JOINT NO. 1 SCHOOL DISTRICT ANNOUNCES FACILITIES PLAN
LAKE GENEVA
Superintendent Peter Wilson recently presented a facilities and grade configuration plan for the Lake Geneva Joint No. 1 School District to city officials on March 2.
Central-Denison Elementary School and Star Center Elementary School could have similar student enrollment numbers as part of Lake Geneva Joint No. 1 School District's facilities and grade reconfiguration plan.
Lake Geneva Joint No. 1 School District is trying to determine the best uses for its buildings and facilities amid declining enrollment, decreased state funding and aging infrastructure.
The district includes Lake Geneva Middle School, Central-Denison Elementary School, Eastview Elementary School and Star Center Elementary School.
Superintendent Peter Wilson highlighted aspects of a facilities and grade configuration plan that the school board approved last month during the Lake Geneva City Council's Committee of the Whole meeting March 2.
He said said the purpose of the plan, which is expected to be implemented in the 2027-28 school year, is to find cost-eff ective uses for the school facilities while providing a quality education to students.
Fifth graders to LGMS
The plan proposes moving fifth-grade students from Eastview Elementary School and Star Center Elementary School to Lake Geneva Middle School, which currently serves sixth through eighth grades.
"There's models where fifth grade is just a stand alone. There's models where fifth and sixth grades are run like an elementary school and seventh and eighth are run like a junior high," Wilson said. "Our curriculum instruction directors and teams of teachers and parents are going to be studying and looking at what's going to be the best fit for Lake Geneva and what's going to work for us."
Balanced elementary schools
The plan also calls for establishing Central-Denison and Star Center as "balanced" elementary schools with similar student enrollment numbers.
District officials are in the process of determining the most appropriate attendance boundaries for both schools.
"There is going to be flexibility within those boundaries, so we can control where kids go and where they don't go and parents will have the option to apply whether their children will go to one or the other," Wilson said.
Repurposing Eastview
As part of the plan, Eastview Elementary School would be repurposed for early childhood education and, possibly, charter school programs.
Portions of the building also could be used by community organizations such as Open Arms Free Clinic in Elkhorn or daycare providers.
"We've already had some organizations reach out to us that are interested in leasing some of our spaces," Wilson said.
The school's gymnasium and athletic fields could be used for community programs and sports tournaments.
For more information about the facilities and grade configuration plan, visit www.lakegenevaschools.com.
