GRATIOT - Anger over the closing of the middle school building in Gratiot rose again at a Black Hawk School District board meeting Monday, May 14.
New board member Chuck Herbst presented 228 signatures on a petition asking the board to reverse its October decision to close the Gratiot building and consolidate students at the district's South Wayne campus. The school closes after the end of this semester, a move intended to help shave more than $375,000 from the district budget.
Herbst acknowledged to the board the petition signatures carry no legal weight.
"It's not binding. It means nothing," he said, holding up the stack of papers. But he urged the board to consider the signatures "an eye opener" to opposition within the district. "We only needed eight (signatures). That would've outvoted the board."
Herbst won his seat as a write-in candidate in the April election after being an outspoken opponent of the closure at public meetings in the past six months. The closure is a drastic measure that will hurt the community of Gratiot, he says, when other options - like laying off more teachers and putting individual electives up for a referendum vote - should have received more consideration.
The rest of the board met his challenges at first with polite inquiries or sympathy and then with exasperation.
"We laid off a lot of people," countered board member Dusty Williams.
Donielle Wellnitz said electives were already barebone and cutting them further would squelch opportunities for students.
"We've been cutting for years," agreed Jason Figi.
The Gratiot closure is a painful but unavoidable step, they concluded, to save the district. The tax base is shrinking as farms get bigger, said board president Kerry Holland, and fewer kids are moving into the area.
"The whole of southwest Wisconsin is in the same boat we are," Holland said.
Gratiot and South Wayne had separate school districts until the mid-1960s, when they combined to form Black Hawk. The board voted in October to move all grade levels to South Wayne at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. The topic was presented on the October meeting's agenda as a "restructuring," which some complained was an underhanded way to obscure the closure from the public.
Opponents of the school closure had a minor victory in March when a resolution to sell the middle school building was defeated 57-39.
As at past meetings, the discussion Monday over the school closure quickly escalated. Herbst and a man who voiced his support of the closure during the meeting's public comment period exchanged harsh words as other members of the board hushed them.
Meanwhile, the petitions sat untouched.
As the rest of the board moved on to the next agenda item after taking no action, Herbst tucked the pile of signature papers back into his folder and buried his head in his hands.
New board member Chuck Herbst presented 228 signatures on a petition asking the board to reverse its October decision to close the Gratiot building and consolidate students at the district's South Wayne campus. The school closes after the end of this semester, a move intended to help shave more than $375,000 from the district budget.
Herbst acknowledged to the board the petition signatures carry no legal weight.
"It's not binding. It means nothing," he said, holding up the stack of papers. But he urged the board to consider the signatures "an eye opener" to opposition within the district. "We only needed eight (signatures). That would've outvoted the board."
Herbst won his seat as a write-in candidate in the April election after being an outspoken opponent of the closure at public meetings in the past six months. The closure is a drastic measure that will hurt the community of Gratiot, he says, when other options - like laying off more teachers and putting individual electives up for a referendum vote - should have received more consideration.
The rest of the board met his challenges at first with polite inquiries or sympathy and then with exasperation.
"We laid off a lot of people," countered board member Dusty Williams.
Donielle Wellnitz said electives were already barebone and cutting them further would squelch opportunities for students.
"We've been cutting for years," agreed Jason Figi.
The Gratiot closure is a painful but unavoidable step, they concluded, to save the district. The tax base is shrinking as farms get bigger, said board president Kerry Holland, and fewer kids are moving into the area.
"The whole of southwest Wisconsin is in the same boat we are," Holland said.
Gratiot and South Wayne had separate school districts until the mid-1960s, when they combined to form Black Hawk. The board voted in October to move all grade levels to South Wayne at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. The topic was presented on the October meeting's agenda as a "restructuring," which some complained was an underhanded way to obscure the closure from the public.
Opponents of the school closure had a minor victory in March when a resolution to sell the middle school building was defeated 57-39.
As at past meetings, the discussion Monday over the school closure quickly escalated. Herbst and a man who voiced his support of the closure during the meeting's public comment period exchanged harsh words as other members of the board hushed them.
Meanwhile, the petitions sat untouched.
As the rest of the board moved on to the next agenda item after taking no action, Herbst tucked the pile of signature papers back into his folder and buried his head in his hands.