Motion for classes in both schools fails

By Angie Landsverk

Weyauwega-Fremont’s Early Childhood and 4K programs will move from Fremont Elementary to Weyauwega Elementary next school year.

The school board voted 3-2 in favor of the move on Monday, Feb. 26 during its meeting in Fremont Elementary’s gym.

“I’m looking to do what’s best for all the kids in our district,” Board President Doug Ehrenberg said prior to the board’s vote.

Ehrenberg, as well as Tim Baehnman and Deb Bartel voted yes, while Mark Alberts and Sandy Smith voted no.

Jim Stuebs was absent.

Kurt Duxbury had initially been available for the meeting via a telephone.

However, the board lost the connection with him in the middle of the discussion about moving the programs.

The board briefly reconnected with Duxbury, but lost the connection again before the votes on the topic.

Last November, district administrators presented the plan to move the programs from Fremont to Weyauwega.

They said the reallocation of space in the high school and middle school opened up classrooms in Weyauwega Elementary.

The movement in the high and middle schools is related to the building and remodeling project underway at the high school.

Since the discussion began, kindergarten teachers at Weyauwega Elementary offered to move their classrooms, so the 4K and Early Childhood (EC) classrooms may move there.

Moving the two programs was a topic during a special school board meeting on Feb. 12.

The board held that meeting due to concerns and questions from Fremont area residents.

During that meeting, District Administrator Scott Bleck noted classroom locations are reviewed annually.

When the district began offering its 4K program 16 years ago, there was not room to offer it at Weyauwega Elementary.

Bleck said moving 4K to Weyauwega would increase instruction time by about 25 minutes per day.

That is because the 4K schedule would be 7:50 a.m. to 3 p.m., matching the elementary schedule.

Currently, 4K students from Weyauwega are shuttled to Fremont, arriving there after the school day begins.

Fremont residents asked the administrators and board to compromise by offering 4K in both Fremont and Weyauwega.

Their idea included moving EC to Weyauwega.

Under their proposal, 4K students from both communities would then transition into their home schools when they start kindergarten.

Some board members supported that idea.

Smith made a motion to move EC to Weyauwega and to offer 4K in Fremont and Weyauwega, and Alberts seconded it.

Her motion failed, with Smith and Alberts voting in favor of it, and Baehnman, Bartel and Ehrenberg voting against it.

Under this scenario, she realized there could be the need for another section of 4K in Weyauwega.

There are currently two, full-day sections of 4K at Fremont Elementary.

One is on Monday and Thursday, and the other section is on Tuesday and Friday.

When the 2018-19 school year begins, those sections will remain the same.

The one change will be the move to Weyauwega.

During the discussion about Smith’s motion, Ehrenberg said if there was one 4K section in Fremont and one in Weyauwega, the numbers would not be even.

That is based on the preliminary 4K numbers for the next school year showing 12 Fremont students and 22 Weyauwega students.

Elementary Principal Doug Nowak said the district might need to hire a part-time 4K teacher in Weyauwega, based on the current numbers.

Bartel spoke to one of the district’s teachers associated with its pre-K programs.

“She shared the pros and cons,” Bartel said.

Among the cons would be the need to outfit and run two 4K classrooms in two schools, she said.

“That’s a lot to ask,” Bartel said.

Smith said, “I understand that. I just feel strongly about this.”

She said the district could try it for a year.

After her motion failed and Baehnman made one to move both pre-K programs to Weyauwega, Smith said there should have been a discussion in the community during the referendum process about the idea of moving these programs to Weyauwega.

Smith said the administrators began talking about it internally a couple years ago before presenting it last November.

Bartel said moving the programs has nothing to do with the referendum.

“They’re two separate issues,” she said.

As Smith pointed to the approximately 50 people in attendance, she said, “These people may have a lot of ideas.”

Bleck said he respects their opinions.

When they presented the plan in November, it was nine months before it was to be implemented, he said.