Parents from Bethesda Elementary are raising concerns about the data being used to justify potential school closures in Waukesha. The school district recently released four different consolidation plans, and in every scenario, Bethesda Elementary is slated to close.
Two fathers have taken it upon themselves to analyze the enrollment projections that are driving these decisions. After hearing from multiple concerned parents in the community, I wanted to understand what was behind their questions about the district's process.
Joe Burke, a former Bethesda Elementary parent, and Sean Shurbet, who currently has children at the school, conducted their own analysis of the enrollment data.
Watch: Closing and consolidating schools has Waukesha parents question district's enrollment data
"We pulled the numbers ourselves, with a data analyst and an engineer. We are getting conflicting results with what the study shows," Shurbet said.
The School District of Waukesha reports that enrollment peaked in 2012 with approximately 13,000 students and has since declined to 10,500. District projections from the state Applied Population Lab at UW-Madison suggest numbers will continue falling to 8,700 students by 2034.
However, Burke and Shurbet discovered that a City of Waukesha housing study released last year presents contradictory information, projecting growth specifically among residents 19 years old and younger.
"It contradicted everything the school district said," Burke said.
This discrepancy has left parents questioning the data driving these significant decisions about their children's education.
"It doesn't add up. There is like an 11-percent gap between what the state is publishing and what the city is publishing," Shurbet said.
The fathers plan to bring these questions to the school board, along with a request to slow down the consolidation process.
"Why does it need to happen now and the way it is happening? And understanding all the inputs, did they do their due diligence?" Burke asked.
I reached out to every school board member and the school district requesting information about the enrollment projections and the apparent data discrepancy, but have not received any responses.
The district has stated that no final decisions have been made, and a vote is not expected until at least the fall.
This story was reported 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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