Kenyon-Wanamingo superintendent outlines two options as district faces budget strain

Superintendent Beth Geese told the Kenyon-Wanamingo School District board that the district must make a choice to address declining enrollment and a deteriorating fund balance. Geese presented two options: Option 1 would close the Wanamingo elementary in fall 2025 and consolidate students into a single building to capture staffing and operations savings; Option 2 would keep Wanamingo as an early-childhood and community-education hub to buy time while pursuing grants or leased uses.

Geese framed the choice around enrollment-driven revenue loss and staffing efficiencies. "If we move preschool over, if we decide to go that route, we would need some of those rooms. Renovation costs would be really, really minimal," she said, noting the district currently has several underused classrooms. The superintendent also said rightsizing would reduce some administrative FTEs and reduce duplicated transportation and maintenance costs.

Dawn, the district finance presenter, walked the board through enrollment projections and stated that, under current assumptions, the district faces long-term declines in revenue tied to fewer students. "We are projecting you're gonna in the fiscal year 25 at negative 17 o 1% fund balance. To rebound, we would need to cut 1,300,000," she said. Geese stressed that while Option 1 produces larger immediate savings and reduces ongoing building costs, Option 2 could preserve Wanamingo’s role in the community while providing a breathing space to pursue grants and early-childhood programming.

Board members and residents pressed for more granular scenarios and for numbers broken out by town. Geese agreed to provide additional modeling, including a scenario that removes Wanamingo students from district totals so the board can see the fiscal effects of a separation. "I will do that. What that would look like, I will bring that to the January 6 meeting," she said.