Kettle Moraine board votes to close school one day after accidental email stated that school would close
WALES, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A press release officially announcing the closing of Magee Elementary was issued on Thursday, June 12 by the Kettle Moraine School District.
Magee Elementary to Close in Fall of 2026
Wales, WI – June 12, 2025 – The Kettle Moraine School District Board of Education voted unanimously to close Magee Elementary last night in a special session. The decision to right-size the district was made after a lengthy fiscal planning process projected steep, ongoing declines to district populations and revenues, resulting in projected financial deficits as soon as the 2026-27 school year. The board and district administration engaged with the KM Budget Advisory Council, staff, families, and the community over the last several months to reach this determination.
The district is committed to working with students, parents, and staff to ensure a smooth transition and reduced disruption. We will use the next year for in-depth implementation planning that will position every student for success at the three remaining elementary schools and offer staff placement opportunities within the district.
This consolidation will allow the district to enhance elementary learning opportunities and become more financially efficient to meet the changing needs of our community. With the district prioritizing choice, small class sizes, and focusing on attracting and retaining talented staff, these changes will help sustain our academic excellence.
The press release also references a document outlining the plan:
WALES, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Kettle Moraine school board voted Wednesday night to close Magee Elementary. The already controversial decision had an added layer of frustration for parents and teachers because an email went out one day before the vote stating Magee was the school board members chose for closure.
Board members and district administrators insisted the email was an accident. A Kettle Moraine spokesperson said she'd drafted versions for each of the district's four elementary schools.
Parents and staff filled the high school library for the meeting. Dana Mayer, who has two sons in Magee, said she wanted to believe the district's account but added the mistake only added to families' stress.
"I trust the board has their best intentions," Mayer said. "But it is concerning that Magee, being the smallest one of the four, happens to be the one that was accidentally released in error."
Sara Otto, the district's communications director, said in an emailed statement she'd made versions for each school so the announcement could quickly go out on various channels. She said the email draft inadvertently went to Magee staff, and some recipients then shared screenshots with the public.
"Normally, planning ahead allows me to meet the demands of our team, the board, and the community," Otto wrote. "It is unfortunate these efforts have added to an already difficult situation and I am very sorry for my part in that."
Wednesday night, June 11, the board voted unanimously to close Magee. It had known for months it would select a school to close after the 2025-26
Among their reasons for picking Magee, members cited the school having the fewest students and it would result in the fewest job cuts. They noted other schools had more empty space that could be used to absorb students transferring in.
Magee also had the highest costs per student among the four schools along with the lowest revenue per child. Mayer noted that was because Magee had the biggest share of open enrollment students whose families had specifically sought out that school.
"Students from around surrounding districts, when they choose to come to [the Kettle Moraine district], they're choosing to go to Magee out of all the four schools," she said.
Amy Richards, the board's vice president, noted the other side of that coin. The other three schools have a higher share of families who live in the district's boundaries.
"The reality is we have to serve our district students, or we've turned our back on our taxpayers and the community totally," Richards said. "That might be something that makes a lot of people listening really upset to hear. I'm sorry."
In the coming weeks and months, the district will redraw the boundaries for elementary school families. Genesee Town Chairman Terry Tesch questioned what will happen to the Magee building, which is on a lovely plot of land next to a forest.
"One of the things you gotta think about- is a private school gonna come in, purchase it, and take and then take away students from the district on open enrollments?" he asked the board.
The reality is scenes like this will play out in many more Wisconsin school districts in the coming years. Declining populations and enrollments are putting pressure on districts statewide.
The situation also puts a spotlight on state funding for schools. The Legislature's budget-writing Joint Finance Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday, and one of the items it's slated to take up is K-12 funding.