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Board committee approves open‑enrollment space allocations; special‑education seat caps detailed
Summary
Pupil services staff presented the annual open‑enrollment space determination, reporting capacity calculations and recommended seat allocations for special education and related services for 2025–26. The committee recommended the allocation be forwarded to the full board and approved it.
Pupil services staff asked the committee to recommend that the full board approve general and special‑education open‑enrollment seat counts for the 2025–26 school year and explained how the district calculates special‑education capacity.
Missy Beavers, executive director of pupil services, and Eric Weir, director of special education and student services, said state law requires the district to designate available spaces in January for the upcoming open‑enrollment window. Beavers noted the regular application window runs Feb. 3–April 30; an alternative application for the current year opens July 1 and is fillable (not online).
Weir described the staff method for determining special‑education capacity: the district applies caseload criteria (a workload model) to current staffing FTE by school and compares the resulting capacity to projected enrollment. The presenters said the district used Wisconsin workload guidance to set caseload targets: high school 18, middle school 16, elementary 14. They said related‑service quotas (physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech/language) are set separately.
Recommended allocations for the 2025–26 school year presented to the committee were: unlimited general‑education open‑enrollment seats; special‑education seats — grades 9–12: 0; grades 6–8: 0; grades 4K–5: 15; physical therapy: 37; occupational therapy: 30; speech and language: 28. Staff told the committee that secondary buildings are projected to be at or above capacity, while elementary buildings show some open seats.
Board members asked clarifying questions about how the district computes capacity, what a negative capacity number means, and whether open‑enrolled students already in district schools would be continued; staff explained projected enrollment already includes currently enrolled open‑enrollment students and that a negative figure means the district will not accept new open‑enrollment applications at that level.
The committee moved the recommendation to the full board and the board approved it later in the meeting by voice vote (motion carried).
