Could you see Door County’s school district count shrink from five to one or two, or Kewaunee County’s go from three to one in the future? It could be more easily done in the future under a Republican proposal being floated in Madison.
The new proposed legislation is encouraging the 421 public school districts to consolidate or, at the very least, share some of their services to drive down costs. Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) told the Wisconsin Examiner that the state has dropped 53,000 students over the last decade. “Because student enrollment is the primary driver of our state’s school funding formula, districts experiencing declining enrollment receive less money in state aid,” Nedweski said.
Between 2016 and 2025, Luxemburg-Casco is the only school district in Door and Kewaunee counties that gained students, with three school districts losing approximately 100 seats during the same time. Wisconsin voters have been setting records for referenda in recent years, including the passage of 169 referenda in 2024, operational referendum questions for Washington Island and Sevastopol, and a capital referendum for Kewaunee.
State Rep. Joel Kitchens, who is also one of the leaders behind the bill, does not think it will happen for many years locally, adding that it is more likely that schools in southwest Wisconsin will look into it. He says that the projections show the state’s student population dropping one percent every year for the foreseeable future, which could make it easier for Wisconsin school districts to make more complicated decisions.
Superintendent Dan Tjernagel says consolidation talks have been part of the county's discussion since he took the job over 10 years ago. He also believes the county is years away from considering that option, but he says the state needs to sort out the pros and cons of consolidation before the discussion goes deeper.
Other education-related bills being floated in Madison include a teacher’s bill of rights, a request to opt the state into the federal school choice program, an attempt to address a disparity in math competency, and a ban on drones flying over schools without permission.
