'Once a wildcat shirt, always a wildcat,' shirt at Kennedy Elementary School open house, May 3, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Around Green Bay, four elementary schools were full of people… but they were adults… and it was Sunday.
MacArthur, Kennedy, Elmore and Langlade elementary schools in the Green Bay School District were open to everyone for one last time.
It comes before each will be closed at the end of the school year.
Before those schools close their doors for good, there were many taking a trip down memory lane and sharing stories with other generations that have passed through these halls.
“It’s just hard being grown up here since I was a little boy in this area. This is like our school in this little neighborhood. So, kind of sad seeing it go,” said Mitch Clark, who graduated from MacArthur in 1996.
At MacArthur, staff members from its very beginning came to say goodbye.
“Lots of hugs, a few tears. I was very much looking forward to it. I was contacted by some of the students I had in my first-year teaching and they are all retired,” said Marcia Taugher, who taught at MacArthur when it opened in 1969.
“I was here both as a teacher and as a principal so 20 years out of a 39-year career I spent in one building so a pretty touching feeling actually,” said Jim Anderson, who started teaching at MacArthur in 1970.
Whether you taught at a brand-new MacArthur elementary or are just learning there now, emotions were felt by everyone.
“I’m going to miss this school because of all the staff, and I might really never see the staff again, and it’s going to be really disappointing,” said Jordyn Becker, a third grader at MacArthur.
“I’m going to really miss all the teachers and stuff, and I’m going to really miss this school because it’s been up for a long time,” said Mackenzie Berken, a third grader at MacArthur.
For people like Jack LaViolette and Elaine Statz, they haven’t seen the halls of Elmore elementary since the 1940s.
“Well, it’s been 80 years. This is the first time I’ve been in it in 80 years, so… Yeah, it’s going to be kind of sad to see it go,” said LaViolette.
“I found the exact kindergarten room that I was in. It’s a pleasant memory, but I realize that things change and the necessity to move on is okay,” said Statz.
Everyone shared heartfelt memories as they said goodbye to a place where they grew up.
In addition to the farewells to the Green Bay schools, the Manitowoc school district held a goodbye to Jackson elementary this afternoon.
School districts across Wisconsin cite various reasons for consolidation and school closings.
Many note declining enrollment. According to data from the department of public instruction, there are 14,000 fewer students this year compared to last year.
Also, the districts say the state legislature has not adequately funded public schools. In February, 19 plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin.
They allege the current school finance system violates the Wisconsin constitution.
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