GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The committee studying facility options for the Green Bay Area School District released two more possibilities, bringing the total to nine. For the first time, one of the options includes keeping all four high schools as just high schools, but with changes to the boundaries to balance attendance.
The district commissioned the work in the face of declining enrollments and the need to address building repair issues. The study committee is expected to make its recommendation to the school board by May 8, with school board action in June. The earliest any decision could take affect is the 2024-2025 school year.
The district has repeatedly cautioned that these are ideas which can and likely will change before any decisions are made.
The study committee previously released seven options, or “schema.” All of them call for eight or more schools to be closed, with other shifting of students or class levels, with a variety of construction needed to support the new alignments. In all of those, three schools — MacArthur, Tank, and Wequiock — would close, Washington would no longer be used as a school, and no students would need to cross the Fox River anymore.
At Wednesday night’s meeting of the committee, two more schema were discussed, with the details posted Thursday on the district’s website.
The highlights of those two options:
Option 8: New west-side elementary, Lombardi as a K-8 school
- Close MacArthur, Keller, Kennedy, Jackson, Tank, Doty, Washington, Minoka Hill, DaVinci, and Wequiock
- New west-side elementary school
- Lombardi, Langlade, McAuliffe, and Franklin repurposed as K8
- Webster repurposed as gifted school
- West repurposed as middle school, DOB education
- Additions to Southwest, Langlade, and McAuliffe
- Total project cost $492 million
Option 9: New west-side elementary, retain four high schools
- Close MacArthur, Kennedy, Keller, Tank, Doty, Washington, Minoka Hill, DaVinci, and Wequiock
- New west-side elementary school
- Shift approximately 372 students from Preble to East, 397 students from East to West, and 203 students from West to Southwest
- Lombardi, Langlade, McAuliffe repurposed as K8
- Webster repurposed as gifted school
- Total cost $476 million
The newly released presentation also includes a section highlighting why the original seven plans included either closing West or using it for other options, such as 6-12 building.
“Projected enrollment to efficient capacity makes GBAPS a 3-High School, 3-Middle School district. West is smallest capacity, lowest enrollment % to capacity. West and East are close together in middle of district – one of those should be selected,” a slide states.
The public can offer comments to the committee using this form.
The next meeting is scheduled for March 29.
