Superintendent Wimmer proposed that the West Bend School District produce educational materials and an in-house survey to guide public engagement around high‑school configuration in January and February. He told the board that contracting an outside vendor to design and mail a survey would run “really approaching a $20,000 mark,” while mailing a postcard to every household would cost “7 to $10,000.”

Wimmer said district staff can draft the survey questions, classify respondents by role (for example, alumni, current and future families, staff) and produce a synthesis of quantitative responses and thematic comments. “We have that capability through some of our tools,” he said, adding the district has direct access to about 4,000 households for targeted outreach.

Board Member Chris said any survey should be tailored to the groups directly affected by the configuration decision rather than the broader electorate. “This decision impacted everybody [during the referendum],” Chris said, “but for this, not to say it’s not important, it’s just not gonna impact every single person in our school district.” Wimmer and the board agreed that the administration will draft survey language and educational pieces and return a proposed questionnaire for board review.

The board did not take formal action on the configuration at the Dec. 15 meeting. Wimmer said the administration will bring a draft survey and supporting materials to the board for feedback in the coming weeks so the district can proceed with public engagement early next year.