As Wisconsin’s seventh-largest school district, we serve more students than 98% of Wisconsin districts, operate 23 separate facilities, and employ close to 1,500 people, making us one of the largest employers in the city of Waukesha. Our top teacher salaries have reached nearly $95,000 per year, and our new teacher salaries have increased by 18% since 2021.
While we have maintained competitive compensation models, our costs to operate facilities, update curriculum, provide pupil transportation, and strengthen safety and security infrastructure continue to outpace enrollment. Several of our elementary and middle schools have been trending toward 50% occupancy, leading to costly inefficiencies that risk sacrificing programs and services by spreading specialists across too many facilities.
We embarked on the “Optimizing Our Future” process last spring with clear goals in mind: Address this excess K-8 capacity by reducing overall building space by 10%-15%. We asked the administration to facilitate an open, community-involved process, and we spent the summer in candid and honest discussion about ongoing enrollment challenges that have led to a persistent structural deficit, impossible trade-offs between facilities and staffing, and the pros and cons of potential solutions.
The Board reached a decision Nov. 12 that met our goal, and the process now shifts from input and deliberation to implementation. The conclusion of this work doesn’t come with celebration or pats on the back. It leaves an empty feeling in the moment — and for some, it concludes with disappointment, sadness, and even anger. Leadership sometimes requires us to sit with that discomfort, to accept the disappointment that accompanies the necessary change, and to work to move forward with clarity and compassion.