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Community Conversation - Chute 10/14 staff

Thank you to all of the individuals who invested the time to engage in our Community Conversation sessions regarding the Structural Deficit Reduction Plan's school closure scenarios.

Meeting summaries were created to provide increased transparency across the community and to provide insight as to the perspectives and thoughts across various stakeholders.

The total number of participants does not include district facilitators.

Meeting details:

  • Date and time: October 14, 2025, at 4 p.m.
  • Location: Chute Middle School
  • Approximate number of participants: 60

Questions generated via QR code:

Participants were asked to scan a QR code and submit questions. The questions below were transcribed directly from the QR code data, with the exception where identifying information was provided.

  • When will we know how many DEC positions will be cut due to school closings? Can that be before the required April 15th deadline? Is there any possibility of a buy-out for educators near retirement to reduce the amount of RIFs?
  • How many D65 teachers will lose their jobs under these scenarios? 
  • Are their funds and times allocated for the moving process? Who is in charge of organizing the massive movement of people and supplies? Will extra funds and time be allocated for educators who have to move and set up new spaces? Who is in charge of the inventory of desks, tables, chairs, lockers, etc to ensure that our students have adequate personal space?
  • Are these still the scenarios? The board seems to be discussing other options? 
  • Have any adjustments been made to building utilization metrics in order to account for small-group learning needs, band/orchestra, etc?
  • What are the planned programming cuts and changes for each school? When can we see a comprehensive list and who is involved in that decision making process? Can DEC members be included?
  • Who is in charge of making sure that all students with IEPs and other special service considerations are getting the services they need and that their schools will be appropriately staffed? What time and funds will be allocated for service providers to ensure a smooth transition between schools such that these students and families feel supported?
  • When considering moving instructional program (step, rise) have you considered the additional related service providers that would need to move to those school? Including office spaces used for small group/individual learning. 
  • How is non-traditional, small group learning spaces being considered in these scenarios? 
  • What is the plan for staffing Foster School? Voluntary transfers? Involuntary transfers? Will there be a hiring freeze in respect of all of the educators who will lose
  • their jobs due to school closures? Can the process be made transparent to all educators? How soon will we know what the process looks like?
  • Does D65 know how many students are in the D65 attendance area, but do not go to a D65 school?  Or how many students did we lose last year compared to this year? Or how many more freshman showed up at ETHS that did not graduate from D65?
  • Will tomorrow's session include more Q&A? I was surprised to spend 30 minutes today listening to information I've heard many times before.
  • Where staffing needs considered in a model? If not, why? If so, when can we see them? 
  • When will teachers know their new assignments if their schools close?
  • How does closing King Arts as a magnet and opening it as a neighborhood school save money?
  • Have you considered teaching spaces for teachers who have pull-out programs? Interventionists, speech therapists, band/orchestra, etc. 
  • When school closures occur and teachers will have to move, what will be the process for that? Will teachers have input on where and what grade levels whey would prefer? 
  • What about ADA compliance?  Washington has an easy solution for students who use wheelchairs, but Oakton does not.  How much say do we have in our new assignments?  
  • What is the process for who will be working at Foster? Involuntary transfers? Interviews? What is the process for assignment secondary to school closure scenarios? 
  • If Willard loses TWI and Washington closes (losing two TWI ), how will adding one TWI at Dewey make up for losing three? For all the buildings that need maintenance/capital improvements, will those still be addressed for the buildings staying open? Will the district ever be addressing the fact that we’re losing students and what needs to be done to retain and increase student enrollment? Will the district be expanding the continuum of services in the remaining buildings? In buildings with increased occupancy, how will space be provided for RSPs to treat students? Where will staff offices and storage be? 
  • What happened to closing only 1-2 schools?  This isn't even an option?
  • In the Washington scenario, what is the student impact for moving 12 TWI classrooms and 2 bilingual step programs? Only one STEP was accounted for in the scenario.
  • Have there been many community concerns about the score card process? If so, how can these be documented/addressed? If not, will the board prioritize the scorecard analysis over community emotions/concerns?
  • What is the thinking behind closing a building with large capacity (Washington) versus schools with smaller capacity (Oakton, Walker, Dawes)?  
  • How are weights assigned to students with intersecting impact- magnifiers (IEP, ML, F/R lunch)?
  • RISE without one building and K-8 is no longer RISE. What will the new program be called and what is the focus?
  • Where will the current 6-8 portion of what used to be RISE be housed? What will the program now be called?
  • What about the 6-8 gen ed students with social emotional who thrive in a smaller setting? Will they then be outplaced?
  • How will you support students and families in the transition to new buildings, school communities?  How will you support teachers in the transition to new buildings and probably grades?  
  • If we DON’T close 3 schools or make significant changes to our expenditures, what will happen to our district? How long can we continue to operate?
  • What happens to the buildings when they close?
  • Will the school board see all of our questions so that they can see the nuances of each or will they be given a summary of what questions/concerns staff have?
  • When will the district be discussing what other programs, materials, etc will need to be cut depending on the board decision regarding closures?
  • When will the district be discussing what other programs, materials, etc will need to be cut depending on the board decision regarding closures?
  • Will there be a hiring freeze? Will the new school only be staffed by existing staff? 
  • What are we doing to get more students to attend D65 schools? Some of our problems would be solved by parents choosing public schools instead of private. What is our plan to bring students back into our schools?