By Craig Marx, Editor

The Unified School District of Antigo Board of Education Meeting, scheduled for this evening at 7 PM from Antigo High School’s Media Tech Room, will certainly be a hot button topic among those on both sides of the district’s recent consolidation plans. After numerous hearing sessions, proposal drafts, and editorial letters later, decisions on the consolidation efforts most likely will be put to a vote tonight.

The paramount meeting comes just two days before the district’s sponsored school board candidate forum (Thursday, 6:30 – 9 PM in the Volm Theater). Numerous discussions have been held as to what the consolidation proposal would entail and have been met with mixed results from the community to say the least.

The board’s “Ad Hoc Facilities Plan,” as drafted under “Consideration of possible action to implement a facilities consolidation” of this evening’s board actions, is defined as such:

Unified School District of Antigo Ad Hoc Facilities Plan

Purpose: To establish a facilities plan that can be accomplished without the passage of a building referendum and provides the following:

1. Multi-track elementary schools
2. Equitable services at all USDA elementary schools
3. Equitable class sizes at all USDA elementary schools

Proposed Plan:

Antigo High School: Grades 8th – 12th

Antigo Middle School: Grades 4th – 7th

West Elementary School: Two Tracks of Grades Kindergarten – 3rd, 4-year old Kindergarten and Early Childhood

North Elementary School: Three Tracks of Grades Kindergarten – 3rd

East Elementary School: Two Tracks of Grades Kindergarten – 3rd

Approximate class sizes and enrollments under proposed plan:

*Actual class sizes will vary year to year based on the number of students in each grade level and attendance boundaries.

Approximate transportation times under the proposed plan:

• Maintains 29 bus routes (not including city bus pass route)
• Times are from the pick-up of the first student to the Middle School
• Time estimates are generated using computer software
• Times do not take into consideration weather conditions
• Times are estimates and have not been confirmed by Malliette [Bus Company]

Information from the Unified School District of Antigo. Projected floor plans are also available from the district’s website located at this link. 

With the leaving of district administrator Brian Misfeldt this coming summer and possible turnover on the school board come election time early in April, tonight’s meeting will bring to a head the pressing issues that the community have been vocal about since the proposal’s inception.

The school board voted unanimously in favor of the Plan A option, 9-0. A new referendum could come about next year with new options in mind.