How small is too small? Friess Lake and Richfield school districts talk merger

Michelle McKenna considers herself lucky. The Richfield resident is the parent of twin boys in second grade at Friess Lake School in Hubertus. McKenna likes the small feel of the 177-student building — which is also its own K-8 district — where her sons have quality educators and where Superintendent John Engstrom knows her and her family.

But that could change.

To save money and increase opportunities for students, the Friess Lake School District is considering merging with the neighboring Richfield Joint 1 School District in Washington County. Although McKenna understands the potential benefits of a consolidated district, she doesn’t want to lose what she knows at Friess Lake.

“It’s the fear of the unknown,” McKenna said. “We know what we’re getting at Friess Lake. I don’t know the staff in Richfield.”

District consolidations are relatively rare in Wisconsin, and in the past 10 years, they've only occurred among small districts in northern or central parts of the state. The fact that the conversation is now happening in the greater Milwaukee metro area signals the continued pressures on small districts grappling with the one-two punch of declining enrollment and decreased revenue.

For some districts in close proximity to a willing neighbor, consolidation makes sense from a business perspective. But the concept can be emotionally fraught for parents and staff, and for years the idea has been a non-starter in certain wealthy communities that treasure the intimacy of — and can afford to support — tiny K-8 school districts, such as the those that feed into Arrowhead High School in the Lake Country area of Waukesha County or into Nicolet High School on the North Shore.

Proponents of consolidation say it can create opportunities for professional staff development, more robust offerings for students, operational efficiencies, community unity and overall stability.

“When we work together, we’re able to become much stronger and wiser and pass that on to our students,” Richfield Superintendent Tara Villalobos said.

Critics say consolidation can be contentious for areas where the school is the center of the community, especially in the event of staff cuts or building closings. In some communities, consolidation can result in some residents seeing tax increases while others see decreases. If Richfield and Friess Lake merged, taxes for residents within Richfield's boundaries would go down, and taxes for residents of the Friess Lake district would go up.

Woody Wiedenhoeft, executive director for the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials, said the decisions are complicated by more than just issues around money. For example, consolidating two rural districts that are geographically large would not be of great service to families, because some children would have to be transported over a great distance to attend their neighborhood schools.

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“There are community dynamics in play also where the schoolhouse is a centerpiece of the community and that becomes an issue that has to be discussed among the people in those communities," he said.

But the demographics of Wisconsin districts are changing. State data shows more than half enroll fewer than 1,000 students. More than two-thirds of districts are in declining enrollment. And in rural schools, there are fewer children to absorb the costs of infrastructure investments and fewer staff members to implement state and federal mandates.

One village, two districts

The Friess Lake and Richfield school districts, which feed into Hartford Union High School, are located in southeast Washington County in the village of Richfield, which has a population of 11,410. The Friess Lake district, in the unincorporated community of Hubertus, is less than five miles north and west of the Richfield district’s two buildings: Plat Elementary in Colgate, which houses students in kindergarten through second grade, and Richfield Elementary in Richfield, for students in third through eighth grades.

The Richfield district enrolls about 400 students.

Friess Lake School (and district) enrolls 177 students, and one out of three open enrolls into the school from neighboring areas. A decade ago, the district had 307 students.

If the two school districts combined, they would have a projected enrollment of 550 students, which is still below an average-size district in the state.

Wiedenhoeft said there are other ways for schools to address tight budgets without having to consolidate. One option is whole grade sharing, a provision in the 2015-'17 state budget that allows schools to teach students in the same grade level from multiple districts in one location.

Gov. Scott Walker’s 2017-'19 budget proposal calls for allowing schools to contract with each other or share services to fulfill state obligations, such as reading specialists, bilingual and bicultural programs, guidance and counseling, and technical preparation programs.

Wiedenhoeft said whole grade sharing and collaborating on services may save money because it allows districts to provide programs or instruction with fewer staff members than they'd need otherwise. 

A survey about the potential consolidation is being organized for residents in the Friess Lake district boundaries and the second round of community meetings ended Friday.

For McKenna, the idea of change is scary, but if the consolidation moves forward, she’s hopeful it will be a good thing.

“In the long run, our kids are here for an education and we want to make sure they get the best education they can get,” she said.

Other mergers

Since 2006, there have been four school district consolidations across the state.

• In 2006, the former districts of Trevor and Wilmot grade schools became the Trevor-Wilmot Consolidated Grade School District in Trevor.
• In 2009, the Chequamegon School District in Park Falls was formed by consolidating the Park Falls and Glidden school districts.
• In 2010, the Chetek and Weyerhaeuser school districts became the Chetek-Weyerhaeuser Area School District in Chetek.
• Last July, the districts of Herman, Neosho and Rubicon combined to form the Herman-Neosho-Rubicon School District in Neosho in Dodge County.