MONROE — Abraham Lincoln Elementary will begin consolidation into a seven-section school starting with the 2021-22 school year.

The plan to consolidate the building will take place over a six-year period, with one additional grade level moving to one-section each year.

For the 2022-23 school year, both kindergarten and first grade will have only one section.

By the 2026-27 school year, kindergarten through fifth grade at the building will be single-section.

Board members initially voted May 10 to phase Abraham Lincoln into a one-section school and agreed to ask the parents of 2021-22 first grade students at Abe if they would like to switch schools to potentially allow for both kindergarten and first grade to be one section next year. Enough parents did not show interest and only kindergarten will have one section at the school for the 2021-22 school year.

“The intention, I think, … of that decision that the board made was that we were going to strike a balance between planning to reduce the operational expenses of running all three of our elementary schools and reducing to a single section at Abe Lincoln in order to manage those operational costs,” Board President Rich Deprez said at the May 24 meeting.

Board members admitted to the decision being a hard one to make, but agreed that it was a decision that needed to be made.

“No one wants to have these conversations,” Board member Teresa Keehn said. “We don’t want to be in a situation where we have fewer kids and we have to look at managing that. I think everyone is hurting, but that’s where we’re at.”

Since 2010, district enrollment has declined by over 600 students, and District Administrator Rick Waski believes that “low” student numbers may be the new normal.

“It’s difficult for people,” he said. “We’re all used to what we’re used to and we have been an eight-section elementary district since 2010. When you have something the same for 11 years, you get used to it, but our enrollment has gone down rather significantly during that period of time and I feel that it’s time to make seven sections the norm.”

Some Abe parents also expressed their concerns about the building’s configuration during public comment.

Theresa Robertson, a Monroe mother of two current Abraham Lincoln students, took both to public comment and to Facebook to address the board and community members.

“We feel like we need to be the voice that feels comfortable speaking up for Abe,” she said.

Robertson said that now is not the time to follow through with configuration changes at the school, as discussions surrounding Abe’s consolidation started pre-COVID-19, so community needs and opinions may differ by now. 

In January 2020, district administration provided community members with a survey regarding issues that need to be addressed at the building. Needs in the school at the time ranged from plumbing and heating replacement to Americans with Disabilities Act code compliance.

At the time, community members were asked “would you support a plan that would close Abraham Lincoln Elementary and consolidate operations to four schools?”

Of the respondents, 820, or 58.1%, answered “yes.”

Now the board is discussing ways to keep Abraham Lincoln operational for years to come as a one-section building.