GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The Green Bay Area Public School District has posted survey results for its facilities master plan.
The survey included 24 questions in which parents & guardians, community members, and staff gave their opinions on how they would like to see the District reshaped long-term.
According to the results, 3,664 individuals took the survey; with the majority of people in support of the District making boundary changes to tackle declining enrollment.
About 60% of people are in favor of shifting high school students west which would increase enrollment for West, Southwest, and East high schools, resulting in a decrease of enrollment for Preble High School.
People are mixed as to whether West High School should stay as it is with about 44% of people in favor of repurposing the high school into a middle school and district office. Results show that 41% of people are against the idea which includes moving students from West High School to Southwest High School.
However, about 60% support keeping West as a high school and renovating it to accommodate John Dewey Academy of Learning students to West, according to the results. JDAL enrolls students in grades 6-12. This proposal includes the District selling the current JDAL building on Cherry Street.
The majority of people support adding K-8 students to the east and west sides, which would require referendums, according to the survey.
About 53% of respondents are in favor of closing Keller, MacArthur, and Kennedy elementary schools for a new school to be built on the Kennedy site, about 24% of people disagreed.
Approximately 61% support the idea of closing Washington Middle School so long as multiple K-8 schools are built, compared to 21% who disagreed, according to the survey.
Currently, a citizens' task force is coming up with a list of recommendations on how to reshape the District over the next decade. According to the Donovan Group, a school communications firm out of Milwaukee, the task force will take into consideration the opinions provided by the public in the survey as part of its plan.
Recommendations will be submitted by the task force to the Board of Education in May.
The school board is set to vote on the task force's recommendations in early June. According to the Donovan Group, recommendations approved by the school board will be implemented after the 2023-24 academic year.
Complete survey results can be found here.
