Parents Opposed To Whittier And Hadfield Schools Merging Plan Walk

WAUKESHA, WI — A group of parents plans to march from Whittier Elementary School to Hadfield Elementary School on Saturday in protest of the Waukesha school district's proposal to merge the two schools.

The walk would demonstrate the distance between the schools and the lack of transportation available for displaced students that would result from combining the two schools, petition organizer Kelsey Draves said.

Draves, who organized a Change.org petition with 301 signatures, said that merging schools would affect a "fragile community." Whittier serves the highest number of economically disadvantaged students in the school district and has one of the highest populations of students with special needs, Draves added.

Enrollment at Waukesha schools has declined over the past decade, the School District of Waukesha said. District data showed enrollment at both schools was under half their capacity in the 2020-21 school year.

The school district also predicts a $7 million budget shortfall in the 2022-23 school year, district data showed.

Combining Whittier and Hadfield elementary schools would "provide more stable full-time staffing and more stable before and after school care," in one location, the school district said in a letter sent to parents in late January.

If the proposal passes, the district would close Whittier and move its students to Hadfield.

Draves said the plan would double class sizes, put stress on teachers, and make families pay hundreds to bus their children to a new school.

"If these families can not afford this added expense, (the district) is making these elementary aged children walk up to two miles to get to their new merged school," she said.

The walk starts at 9:45 a.m. outside of Whittier Elementary School, 1103 S East Ave., according to the petition page.

The district board will meet March 9, the district said in an announcement.