Planning is well underway in the School District of the Menomonie Area for the 2025-26 school year. The preliminary budget is being built and the process of creating class schedules and hiring staff for next year has already started. While every school year has some unique scheduling challenges, the school board is currently facing a very difficult decision. The School District of the Menomonie Area (SDMA) might need to close Downsville Elementary School. 

Enrollment at Downsville Elementary School has Declined
There have been various discussions over the years about the future of Downsville Elementary School. According to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, birth rates in Dunn County have declined 24% since 2003. SDMA school enrollments in town have been relatively stable, but the number of students attending Downsville Elementary has declined significantly over the past 10 years. The school that served nearly 120 students in the past is now projected to have less than 75 students next year. The incoming kindergarten class at Downsville is expected to have only five students.

Can the School District Change School Boundaries to Balance Enrollment?
At a recent informational meeting held for Downsville families, Tom Krueger, who has been working for Menomonie Transportation for nearly 30 years, commented on how rural bus routes have changed compared to the time when several students used to be picked up at farms in the area. School officials and the bus company have studied the possibility of shifting attendance boundaries to better balance enrollment between the SDMA’s five elementary schools, but expanding Downsville’s boundary to capture more enrollment is not a viable solution. There are so few students living in the area between Menomonie and Downsville that the boundary would need to be moved all the way into town to make a noticeable difference. Students who live within walking distance of Oaklawn or River Heights Elementary Schools would need to ride a bus to Downsville. 

Staffing at Downsville Elementary is a Major Concern
Even if the school board is willing to keep Downsville Elementary open, staffing at Downsville will be a significant challenge. Similar to many other areas of the workforce, finding highly qualified educators has become more difficult. Candidate pools have shrunk over the years with less people going to school to become teachers. Staffing shortages both locally and across the country would make it very difficult to recruit and retain enough good teachers to provide students at Downsville Elementary School with a high quality educational experience. There has already been a lot of staff turnover over the years at Downsville Elementary, and with a number of staff members leaving at the end of this school year for retirement, family moves, and other professional opportunities, the district would need to restaff almost the entire building. With so many teaching vacancies across the state, the SDMA has little choice but to allow current Downsville teachers to transfer between district schools or risk losing them to a different school district altogether. With the number of anticipated vacancies and needs in other SDMA schools, there would be no lay offs if Downsville Elementary is closed next year.

Solutions for Keeping the Downsville School Open
A number of other ideas for keeping Downsville open have been explored, including some temporary solutions of only offering grades 1-5 next year or possibly combining the kindergarten and first grade classes. While some people have expressed interest in having combined classrooms or other “band-aid” measures to keep the school open in more of an “experimental” setting, doing so would cause some parents to send their children to a different school based on concerns about the quality of education. Losing any students would only make the enrollment problem worse. Some suggestions like creating an environmental school or project-based learning school at Downsville might be possibilities for the future, but those are not solutions that can be readily implemented in time for the 2025-26 school year. Budgeting, staffing, curriculum, equipment, and supplies are just a few of the important items that would need to be considered before providing a brand new instructional setting.

What is Next for Elementary Schools in the SDMA?
The school board is expected to vote on the future of Downsville Elementary School on April 14. If the Board votes to keep Downsville open next year, the school district will work to hire a new staff and provide the best educational experience possible. If the Board votes to close Downsville Elementary School, students will be assigned to a new elementary school attendance boundary at River Heights, Oaklawn, or Knapp based on where they live. There is room at the other schools for Downsville students, and additional classes/sections can be added to keep class sizes within the district’s guidelines. Closing Downsville Elementary School would actually result in some smaller class sizes at other schools in the SDMA when extra classes are added. The district is already anticipating the need to add an extra class of kindergarten at River Heights and 3rd grade at Oaklawn. 

Supporting Downsville Families
If the Board votes to close Downsville Elementary School, an expedited in-district transfer request window would be made available for Downsville families who might prefer a different elementary school than the attendance boundary they are assigned. Transportation is typically not provided for in-district transfer requests, but Menomonie Transportation would try to accommodate as many requests as possible for families from Downsville next year if the school closes. School visits would be arranged for Downsville students to tour their new school, and parents would be provided with opportunities to connect with new Parent-Teacher Organizations.

What would happen to the Downsville school if it closes?
If Downsville Elementary is closed for next year, the school district will take the necessary time to carefully assess the future of the school building. Thorough discussions with Downsville families and the community will be had to determine the best course of action moving forward. Closing the school for the 2025-26 school year would not prevent it from reopening in the future.

School families and community members are welcome to contact school district officials if you have any questions or concerns. Contact information for school board members is available on the district website (www.sdmaonline.com), and I am happy to forward messages to the school board as well. You are also welcome to email ([email protected]), call (715-232-1642 ext. 11111), or visit with me at the Administrative Service Center on Pine Avenue.

Joe Zydowsky is SDMA Superintendent