About a year ago, the district made a surprise announcement that sixth grade was being moved out of the middle school building and into the three elementary schools. A teacher walkout and public protest followed, though it didn’t change the ultimate move. Today, the district announced that 7th and 8th grades would be moved out of the Middle School building to the High School, thereby giving the entire Middle School building to the charter school, Merit Academy.
This should come as a surprise to no one. Last August, the board modified their agreement with Merit to give that charter school as much of the middle school building as they said they needed…so the writing was on the wall. Still, like most board decisions, there has been no discussion with the community about any of this and no discussion in any public board meeting.
Naturally, no further details have been offered, no estimated costs have been shared. Taxpayers approved a bond issue in the early 90’s to build the Middle School building for use a middle school; starting this July it’ll be in the possession of a private non-profit corporation running a charter school.
Here’s the email parents received:
Dear WPSD Families,
We want to provide an important update about facilities planning that will affect WPMS and WPHS.
We are currently discussing how to improve the efficiency of our building usage, specifically the utilization of the middle school and high school. In line with our commitment to providing the best facilities for our students, district administration and WPMS and WPHS leadership are planning a facilities merge, integrating WPMS 7th and 8th graders into WPHS, effective for the 2024-25 school year. No changes will occur during this current semester.
We understand the significance of such decisions and assure you the process is being approached carefully for our students’ educational experience and safety. All finalized decisions will be communicated through official channels, and we remain committed to transparency throughout this planning process.
If you have specific concerns or questions, please contact Aaron Salt, COO, at asalt@wpsdk12.org.
The district surveyed parents in November of 2022 about the topic of building utilization…here’s the results of the relevant question:
