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Committee to consider a Janesville school for closing

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DuWayne Severson

JANESVILLE — Picture Janesville’s 12 public elementary schools, scattered around the city like stars on a clear night.

Now, choose one of them to shut down.

That’s the task of a soon-to-be formed committee of district residents and school staff.

It’s quite possible that all the elementary schools will remain open, but the school board earlier this year asked for its boundary line committee to regroup with an eye to choosing a school to shut down, should that become necessary.

Mothballing a school might become an issue if enrollments drop far enough. School officials are concerned about enrollment as families leave town in response to the loss of jobs from General Motors and other local employers.

The district would have to redraw attendance boundaries if a school was closed, and the committee also would recommend where to draw the new lines.

School board President DuWayne Severson said he’d be pleased if the committee’s eventual recommendation never has to be considered.

“I’d rather be accused of a colossal waste of time than having to implement (a school closing),” he said.

But it’s prudent to have a plan in place, Severson said.

“We have to at least plan for the possibility. We have to take this on,” he said.

It’s likely the committee will need months to study enrollment and population trends and then consider alternatives before making a decision, Severson said. That time, combined with the fact that most of the district’s budget is decided early in the spring, means that the soonest a school might be closed is in the fall of 2011, he said.

Residents might want to shy away from tackling such a controversial question, but they can at least be assured that the final decision is not theirs. The school board would decide, and the administration would come up with a plan to close the school, Severson said.

Superintendent Karen Schulte said this is an opportunity for residents to have their voices heard and to serve the community.

School board member Greg Ardrey will be the committee’s chairman. Someone from the city planning office and three school principals also will serve on the committee. Schulte and Steve Sperry, director of administrative and human services, and district CFO Keith Pennington will attend meetings and supply information but not be voting members.

The rest of the committee will comprise seven local residents. School parent groups are being contacted, but Severson and Schulte said they wanted to extend the invitation to serve to the entire community.

Schulte said it would be helpful if committee members had analytical skills. Severson said a historical perspective also would come in handy. Officials also are looking to have a balance of members from different parts of the city.