School district considers moving middle school students to high school
Prairie du Chien Board of Education members Lonnie Achenbach, Lacie Anthony, Noah White, District Administrator Andy Banasik, School Board President Michael Higgins, Jr., Vice President Nick Gilberts and Board Member Dustin Brewer at the Dec. 9 meeting. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
By Steve Van Kooten
At the December 9 Prairie du Chien Board of Education meeting, high school and Bluff View Intermediate principal Doug Morris told the board he wanted permission to meet with faculty, students and members of the community to develop plans for moving grades 6-8 from BV to the high school.
Morris acknowledged there are concerns having younger students in the same location as high school students and said he wanted to keep the middle school and high school students separate while they occupy the school.
He said, “I don’t want their schedules to line up. I don’t want them in the hallway at the same time. I don’t want them in the bathrooms at the same time. I want them in different parts of the building. I have a plan that will allow us to do that, and I want every teacher to have their own classroom.”
He added that his plan ensures none of the faculty would have to “teach out of a cart.”
The exception would be science labs: there are five science teachers and only four labs.
“We can play with schedules; each one can have their own office and classroom. They’ll have to share lab space,” Morris said.
If staff or programs are reduced, faculty might be required to teach in multiple grades in different buildings. The back and forth could lead to increased expenses, according to Banasik.
“I don’t know how we can keep schedules separate because teachers may have to teach multiple levels,” said Morris.
The proposed benefits for moving the students include vertical alignment for grades 6 through 12, giving a greater familiarity with programming and options as students go through their school careers, according to Morris.
Morris said he wanted to bring two options to the board of education at their January 13 meeting. Part of his plan includes working in conjunction with teacher and student leadership and conducting a public presentation for parents and community members to get further input on the different options.
The school board said they would supply Morris with the information they needed to make a decision.
The school announced a community meeting to address the matter set for today at 6:30 p.m. at the high school.
Committees
The Board of Education announced four advisory committees: Facility, Finance and Personnel; Policy and Governance; Educational; and Strategic.
The FFP committee will meet on the first Monday of each month, and the policy committee will meet twice a year in January and June. The schedules for the other two committees have not been announced.
The educational and strategic committees will include a combination of board members and members of the community. Board members can only be on two committees each.
Banasik said the committees could begin meeting as early as February, and the district did not have committees for the past two years because of “the number of committees we had in the past.”
After the committees start, each one will draft its own descriptions and scope of responsibilities.
If a community member is interested in participating in one of the available committees, they can contact Andy Banasik or Jackie Rodenburg via email or phone at the school’s district office.
The next meeting was a working session meeting on Tuesday, December 17, at the high school.
More details to follow.
Elections
Two seats on the Prairie du Chien Board of Education are up for re-election in the spring of 2025.
Lacie Anthony is running for reelection, but Jim Hackett confirmed he has filed for non-candidacy. His seat will be open in April.
