Hudson board discusses long‑term facilities planning as enrollment falls about 700 elementary students from peak

Hudson School Board members spent an extended portion of their meeting on long‑term facilities planning, reviewing staffing‑reduction scenarios, building capacities for 4‑year‑old kindergarten and wrap care, and estimated repair costs for Willow River and Holton schools as district enrollment remains well below its peak. District administrators told the board that if the board pursued an option to operate four elementary schools rather than six, the district’s July staffing model estimated reductions of roughly 19–20 positions using average salary calculations and formulas for support staff and specialists. The staffing model uses assumptions such as 20 students per class in kindergarten–grade 2 and 25 per class in grades 3–5 when translating projected enrollment to the number of classroom sections required; administrators said they round fractional section counts up to the next whole section when planning. Administrators said they had verified that, if four elementary buildings were used and occupied at full capacity, the district…