Elmbrook School Board Puts 4K on the Back Burner

The earliest Elmbrook would add 4-year-old kindergarten program would be the 2013-14 school year, but that discussion will not occur until the fall.

Despite the superintendent's pleas to craft an acceptable 4-year-old kindergarten program for the 2013-14 school year, the Elmbrook School Board Tuesday decided to pull 4K from board discussion until the fall. While the board did not vote Tuesday, members Glen Allgaier, Kathryn Wilson, Jean Lambert and Meg Wartman each said they did not want to schedule a board session on 4K or spend resources creating a 4K program during the remainder of this school year. Superintendent Matt Gibson urged 4K adoption as part of a task force's recommendations to solve the district's budget challenges amid declining resident enrollment. The recommendations called for cutting expenses — by closing an elementary school and increasing class sizes, and …

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Teams Planning Transition of Hillside Closure, Brookfield El Merger

District staff and school parents are working to make transition as seamless as possible and honor Hillside in its final year.

Elmbrook Slows Open Enrollment as Governor Extends Signup Time

Gov. Scott Walker signed into law a longer window to apply to change public schools, but Elmbrook is working to reduce its open enrollment population.

Thanks to a change Gov. Scott Walker signed into law Wednesday, families will have a longer annual window to ask to change school districts under the state's open enrollment program. Starting Monday and running through April 30, students and their parents can apply to enroll in the public school district of their choice, not the one in which they reside. Previously, parents had to apply during a three-week window every February. "Open enrollment empowers parents with additional educational opportunities for students," Walker said after signing the bill. But all school districts have the right to control how many non-resident students they'll accept, and Elmbrook is clamping down on its open enrollment. Elmbrook will accept up to 12 new …

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UPDATE: Elmbrook Will Not Add 4K Next Fall; Some Favor Adding it in Future

While it was discussion only and no vote, Elmbrook School Board President Tom Gehl said it was clear 4K will not be added next fall.

Updated (10:55 p.m.): Despite an impassioned speech by Elmbrook Superintendent Matt Gibson urging future addition of 4-year-old kindergarten program, the School Board president said Tuesday it was clear from board debate that 4K will not be added next fall. Two weeks ago, three of the Elmbrook School Board's seven members expressed support for adding 4K — not the minimum four votes needed for passage but close, as two other members did not say how they were leaning. But Tuesday night, those two members said they opposed 4K (Meg Wartman and Kathryn Wilson). Joining in them in opposition were board members Jean Lambert and Glen Allgaier, who had raised concerns during the Jan. 10 debate. Wartman and Lambert face opponents in their April 3 re…

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Elmbrook Poised for Decision on 4K

The School Board Tuesday will discuss whether to add four-year-old kindergarten, a move that would increase K-12 revenue and property taxes.

During the contentious debate last fall on whether Elmbrook should close an elementary school, many parents argued the School Board had not done enough to raise revenues to avoid such a drastic step. One way to raise revenues, they said: add four-year-old kindergarten. The School Board will discuss Tuesday — and might vote as soon as Jan. 24 — whether to add 4K next fall. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the district's administratrative offices, 13780 Hope St. Within four years, a 4K program would add nearly $700,000 to more than $1 million annually to district coffers, money that could be used not only to fund 4K but other K-12 programs. But the money would come largely from increased property taxes — about $70 to $100 more annually for …

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Week Ahead: School Board Vote on Redistricting After Hillside Closure

The week ahead also includes recruitment efforts for a new Elmbrook Schools superintendent, a public hearing on an assisted living project in the town and school basketball tournaments.

Brookfield Patch offers a glimpse into news and events in the week ahead. For more events, be sure to check Patch's events listings and feel free to add your own. Superintendent search: The Elmbrook School Board will meet with an Iowa search firm on a superintendent candidate profile and recruitment issues before and after the board's regular meeting Tuesday, starting at 4 p.m. and again at 9:15 p.m. at the district administrative offices, 13780 Hope St. (Note: the start time was changed from 4:45 p.m. to 4 p.m.) Redistricting Elmbrook elementary schools: The School Board is slated to vote on a plan to redistrict Hillside Elementary students (board packet), and resulting other changes, as well as discuss the school calendar, employee …

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Week Ahead: Trees of Hope, Tax Levy Approvals, Superintendent Search Forums

Also in the week ahead, U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner will hold a town hall meeting Sunday and Brookfield Academy hosts the play "The Nerd."

Brookfield Patch offers a glimpse into news and events in the week ahead. For more events, be sure to check Patch's events listings and feel free to add your own.

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Elmbrook School Board Supports Parents' Redistricting Ideas

The School Board favored a new plan urged by many parents at forums last week that eliminates Dixon as a swing school.

Redistricting changes that parents urged at a forum last week were backed Tuesday by a majority of the Elmbrook School Board, to the delight of parents in the audience. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" one mother said. The board plans to vote at its Nov. 22 meeting. But Tuesday, the majority said they could support an alternative scenario dubbed 4B in the board's packet, which would: Dividing the five-schools into two west side, three east side could result in Dixon's enrollment declining to unacceptable levels. Some board members said Tuesday that if Elmbrook decided to add 4-year-old kindergarten, it is possible 4K classes could be consolidated at Dixon, rather than be held in all schools. The board will take a closer look before the …

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Week Ahead: Hillside Redistricting, 'Joseph' Musical, Holiday Events Begin

The week ahead features debate about school redistricting and open enrollment and holiday events benefitting the American Cancer Society and Brookfield East Fine Arts programs.

Brookfield Patch offers a glimpse into news and events in the week ahead. For more events, be sure to check Patch's events listings and feel free to add your own. Request to build more homes near closed landfill: A developer will ask the city Plan Commission to approve a preliminary plat to allow 16 more homes to be built in The Shire subdivision next to a closed Superfund landfill site. The meeting start at 6:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 2000 N. Calhoun Rd. Job Creators Roundtable: U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner — who penned a column titled "What is Holding Back the Job Creators?" — will meet with small business owners and local job creators "to discuss challenges that they face in the current economic climate and how Congress can help …

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Parents Urge Changes to Hillside Closure Redistricting Plans

Hillside parents object to splitting up their kids, while Brookfield Elementary parents don't want their children to move to a "swing school" without enough peers.

There's been a certain symmetry in Elmbrook School District for years, with three elementary, one middle and one high school each on the east and west sides of the district. Some have marveled at how close the enrollments have shaken out between Brookfield Central High and East High, and between Wisconsin Hills Middle and Pilgrim Park Middle. But with the School Board voting to close Hillside Elementary School and move from a six-elementary school feeder system to five elementaries, the symmetry disappears and perceived inequities arise. Throw into the mix the board and superintendent's interest in redistricting in a way that leaves room to close a second school if needed in the future — without moving the same families yet again, and it …

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