October 27, 2011 at 3:03 p.m.
Since you asked.... by Dodgeville School Superintendent Diane Messer
Since the 2007-08 school year the school board has been studying options for alleviating a shortage of space at Dodgeville schools. In 2010, the school board continued its public listening sessions to hear from parents and the public. In a series of information sessions the board presented several options at DES in lieu of bringing forward a building referendum:
• Change to "Elementary Grade Level Centers" where Dodgeville Elementary houses all students in 4-K through grade 3 and Ridgeway houses all students in grades 4 and 5.
• Move the Early Learning Program (4-K) to another location off campus.
• Alternatively, eliminate the Early Learning Program, which is not a state requirement.
• Install temporary modular classroom units at DES.
• Increase class sizes but risk losing up to $300,000 per year in state funding based on class size limits for grades K-3.
The message was clear from parents and other community members at the public meetings: find a permanent solution. They asked the school board to build more space and improve the pedestrian and vehicular safety in the school parking lot and out onto the streets. Additionally, the board recognized the need to provide better line of sight supervision of visitors entering the school. Subsequently, the board focused on a combination of remodeling a portion of the core of the DES building, adding classroom and other instructional space, and improving personal and vehicular safety at that site.
What if the referendum fails? The school board will have to reconsider these options and determine which will be implemented. Doing nothing to alleviate the overcrowding or to improve building and personal safety is not an option.
