Pewaukee reports strong ACT-suite results and a 1.6% enrollment dip; preliminary budget shows small levy pressure

District assessment and finance staff reported to the Pewaukee School Board on Monday that Pewaukee students continue to perform well on the ACT suite of assessments and that the district’s third-Friday enrollment count showed a small decline that aligns with statewide demographic trends.

Candace, presenting the ACT-suite summary, told the board that the district uses the ACT suite both as a local and state assessment: grade 8 takes a pre-ACT locally in the spring; grades 9 and 10 take local fall testing and state testing in spring; grade 11 takes the ACT (with writing) and related ELA/STEM composites. "The ACT suite for the Pewaukee School District is both a local assessment and a state assessment," she said, and cited top-state percentile rankings for recent cohorts in English language arts and math.

Candace said grade-level trends are mostly stable: grade 8 scores have been steady in English/reading/math with science showing an improving trend; grades 9 and 10 showed cohort-to-cohort variability but overall remain high; grade 11 performance improved in statewide rankings compared with the prior school year. She noted the district is emphasizing both proficiency and growth, with building-level goals to increase reading and math outcomes and special attention to subgroup growth, particularly students receiving special-education services.

Administrators described tools and supports tied to the data. The district has launched a new data-management system that aggregates student assessment history so teachers can look up a student’s longitudinal profile and adjust instruction—an administrative change intended to shorten the time between assessment and instructional response. District leaders said PLCs and targeted, year-long PD strands for ELA (grades 6–12) and math are part of the action plan tied to the ACT results.

On finance and enrollment, John reported the third-Friday count (Sept. 19) showed a resident full-time equivalency decline of about 1.6 percent (roughly 42 students) from the prior year; the district had anticipated a 1.25 percent decline. He said the mid-range decline follows statewide projections that expect about a 6–7 percent decline over five years but noted new housing in Pewaukee could moderate or reverse local declines when new homes are occupied. Open-enrollment numbers were roughly stable; incoming open-enrollment was slightly higher than projections and outgoing open-enrollment was similar to last year.

On preliminary budget items the business affairs committee reported roughly $2.6 million in construction payments for the month and discussed debt service and short-term borrowing plans; staff said they expect to present the original budget for approval in the next meeting (October) and flagged a projected levy increase in the 2–2.5 percent range that could be the district’s first levy increase in several years. Staff emphasized that an increase in property valuations could still lower the tax rate even if the levy increases modestly.

Board members asked about cohort variability and measurement: administrators reiterated the district is monitoring growth in addition to raw proficiency and that building goals include growth targets (for example, a target percent of students meeting or exceeding projected growth year-over-year). The board requested continued reporting on ACT and forward-assessment results and noted that growth measures can be the most informative indicator when cohort ability varies year to year.

Ending

District leaders said they will return with additional outcome reporting, including Wisconsin Forward assessment results at the next meeting, and will continue to monitor enrollment, open enrollment flows and budget projections as the district moves from a preliminary to an original budget for the fiscal year.