Cudahy School District is considering merging middle and high schools and sending sixth-graders to its elementary schools

The Cudahy School District is considering a proposal that would reconfigure schools districtwide.

Under the proposal, elementary schools would house kindergarten through sixth grades, and the high school would house seventh through 12th grades. Central administrative and recreation offices would be moved to the middle school building.

Seventh-graders would have their own dedicated hall in the high school building, and eighth-grade classes would be grouped closely and aligned with course subjects, according to a report prepared by Cudahy School District Superintendent Tina Owen-Moore.

A two-year timeline has been suggested for the plan.

Starting in the 2023-24 school year, incoming sixth-graders would remain at the elementary schools and the secondary building would be prepared for seventh- and eighth-grade students. Then in the 2024-25 school year, seventh- and eighth-graders would move to the high school, the report said.

The plan said additional reductions could be made in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years "according to enrollment demands to reduce the deficit between operating revenue and expenses."

Benefits of the proposed plan

The reorganization is being prompted by an anticipated budget deficit, as well as declining enrollment."If we do not take steps to reduce expenditures, we will have to begin to make drastic cuts and will need to begin planning for a larger operating referendum to address the deficit in 2025-26," Owen-Moore's report said.

Voters approved a five-year operational referendum in April 2020, totaling $11.75 million.

Owen-Moore's report said the district anticipates the seventh- through 12th-grade model will create savings of $1.2 million a year through shared staffing alone, with reductions being absorbed through retirements.

"Additionally, there will be cost savings from site-based software licenses, energy costs, supplies, etc. These will be recurring savings year after year, and the merger will make it easier for us to adjust staffing based on enrollment in the years to come. In addition, the middle school building provides the most opportunity for revenue generation and support for community activities," Owen-Moore's report said.

Addressing projected budget deficits

According to Owen-Moore's report, the district could face a $1.165 million budget deficit for the 2023-24 school year, a $2.528 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year and a $5.51 million deficit for the 2025-26 school year.

Since fall 2021, the district has reduced its staffing by almost 10 full-time positions and closed Park View Elementary School, with plans to sell the school. The report also noted an anticipated increase in student aid has not come through, and salary increases and health care costs have been greater than expected.

When the board decided to close Park View Elementary School and make staff reductions, administrators said the district would need to make further adjustments to account for the budget forecasts and projected continued enrollment decline.

The Cudahy School Board voted unanimously in December 2021 to close Park View Elementary School and merge it with General Mitchell Elementary School at the end of the 2021-22 school year. The board also considered and rejected several other options.

More cost-saving measures needed

While closing Park View and merging it with General Mitchell saved the district over $700,000 annually and increased revenues by just over $200,000, the district still needs to make another $1.5 million in reductions, Owen-Moore's report said.The district considered options such as reducing salaried positions equivalent to $1.5 million; closing an elementary school and reducing positions to equal $1 million; closing two elementary schools; as well as several options to reconfigure the grade spans in each school.

Reconfiguring the schools to kindergarten through sixth grade in the elementary school and grades seven to 12 in the secondary school building is recommended because of research showing that "reducing transitions between schools leads to increased academic achievement and less bullying," according to Owen-Moore's report.

Information about the proposed reconfiguration was presented at the Cudahy School Board's Nov. 14 meeting.

Owen-Moore's report said the middle school "has historically been our lowest performing school academically" and suggested the reconfiguration would give students "many opportunities to academic acceleration in subject areas of strength. It also said that since the elementary schools are the district's highest-achieving schools, they're likely to see increased enrollment. The proposed model could "recapture students who would have otherwise open-enrolled out," the report said. In 2021-22, 98 middle school students open enrolled out of the district, reflecting a loss of about $1 million in revenue, the report noted."The Administration is recommending this grade span reconfiguration because it is the most fiscally and academically responsive move we can make in this budget context," Owen-Moore's report said.

Next steps

The administration said that reducing staffing without closing a facility could result in increased class sizes and the elimination of course offerings. Relying on a referendum to provide additional operating funds is risky, since there is no guarantee a referendum would be approved, and the administration would need contingency plans.

The Cudahy School Board is expected to vote on the proposal during its meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 12 at the district's administration building, 2915 E. Ramsey Ave., Cudahy.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cudahy School District considering merging middle and high schools