Our elementary schools are facing challenges. To come up with solutions to those challenges, the School District of Baraboo has reformed the Elementary Facilities Advisory Committee. The committee is a diverse group of parents, educators, business leaders, members of city government, and other community members. They met for the first time on August 7, and plan to meet at least three more times before concluding their work.
In 2021 the original Elementary Facilities Advisory Committee was established, and identified 4 challenges facing our elementary schools:
1. Aging Building Systems
2. Outdated Classrooms
3. Capacity
4. Limited Gym/Cafeteria Capacity
In 2022, the community was surveyed to learn whether they supported a referendum to address these 4 challenges. The community was not ready to invest in our elementary schools at that time. The district listened and set the referendum aside, but the needs remained.
Since the survey was done in 2022, Baraboo has experienced dramatic housing growth. To learn whether this housing growth might impact enrollment, the School District of Baraboo has started working with the University of Wisconsin’s Applied Population Laboratory to generate an enrollment projection study. Enrollment growth could add a fifth challenge to the four already facing our elementary schools. The Elementary Facilities Advisory Committee will explore this question as it has begun to review the needs of our elementary schools.