Schools
Elmbrook School Board Shows Little Support for Keeping Hillside Open
Only one of seven board members argued to keep Hillside Elementary School open, although some members said they would consider a plan to keep it open by creating multi-age classrooms.
A majority of the Elmbrook School Board on Tuesday supported closing , but two members said they would mull over a former board president's proposal that might save as much money by creating multi-age elementary school classrooms.
Hillside families, however, saw little hope for a last-minute save, as only one School Board member fought to keep the school open. And several board members said if anything, maybe a school closure and multi-age classrooms should be pursued.
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Board member Bob Ziegler — the sole member rallying to keep all six elementary schools open — grew increasingly frustrated at his colleagues' lack of support in delaying a planned Oct. 25 board vote on school closure.
"The decision is practically made right now," Ziegler said. "What are we going to talk about Oct. 25? It seems like it's going to be a pretty quick agenda item. Obviously I have an agenda myself. But is it that simple?"
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He urged the board to consider holding an operational referendum to exceed state-imposed revenue limits. State legislators lowered the limits by 5.5 percent, which will force Elmbrook to collect about $6 million less in property taxes on December tax bills.
Ziegler pressed the board to study the multi-age proposal made by resident and former Elmbrook board president Bruce Nattinger. Ziegler also asked the board to develop a long-term plan on whether to close due to its high real estate value next to the largest undeveloped, commercially zoned swath of land in Brookfield.
But other board members said those ideas have been studied and were not compelling enough to keep all six schools open.
Board President Tom Gehl said he would not support scheduling an operational referendum. "I'm convinced it would fail and it would fail by a significant margin," he said.
Others said there were no buyers for Swanson and noted the community voted overwhelmingly to reject its sale in 2004 to VK Development.
Board members on Tuesday did not change the positions they staked out last month: with three supporting closing Hillside only (Gehl, Meg Wartman and Kathryn Wilson), two supporting closing both Hillside and (Glen Allgaier and Dick Brunner) and one opposing any closure (Ziegler).
The seventh board member, Jean Lambert, who last month didn't indicate her views, said she came to Tuesday's meeting prepared to support closing Hillside only. That would create a slim four-member majority to shutter Hillside at the end of this school year.
"You've got to figure out a better way."
— Parent Ginny Bruemmer
But Lambert and others said they would study Nattinger's plan to save about $1.1 million by creating multi-age classrooms combining second and third graders and fourth and fifth graders.
Keith Brightman, Elmbrook's assistant superintendent for finance and operations, cautioned that the savings likely would be less unless the district allowed class sizes of up to 30 students as Nattinger projected. Brightman said prior district research showed multi-age rooms should be capped at 25, which would result in less savings.
Wartman said she wasn't convinced the community wanted multi-age elementary classrooms, adding "there was tremendous pushback from the parents" to creating one combined fourth- and fifth-grade classroom at .
The board initially approved it but canceled it after summer enrollments pushed the Burleigh class sizes too high and the district was able to hire more staff with an additional $410,000 in revenue authority in the state budget.
Wartman said she believed the district had no choice but to close a school to help shrink annual budget gaps.
"I agree ... (closing a school) should be a decision of last resort," Wartman said. "Frankly, I think we're at that point."
Others disagreed, saying there were other ways to close annual deficits of less than $2 million, as the district has done for a decade.
Former Brookfield Municipal Judge Richard Steinberg objected to closing a neighborhood school, saying it "will only lead to the closing of more neighborhood schools." Instead of worrying about saving money, the district's priority should be the education of its children, he said.
"Surely this is not an emergency," Steinberg said.
Other residents said the facts supported closing Tonawanda instead of Hillside. Closing Tonawanda would result in greater financial savings, fewer redistricting problems and more equitable capacity in remaining schools.
Hillside parent Ginny Bruemmer held up photos of her two children, in kindergarten and second grade, as she tearfully begged the board to find another budget solution.
"This is our future ... this is what it's all about," she said. "It's about the kids; it's about neighborhood schools. ... You've got to figure out a better way. Work together ... find a way to keep our school open."
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Brookfield Patch Tuesday, capturing much more of the comments from board and community members. Patch plans to follow the action live again at the Oct. 25 meeting, to be held in the cafeteria.
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