Community urges district to keep Head Start and early‑learning hub at Prairie Ridge, opposes Flynn repurposing

Teng Wu Duquette, the Head Start director at Western Dairyland Community Action Agency, told the Eau Claire Area School Board that keeping the Head Start, 4K and early childhood programs together at Prairie Ridge is “essential for maintaining high quality services for children and families.”

Community speakers at the board—s public forum urged the district not to close or repurpose neighborhood schools such as Flynn and to preserve Prairie Ridge as a centralized early‑learning hub that combines Head Start, 4K and Early Childhood Special Education.

The speakers said Prairie Ridge—s co‑located services improve program quality by enabling shared resources, collaborative staff planning and easier family access to supports. Katie Roten, a 3K–4K and Head Start teacher at Prairie Ridge, described the building—s services for families, noting that 17.5% of Prairie Ridge students were classified under the McKinney‑Vento Act (experiencing homelessness) and that the school provides on‑site supports such as a food pantry and clothing closet.

A parent‑led cost‑benefit analysis summarized by Molly Patterson concluded that closing Flynn would likely produce minimal net savings once new transportation routes, retrofits, maintenance and existing debt obligations are accounted for. Patterson said the district—s existing debt service — including referendum‑approved debt — is largely fixed and would not disappear if a building were repurposed.

Rebecca Pollock, speaking on equity, noted that more than half of the students at the affected neighborhood school were economically disadvantaged and that Title I and achievement‑gap contract funding does not automatically transfer to another building. She warned that closures often disproportionately affect low‑income and minority students, producing worse attendance, higher mobility and lower academic outcomes in the years after a closure.

Krista Blessing and other community members raised neighborhood impacts: they said a local school—s closure sometimes depresses home values, reduces civic engagement and prompts families to leave the district. Jill Myland told the board that such outcomes can erode future community support for referendums that fund district operations.

Speaking for staff, Laura Miller and other Prairie Ridge educators said the current centralized model supports intensive early‑childhood needs. Miller said Prairie Ridge enables a high level of collaboration among special education teachers, therapists and general educators, and that the building serves many children who require frequent tier‑2 or tier‑3 services.

Board members acknowledged the comments and asked administrators to ensure community concerns and equity impacts are considered as any repurposing or consolidation proposals move forward.

The board did not take any formal action on specific school closures at this meeting; the public comments were presented during the public forum for the board—s consideration.