Superintendent outlines school consolidation data as board begins difficult planning workshop

The Fond du Lac School District on Monday began a workshop on possible school consolidations, with Superintendent Mister Steinbeth presenting detailed resident‑and‑actual enrollment figures, classroom inventories and safety considerations that board members said will shape preliminary recommendations in April and formal proposals in May.

"Right now at Chegwin, we have if you went with resident enrollment ... 293 resident students enrolled at Chegwin if they all went to Chegwin. Right now that number is at 280," the superintendent told the board as he read a school‑by‑school accounting of classroom space and student assignments. The superintendent walked through each elementary school’s resident and actual enrollment and available classrooms — citing, for example, Lakeshore (resident 274, actual 335, 36 rooms) and Waters (resident 278, actual 376, 39 rooms) — and said some schools have only a handful of open classrooms while others have more capacity.

Superintendent Steinbeth cautioned the board that geography and street crossings would be a central concern if students were reassigned. "This is the part that puts a pit in my stomach right now more than anything is elementary students potentially crossing some of these roads," he said, citing prior student safety incidents and the challenges of relying solely on crossing guards.

Board members pressed the administration for additional metrics to guide decisions, including ‘‘ideal’’ or target capacity per building (not just maximum seating) and the maintenance or replacement costs tied to potential closures or repurposing. The superintendent said staff would prepare multiple scenarios and noted there is leasing interest for closed sites; facilities staff also flagged deferred maintenance points such as sawtooth roofs at two middle schools.

Discussion covered middle‑school capacity and program placement, with board members asking whether two middle schools could be consolidated into one and the third repurposed, and how that would affect playgrounds and donated equipment. The superintendent said the district will present several scenarios in April, with a preliminary recommendation followed by a formal recommendation for a May vote.

Board members repeatedly highlighted staffing and outcomes as constraints. The superintendent reminded the board that the district has reduced staff in recent cycles and that the academic impact of reductions may not be visible for months, not weeks. "We don't know what the 70 redux staff reductions have done yet," he said, warning that some effects may emerge in later assessments.

The workshop concluded with a motion to move into an executive session to consider pupil expulsion and to consult legal counsel; the motion passed by roll call and the board adjourned for the closed session.