Shorewood superintendent previews scenarios as task force weighs school-configuration options

Superintendent Laurie Burgos told the Shorewood School District board on April 14 that a 40-member task force has evaluated several school-configuration scenarios as part of a long-term financial-sustainability effort and that none of the scenarios alone meet the $5.5 million annual savings target reflected in the district's current operating referendum.

Burgos summarized the task force's work: after six meetings and a rubric-based evaluation the group removed some options from consideration and identified leading scenarios that include (a) maintaining two elementary schools (K–6) with a combined middle/high school; (b) a 4K–4 configuration at Lake Bluff with Atwater serving grades 5–8; and (c) other permutations that change attendance-area boundaries and open-enrollment choices. "All of the scenarios have trade-offs," Burgos said, stressing the importance of preserving course offerings and program breadth at the high-school level.

Burgos said task force members used evaluation criteria beyond finances to weigh educational and community effects and that the materials, including scenario slide decks and a report, would be posted online before the board's next meeting. She recommended the board consider a focused workshop to review details and asked whether board members wanted a workshop before or after a public community conversation scheduled for May 18. Several board members said a workshop after the April 28 report would allow the board to digest the materials and ask targeted questions.

The superintendent also noted that even with configuration changes the district likely will need to return to voters for a future operating referendum; timing, ballot language and thresholds for acceptable savings will be board decisions. Burgos asked the board to clarify whether it wanted a final recommendation from the task force or a continued community-driven process; board members discussed the value of an additional anonymous pulse survey of the task force to gauge shifts in preference.

Board members requested an implementation timeline, population impact reports, and additional research citations to support scenario trade-off discussions. Burgos said she would provide a potential implementation model and timeline at the April 27 task-force meeting and plans to include the analysis in the April 28 board packet. She also said the district will schedule community engagement sessions and prepare communications explaining the options and their implications.

Next steps: district staff will post the task-force materials online, provide the written report to the board at the next regular meeting, and schedule a workshop to review leading scenarios and potential implementation timelines before the board makes any formal changes.