Battle Creek district proposes moving WK Prep into Battle Creek Central amid budget shortfall; community raises concerns

Battle Creek Public Schools staff on May 12 recommended restructuring the WK Prep alternative high school program by colocating its arena‑style, small‑learning community inside Battle Creek Central Career Academies as part of a broader effort to close a multiyear budget gap.

Doctor Hervey (district staff presenting the recommendation) told the board the move is intended to “optimize our resources in face of enrollment” pressures and to preserve personalized learning, credit recovery and wraparound supports while reducing operating costs. The recommendation would consolidate WK Prep’s program into a dedicated space within the Central High School campus; staff said the plan aims to keep the smaller learning community model, flexible scheduling and individualized supports intact while creating operational efficiencies.

Staff told trustees that operating two separate programs was not financially sustainable given current enrollment patterns. A staff estimate presented during the meeting put potential savings at about $1 million. Staff also said WK Prep’s on‑site headcount is about 60 students with an overall FTE of about 187; district comments during the meeting said 73 percent of students currently enrolled at WK were chronically absent and that the program’s graduation rate was under 40 percent. District leaders described the proposal as a way to maintain programming while addressing fiscal unsustainability of operating multiple sites with falling enrollment.

Trustees and staff discussed several implementation questions: where the WK arena space would be located in Central, how staffing would be handled (some WK staff would be transferred and vacancies filled by existing long‑term substitutes), continued operation and leasing of WK’s auditorium to generate revenue, and whether students would have access to specials, world language and extracurriculars at Central. Staff said conversations with Central administration had begun and that a co‑design team of WK and Central staff would work on transition details if the board approves consolidation.

Multiple WK Prep students, family members and community supporters spoke during public comment and urged the board to preserve the program’s small‑school culture and student supports. Heather Lewis, a WK Prep student, told the board the school had “benefited me and others” and described staff who “get to know the students individually.” Other speakers including a parent (Shanika Matthews), a former staff member and students warned that some students might not thrive in a larger high‑school setting and asked the board to maintain the WK program’s personalized features.

Board members said they heard the public’s concerns and asked staff to include students and WK staff in the implementation team and to present plans that clearly describe how program features and student supports will be maintained. No final board vote on the consolidation was taken at the May 12 work session; staff said the recommendation will move through the district’s decision process and implementation planning if approved at a future meeting.