WAUKESHA — The Waukesha School Board is advancing plans to close or merge schools, drawing pushback from families who say the process is moving too quickly.
“All of these changes are huge. If your school closes, that changes commute time, what programs are available and whether there’s help,” Carmen Bailey, a Hawthorne parent, said.
The district launched its “Optimizing Our Future” initiative earlier this year to address declining enrollment.
At Wednesday’s school board meeting, staff outlined seven possible scenarios, labeled A through G. The three newest versions — E, F and G — were developed after earlier rounds of community input.
Proposals under consideration range from adjusting attendance boundaries to combining schools, selling properties and closing buildings.
Watch: Waukesha parents push back as school board moves ahead with closure plans
More information about the proposals is available on the district’s Optimizing Our Future website.
Board members voted Wednesday to focus on three options — E, F and G — with plans to take a final vote by the end of the year.
“This is a long-term strategic plan,” board member Karrie Kozlowski said.
“As tough as these decisions are, it has to be made because we can’t continue to spend on underutilized buildings and avoid the fact that we can use those funds to direct them directly to our students and our staff.”
Families at the meeting expressed concerns and shared emotional testimony about how the closures will impact them.
“We came to Waukesha because it was convenient for our jobs, and once we enrolled our kids in the dual program at Hawthorne, that’s when we decided to stay,” parent Crystal Airriess said.
Several parents reached out to TMJ4 before the meeting, expressing concerns about how the closures would affect different groups of people.
“If the building disappears, the program does too,” parent Zoila Martinez said.
Bailey and others at the meeting called for an impact study before moving ahead. Some said the process has left them feeling as if they’re competing with one another to keep schools open.
“Let’s get real numbers to show who is going to be able to go where and where the programs are needed most,” she said.
District leaders assured parents that programs such as dual language and deaf and hard-of-hearing would continue, even if schools close.
They also emphasized that no decision is final, adding that more analysis is needed regarding transportation and school boundaries. Any changes would not take effect until the 2026–27 school year.
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