West Bend School District To Install Trailer At Decorah Elementary

Last year when the West Bend school district was pushing for a $119.3 building referendum, they kept trotting out the prediction/threat that if the referendum failed, they would have to install trailers to deal with the overcrowding. 

Personally, the prospect of trailers didn’t work with me a bit.  I don’t mind trailers.  I went to several schools growing up that had them and they were fine.  In fact, one of my favorite teachers of all time taught me in a trailer.  In 8th grade, she opened my eyes to Shakespeare and his masterful knowledge of the human condition.  She was a battle ax, but boy did I learn a lot. 

If trailers are done well, they look fine.  We’re not talking about ratty old aluminum trailers sitting on wheels.  We’re talking about nice modular units. 

There is an argument that using trailers decreases the property values because the schools look bad with trailers.  I don’t buy that argument for a few reasons.  First, most people evaluate a school system by its performance.  As long as the facilities are decent, most families look at things like graduation rates and test scores.  Second, again, we’re not talking about decrepit trailers like you’d see in a stereotypical white trash trailer park.  We’re talking about modern modular classrooms.  Third, another thing that drives property values is the tax burden.  If people stop moving to West Bend because the taxes are ridiculous, property values will plummet.  An overabundance of trailers in the district might have a tiny negative effect on property values, but a few here and there aren’t going to change a thing. 

In any case, the reason that I bring this up is because the second trailer for the district will be added at Decorah Elementary School.  Sorry, no link.  It’s in the dead tree copy of the paper.  I couldn’t find it online. 

But it’s important to look at the reason for the trailer.  Decorah currently has three kindergarten sections with 22 kids each for a total of 66 kindergarteners.  There are 72 kindergarteners registered for next year.  The trailer is being added to accommodate a fourth kindergarten section. 

Does 72 kindergarteners require 4 sections?  Not according to the State Department of Public Instruction.  According to DPI regulations, there should be no more than 25 kindergarteners in a class.  72 kindergartners could be accommodated with the existing 3 kindergarten sections with 24 kids in each section.  Adding the 4th kindergarten section will drop each section to 18.

According to the story in the West Bend Daily News, Principal Alex Kasmarick recognized that the cap is 25 and said, “but we like the low 20s.”

Well, yes, wouldn’t we all?  But let us recognize this for what it is… a want.  This is not a need.  If a trailer is not added, Decorah Elementary’s kindergarten classes will still be within DPI regulations.  Also, since those regulations were presumably created based on information that up to 25 kindergarteners in a class does not negatively effect the education of the children, we can presume that the education of the kids at Decorah will be just as good with three sections as with four. 

While I’m not altogether opposed to having 18 kindergarteners in a class rather than 24, we must recognize that it is a luxury that comes at a cost.