sell to taxpayers."
Star Center Elementary School is the only K through 5 school in the district, but those fifth-graders will move to Lake Geneva Middle School along with students formerly served by Eastview.
Meghan Fisher's daughter will likely be in the inaugural class of fifth-graders at the middle school.
"I'm not sure if that maturity level is going to be there, where she can go to school with the 7th and 8th graders who have matured so much more already," said Fisher, whose daughter now attends Star Center Elementary. "It's a lot more pressure to get her ready to go."
Wilson said the reorganization is the best option to give all Lake Geneva Schools students the best education in the face of declining enrollment.
"Right now, depending on what school you go to, you have class sizes that are different depending on where kids go," Wilson said.
Wilson said Lake Geneva Schools does not plan to sell the Eastview building once the elementary school is phased out. Possible uses for the building include an early childhood education center, a district-run day care, or space for local health-focused non-profit groups.
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