WEST BEND, Wis. — Since 1970, there have been two public high schools in West Bend sharing one building: the East High Suns and the West High Spartans. Now, students are reacting to the school board's unanimous vote to combine the two schools.
The current sophomore class will be the first to graduate from the combined school when they officially merge in the 2027-28 school year.
"I’m worried about it, just because I don’t like the unknown," East sophomore Sophie Roberts said. "I just want to make sure that the student body isn’t affected in any negative ways towards it."
The school board voted to combine the schools due to a decline in enrollment and an increase in the cost to run the schools. The school district says combining all sports will end up saving $1 million each year.
Watch: West Bend students prepare for East and West high schools to combine
Students said they understand the combination is cost-saving and necessary, but they want that money to go toward renovating the building and updating what they call outdated facilities.
"I feel like in the long run it will be good for the school," West senior said Anna Popp said. "When they try out for a cut sport, are they going to lose their varsity spot because now they’re competing against twice the number of people?"
Students also understand athletics and school culture are about to change, despite years of an internal and celebrated rivalry.
"There is a big culture in East versus West," East sophmore Laine Colclough said. 'From elementary school, we were always saying East is the beast, West is the least, and stuff like that."
"I have enjoyed the East versus West rivalry," Popp said. "But I think the school will be okay without it."
Some classes, student groups and sports with fewer participants are already combined, but in two years, all students will be together.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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