Waukesha School Board to Discuss Middle School Boundaries

All White Rock Elementary School students could feed into Horning Middle School instead of into two Waukesha middle schools, a move that school administration says will alleviate crowding problems at Butler Middle School.

When White Rock students graduate from the elementary school, they are split between Butler and Horning. The proposed changes, if approved by the school board, would start next school year. The proposal will first be discussed during the Finance & Facilities Committee at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

If the board were to approve the change, it would affect about 18 students, all who live on the west side of the Fox River. The move would keep Butler’s enrollment next fall to under 1,000 students, according to a document prepared for the school board

“This action would not change the high school boundary since Horning’s attendance area feeds all three high schools and all three high schools are open to choice if the request is made in a timely fashion,” the document states.

The financial impact of the boundary move would be “insignificant if any” busing costs that are unknown until routes are completed this summer.

The Finance & Facilities also will review an in-depth analysis by the school district administration about other options that are recommended with reservations, which include the possibility of sending Blair Elementary School students to Central Middle School after fifth grade and having all students in the Rivers Crossing subdivision who attend Bethesda Elementary School transfer to Central after fifth grade.

The school administration is also “strongly recommending” a facility study that would examine closing another building “to more efficiently use our space” and to offset costs if the board decided to build additional classroom space at Butler. Those costs would range between $1 million and $3 million to expand the school, according to the documents.