Board approves equipment purchases, district continues to see enrollment decline
B.A. Kennedy faculty and students put up scarecrows around the front of the school building to celebrate the fall season. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
By Steve Van Kooten
The Prairie du Chien Board of Education took a hard look at the district's enrollment numbers during their Oct. 13 board meeting.
The district received the results from the annual third Friday enrollment count, which takes place on the third Friday of September. The count is used to help determine funding and aid from the state to the district in the following school year.
The Prairie du Chien School District has 879 students between 3K and 12th grade, which is a drop from 912 the previous year and 974 in 2023–24. There are 17 homeschooled students in the district.
"This is just like we projected," said District Administrator Andy Banasik. "There are numerous reasons. We found that a lot of schools in Southwest Wisconsin are in the same boat."
The district is -3 in open enrollment, meaning there were three more students that open enrolled out of the PdC district than into it from another district. This is down from a +3 the previous year and +7 in 2023–24.
Based on the numbers provided, if the district moved grades 6-8 from Bluff View to the high school, the total number of students in that building would be 438, which is significantly less than in decades past.
"In the 90s, when our high school was here, we did not have the Field House or the PAAC or the 2000s addition, and we were at 525 students," said Banasik. "So, even with combining 6th, 7th and 8th grades, we're still not reaching the high we were at back then."
The board will vote on whether to close the B.A. Kennedy Building later this year.
Expenditures
The board approved a $7,500 bid for gutter repairs at Bluff View during the meeting.
Banasik said Bluff View has trouble with leaking on the backside of the building. He distributed pictures to the board and those present that showed the water coming down the wall onto the ground.
"We have the gutter fixed, but because of previous years, we have holes there that the water is going down the side of that wall."
"We fixed the gutter internally, but there's a spot further down where there's a hole in the roof that it's going between," said Higgins, Jr.
The board also approved purchasing a replacement residential lawn mower used for trim work, the baseball infield and around the high school. The school has owned the current lawnmower for 12 years.
Banasik noted the purchased mower would not be a zero-turn; the district owns one that is shared between the school's properties.
"We do not want a zero-turn," he said. "We're looking for a residential mower for roughly $2,500 to $3,000."
He added that zero-turn mowers can cost between $8,000 and $10,000.
Banasik said the district is looking at options through Johnson's One Stop, Tractor Supply, and Ace Hardware, as well as one other.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 10. The district's annual budget meeting is scheduled for Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m.
Hires
Veronica Zinkle, JV girls basketball coach; Hannah Dammen, 5th/6th grade volleyball coach; Todd McDonald, 5th grade boys basketball coach; Jennifer Severson, B.A. teacher's aide; Tyler Keeney, 5th grade girls basketball coach; Lindsey Welter, 7th grade girls basketball coach; Molly Mason, 7th grade girls basketball coach; Emily Moe, full-time teacher's aide; and Caitlyn Bittner, high school yearbook advisor.
Resignations
Brianna Kinnley, Bluff View teacher's aide; Jordan Stagman, 7th grade girls' basketball coach; Heather DeBruin, high school yearbook advisor; Lara Czajkowski-Higgins, head high school girls' soccer coach; and Corey Koenig, high school wrestling coach.
Other business
• The Prairie du Chien High School musical, Into the Woods, will debut on Nov. 6, and shows will run until Nov. 9.
• According to Banasik, the district is "exploring" whether they can start the school year before Sept. 1. The district is looking for approval from the Department of Public Instruction.
• The district's new chiller was scheduled for installation this past week between Tuesday, Oct. 14, and Wednesday, Oct. 15, according to Vicki Waller. She added that the work would not disrupt the students' school day.
• A resolution regarding the sale of one of the district's houses is expected to come in front of the board in the near future.
