The Manitowoc Public School District is giving residents another chance to hear about their consolidation plan.
The second of two informational meetings takes place this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at the District Office on Lindbergh Drive.
Superintendent Lee Thennes reexplained to SeehaferNews.com that a Facilities Advisory Committee gave recommendations after working with parents and staff to see how districts work.
District staff then took the recommendations and helped create a plan to consolidate the district.
Recommendations include the closure of two schools, Madison and Jackson Elementary, along with moving other students to different schools in the district to even out the population, since more kids live on the south side of the city than the north side.
When asked why Jackson and Madison, Thennes says they both have issues.
“We’ve had problems (At Jackson)with sewage backup, our boiler not working, and things of that nature most recently,” he describes. “And then Madison school is our smallest school. And again, geographically located where it is, we can easily absorb those students in that other school.”
Closing both schools would allow for about $6.6 million in the district’s $25 million referendum approved in the 2025 General Election by voters to go to other fixes.
Thennes also says he’s received complaints about closing Madison Elementary because it’s one of the highest-achieving schools.
He says it’s more about the teachers who teach than the building it’s taught in.
“It’s the same kids, they’re going to go to a different school,” he noted. “They’re going to have the same, in most cases, teachers they had in those schools because one of our basic principles is to try to have, as much as possible, our staff follow our kids.”
The district also has a transition plan worked out for students and staff, since some kids could be concerned about moving schools.
Thennes says children tend to be more resilient than adults regarding change, but talking points have been created to help them understand what’s going on.
“I think that there’s a lot of messaging that can be done in a proactive way to help our kids understand what’s happening and not only that but perhaps even getting excited about being able to meet new friends and having new opportunities in their new school,” he said.
MPSD has been seeing its population decline for a while, but there’s been a real change over the past four to five years.
Thennes will again present what the committee and school board are looking at during today’s presentation.
When the plan could be approved could be as early as next week during the board’s regular meeting.
If not, then the MPSD could hold a special meeting in the future.
