Lincoln Elementary School will have about 90 fewer students in the 2017-18 school year, when a new boundary plan takes effect to eliminate overcrowding.
After holding 16 meetings in a nine-month span to discuss the issue, the Wausau School Board this week unanimously approved new boundaries for 13 elementary schools in the district.
The plan will affect about 600 students, school officials say, though those numbers are in flux because the estimate includes fifth graders who will move to middle school next year. The changes are meant to alleviate overcrowding in some schools and better distribute the city’s elementary school population.
The board considered this version of the boundary plan in July, but waited to review current enrollment numbers before taking a final vote, says Lance Trollop, Wausau School Board president.
Among the changes, to take effect in the 2017-18 school year:
Wausau Avenue will become the new boundary between Riverview and Franklin Elementary, which means the schools will exchange dozens of students.
About 90 students will move from Lincoln to G.D. Jones, where a new addition was recently completed to accommodate the expected shift.
About 60 students will move from John Marshall to Hawthorn Hills, while an estimated 75 Hawthorne Hills students will wind up at John Marshall.
Stettin, the most overcrowded school in the district, will lose an estimated 17 students who will shift to Rib Mountain Elementary.
Parents can request their child remain at their current school during the district’s open enrollment period, which begins in February.
