School board updates open-enrollment policy and sets zero open seats for 2026–27

The New Berlin School District Board of Education on Monday approved revisions to Policy 51.13 (open enrollment) and voted to offer zero open-enrollment seats for the 2026–27 school year.

District staff said the policy edits remove provisions that have cost the district money and address operational problems when open-enrolled students are out of state or otherwise unreachable. "We are essentially costing ourselves dollars because of our own policy," the administrator said while explaining the proposed changes.

The discussion also flagged potential enrollment pressure from petition groups seeking detachment from a neighboring district. Staff reported awareness of four petition groups representing roughly 160–180 residences and said the net impact from a previous wave of petitions was about 20–25 students. Administrators said the district needs to be prepared and prioritized reserving classroom capacity for district residents if those petitions result in additional students.

Following the presentation, Mister Seidel moved to approve the policy updates; Mister Helmer seconded the motion and the board approved it by voice/raised-hand. Using the same formula as in recent years, staff recommended the district offer no open-enrollment seats for 2026–27; the board approved that projection, and staff noted that means no special-education open seats were available either.

The board did not provide a numerical roll-call tally in the public record for these motions; minutes reflect motions made and approved during the open session. Officials said further enrollment counts tied to detachment petitions will become clearer as petition groups complete the DPI process and as families make final placement decisions.