The Wausau School District next month will consider hiring a demographer to study how to address the declining enrollments at Wausau schools, along with the uneven distribution between the east and west sides of town.
That comes on the heels of the Wausau School Board scrapping a plan that would have seen a major upheaval in the district’s school structure, including combining east and west high schools. In the face of backlash from parents and residents, and overwhelming costs and complications, the board late last year decided to stop the merger.
District Communications Manager Diana White in an email to members of the press explained that the board on Feb. 12 would hear a presentation from Mark Roffers, who will “describe his portfolio of work as an urban, rural, and regional planner and project manager who specializes in growth management and economic development services,” according to the district’s email. The presentation would serve as his interview, so to speak, and if hired he would look at the current elementary school layout and make recommendations.
In that same email, the district says it will be working with the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to search for a new superintendent. Current Superintendent Keith Hilts announced late last year that he planned to retire at the end of this school year.
