Haugen Elementary's Future Hangs in Balance as Parents Challenge District's Closure Plans
PTA questions projected savings, district spending and past boundary changes; community calls for five-year plan to preserve Rice Lake district's last rural elementary school
By Joe Morey
Free Press Editor/Publisher
What began as a discussion about declining enrollment at a small rural elementary school has grown into a much larger debate over school district spending, financial accountability, educational priorities and the future of an entire community.
At the Rice Lake Area School District Board of Education meeting Monday, Oct. 12, parents and supporters of Haugen Elementary School challenged the financial justification for potentially closing the school, questioned whether past district decisions contributed to its declining enrollment, and urged board members to work with the community on a five-year plan before making what they consider an irreversible decision.
At the center of the controversy is a school with just 61 students, a district facing significant financial challenges, and sharply differing estimates of how much money closing Haugen Elementary would actually save.
Haugen Elementary Parent Teacher Association President Kortney Nanstad told board members that the discussion should not simply focus on the cost of operating the school, but on the full financial consequences of closing it.
According to Nanstad, the district has estimated annual savings of approximately $750,000 from closing Haugen. However, she disputes that figure, arguing that a more realistic estimate is closer to $300,000.
She further contends that if approximately one-third of Haugen families follow through on indications they would leave the Rice Lake district rather than transfer their children to another district elementary school, the actual savings could shrink to approximately $53,000 annually.
Those competing estimates have become central to the debate, with Haugen supporters demanding a more comprehensive financial analysis before the board proceeds.
The district's projected savings and the PTA's alternative calculations have not been independently reconciled by the Barron County Free Press.
For the parents and residents who attended Monday's meeting, the issue extends beyond the school district's balance sheet. They say the potential closure threatens a community institution that has helped attract young families to Haugen and surrounding rural areas for generations.
Parents Want Five-Year Plan, Not Immediate Closure
Angie Peterson, the parent of a second-grade student at Haugen Elementary and the school's PTA treasurer, urged the board to work with parents and community members on a proposed five-year plan intended to stabilize enrollment and explore alternatives to closing the school.
Peterson said the PTA has already presented a plan and a proposal for establishing a committee to work collaboratively with the district. She asked board members to explain where those proposals stand and when the community could expect a response.
Rather than considering Haugen's closure as an isolated financial decision, Peterson argued that the district should evaluate the school's future as part of a broader, long-term plan supported by measurable data. She also warned that the continued uncertainty surrounding the school may itself be contributing to declining enrollment.
According to Peterson, some families have already become reluctant to enroll their children at Haugen because they fear the school will eventually close. That instability, she suggested, can create a cycle in which talk of closure drives families away, further reducing enrollment and strengthening the argument for closure.
Peterson urged the board to conduct a survey of district families to better understand why some are choosing other public schools, private education or homeschooling.
"Let's find out why we are losing students to other schools and homeschooling and private, let's find out why and work with the data to improve it," Peterson told the board. "Decisions should be based on data, not assumptions."
She said such a survey could help identify what families value most about their children's education and what changes might encourage them to remain in or return to the district.
"So we are asking the board to commit to developing a 5-year plan with us, create the committee, commit to conducting the survey, and evaluate Haugen as part of the plan rather than a standalone closure decision," Peterson said. She also requested a definite timeline for those commitments and asked when parents could expect answers.
Later in the discussion, Peterson returned to the uncertainty families are experiencing, describing parents as walking on eggshells while waiting to learn whether their children's school will remain open. Her message to the board was that parents want to be part of the solution, rather than simply waiting for a decision that could reshape their children's education and their community.
Is Closing Haugen Really a $750,000 Savings?
One of the strongest challenges to the proposed closure came from Nanstad, who questioned the district's financial projections and whether all potential costs have been considered.
Nanstad said the district's estimated $750,000 annual savings fails to account adequately for expenses that could remain after the school closes, costs transferred elsewhere in the district and the potential loss of students to other educational options. She argued that a more realistic savings estimate would be approximately $300,000 before accounting for the possible departure of families from the district.
According to Nanstad, approximately 33% of current Haugen parents have indicated they would not send their children to another Rice Lake district school if Haugen closes. Applied to the school's current enrollment of 61 students, that could mean losing approximately 20 students. She contends that the resulting reduction in district revenue could bring the net annual savings from closing Haugen to approximately $53,000.
The figures represent the PTA president's analysis and have not been independently verified against the district's complete financial records.
The potential loss of students is especially important because Wisconsin public school funding is affected by enrollment, although the financial impact depends on the state's revenue-limit formula, enrollment averaging, categorical aid and other factors.
Nanstad argued that the board must consider those consequences rather than assuming all current Haugen students will simply transfer to another district building.
She also raised questions about staffing. Haugen currently has four teachers, but district representatives indicated that closing the school would result in the elimination of only two teaching positions. Those positions would not necessarily be held by current Haugen teachers. Depending on staffing assignments, the reductions could affect teachers at Hilltop or Tainter elementary schools in Rice Lake. That distinction, parents argued, raises additional questions about the district's staffing calculations and how much of the projected savings would actually result from eliminating positions.
Nanstad also questioned whether the district has adequately considered the capacity of Tainter Elementary, where Haugen students could be reassigned. She pointed to a substantial housing and apartment development near Tainter and questioned whether the school would have enough room to accommodate both incoming Haugen students and children from families who may eventually move into the new development.
For Nanstad, the financial discussion must include more than the cost of keeping one building open. It must also account for the consequences of closing it.
District Spending Comes Under Scrutiny
The debate over Haugen Elementary has also expanded into questions about the Rice Lake Area School District's overall financial management.
Nanstad said the district's Fund 10, its primary educational operating fund, is facing a reported $2.4 million deficit. She questioned why closing Haugen has become such a prominent cost-saving proposal when, in her view, the district's broader spending practices deserve closer examination. According to figures presented by Nanstad, district enrollment has declined approximately 7% over the past decade while spending has increased approximately 87%. She argued that the increase has substantially outpaced general cost-of-living and health insurance increases. She said the figures raise questions about how district resources have been managed and whether alternatives to closing a school have received sufficient consideration.
"The problem is bigger than enrollment," Nanstad said in comments provided to the Barron County Free Press. "We need to take a hard look at district-wide spending, priorities, and financial management."
She also raised concerns about the cost of the district's new swimming pool project, which she described as a $30 million investment, and the possibility of another referendum seeking additional taxpayer funding. She acknowledged that some district expenditures are necessary but argued that necessity should not place spending decisions beyond scrutiny.
"Taxpayers deserve to know that spending decisions are being scrutinized, that alternatives are being considered, and that the numbers actually support the decisions being made," she said.
She also expressed frustration with what she sees as a lack of meaningful questioning during the board's financial decision-making process.
"Who is independently verifying the data? Who is asking the difficult questions? Who is making sure the district is exploring every reasonable alternative before making irreversible decisions?" she asked.
Nanstad said she has spent months requesting financial reports and other district information to better understand the budget and the potential savings from closing Haugen. According to her, some requests have been met with explanations that preparing the information would require many hours of work. That response, she said, raises further questions about what financial information board members regularly receive and how thoroughly the figures are evaluated.
"What information is being provided to the board at its meetings, and how thoroughly is that information being reviewed and verified?" she asked.
She argued that the district should conduct a comprehensive financial review before asking taxpayers to support additional spending or closing a neighborhood school.
"We cannot continue to maintain the status quo, approve spending without meaningful scrutiny, and then ask taxpayers for more money without first demonstrating that every reasonable effort has been made to manage the resources we already have," Nanstad said.
She compared the district's financial decisions to the difficult choices families face when managing their own household budgets.
"If the average homeowner isn't making their mortgage payments, they don't get to take out a loan for a new kitchen renovation," she said.
She also referenced a comment reportedly made at a previous finance committee meeting about the high cost of living in Hudson, Wisconsin, where some teachers may struggle to afford housing in the district where they work. Nanstad questioned whether rising local costs and taxes could eventually create similar challenges for Rice Lake families and educators.
"We all want what is best for the kids," she said. "But saying something is 'for the kids' should never mean that spending decisions are exempt from questions, accountability, or common sense."
Did a 2021 Boundary Change Contribute to Haugen's Decline?
Another major point of contention involves a school attendance boundary change made in 2021. Haugen Elementary enrollment has fallen from approximately 90 students a decade ago to 61 students today. District officials have cited declining birth rates as a significant factor affecting enrollment throughout the Rice Lake district and public schools generally.
But Nanstad argues that the district's own decisions have played a substantial role in Haugen's declining student population. She said attendance boundaries were changed in 2021, reducing the geographic area assigned to Haugen Elementary and redirecting some students to schools in Rice Lake.
According to Nanstad, families were told at the time that Haugen was crowded and that some students would need to attend other district schools. Now, five years later, the same school faces possible closure because of insufficient enrollment. She contends that the boundary change helped create the conditions the district is now citing as justification for closing the building.
She said some families who would prefer Haugen are unable to enroll their children there because they live outside the school's designated attendance area.
"Decisions being made are suffocating Haugen so it can't survive," she told the board.
She questioned why Haugen students and families should bear the consequences of what she described as years of questionable financial decisions and insufficient action to address declining enrollment.
"It's been said that if Haugen school isn't closed cuts will have to be made elsewhere, so we ask why should Haugen students and families bear the burden of years of inaction and questionable financial decisions," Nanstad said.
Board Member Acknowledges Boundary Concerns
School board member Phil Henkel said he agreed that the attendance boundary changes had hurt Haugen Elementary. He also acknowledged that repeatedly discussing the possibility of closing the school could make it more difficult to attract and retain families.
He suggested that a community-led effort might be able to bring additional students to Haugen over the next several years, potentially improving its enrollment outlook. Henkel raised the possibility of attracting another 30 students to the school, but also questioned how the district would achieve necessary savings elsewhere if Haugen remained open.
Keeping the school operating, he indicated, could mean making difficult decisions involving teachers, aides or educational programs at other schools.
Henkel also discussed possible changes to Haugen's classroom structure. One option would be combining grade levels, such as first and second grades in one classroom and third and fourth grades in another, rather than maintaining separate classrooms for each grade. He acknowledged that some parents have opposed combined-grade classrooms. Another possibility he raised was bringing fifth grade back to Haugen, allowing children to remain at the rural elementary school for an additional year before transitioning to a larger school environment.
Henkel suggested that fifth graders are still relatively young and that keeping them at Haugen might be worth considering.
Although he expressed a desire to see the school remain open, Henkel stopped short of committing to that outcome. He said he would need to evaluate the financial and educational facts before making a final decision.
His comments highlighted the difficult balance board members face between preserving a community school and addressing district-wide financial pressures.
How Small Is Too Small?
School board member Nellie Scheurer also addressed Haugen's enrollment, comparing it with other elementary schools in the region that are characterized as small schools, noting that many schools throughout the region operate with relatively modest student populations. She cited enrollment figures of approximately 392 students in Chetek, 250 in Shell Lake, 282 at Hilltop Elementary and 405 at Tainter Elementary. Even with Haugen's 61 students added to another Rice Lake elementary school, she said, those schools would remain relatively small.
Scheurer also pointed to a significant difference between Haugen's geographic service area and its student population. According to her remarks, Haugen's attendance area encompasses approximately two-thirds of the school district's geographic area but serves only about 3% of its students.
The comparison illustrates one of the central challenges facing rural schools: serving families spread across a large geographic area with a relatively small student population. Operating such schools can involve higher per-student costs, while closing them can mean longer transportation routes and the loss of a local educational institution.
Village President Warns of Economic Consequences
The debate has also drawn concern from Village of Haugen officials, who say the potential closure could affect far more than students and teachers.
A letter from Village President Brian Johnson was read aloud during Monday's meeting by Britney Bruss. In the letter, Johnson expressed deep concern about the possibility of losing Haugen Elementary, emphasizing the school's importance in attracting young families to the village and surrounding countryside.
Johnson wrote that Haugen has a strong base of younger families moving into the community and that the local elementary school is among the reasons families choose to live there.
He warned that closing the school could create significant hardships for the village and nearby rural areas. Johnson pointed to other small communities that have lost their schools and subsequently experienced economic difficulties, arguing that Haugen could face similar consequences.
His letter also addressed a possible proposal involving the future of the school building. According to Johnson, he had learned that the school board's finance committee was considering offering to lease the Haugen Elementary building to the village for $1. While the nominal lease payment itself would not present a problem, Johnson said the village could not afford the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of a building that size. He explained that the village already struggles to maintain its existing facilities without raising taxes.
You must look at the good of the community and the surrounding area when you make this decision,” Johnson wrote.
In an August report by WEAU-TV, village trustee, Jeff Blanch, said of the school, “It brings more families into the town itself. We have a small grocery store, we have a nice cafe, we have a restaurant, we have a supper club and that, it brings more people in.”
“Closing the school I think would be very detrimental to the community itself because once the school is closed, the community dies,” said Patti Anderson, the Barron County Board Supervisor, in the same WEAU-TV report.
Families Want the Option of Rural Education
For some parents, Haugen Elementary represents an educational option that is increasingly difficult to find. Christian Ferguson, another parent who addressed the board, said some families are choosing to move outside Rice Lake because of increasing city taxes and the cost of living.
He said those families may still want to remain within the Rice Lake Area School District while raising their children in a rural setting. Haugen Elementary provides an opportunity for those families to remain in the district while attending a smaller neighborhood school.
Ferguson suggested that preserving that choice could help the district attract and retain families who prefer rural living. His comments echoed the concerns of other parents who believe Haugen's smaller environment is an asset rather than simply a financial liability.
The school also provides a sense of continuity for families who live outside Rice Lake's city limits but remain connected to the larger district and supporters argue that closing the school could make the district less attractive to families who specifically value a rural elementary education.
Declining Enrollment: A District-Wide Challenge
The possibility of closing Haugen Elementary has been under public discussion for several months. In the August report by WEAU-TV, Rice Lake Area School District Administrator Randy Drost discussed the enrollment challenges affecting Haugen and the broader public school system.
Drost identified declining birth rates as the most significant factor contributing to lower public school enrollment, while also acknowledging the effects of private schooling and homeschooling.
"There are three pieces affecting public schools: declining birth rates, private school enrollments, and homeschooling," Drost told WEAU in August.
He said increases in private schooling and homeschooling had not been as significant as the decline in births.
At that time, Haugen was preparing for the school year with just over 60 students in four classrooms, compared with approximately 90 students a decade earlier.
The enrollment decline has raised questions about the cost of maintaining a separate building, staffing classrooms and providing services to a relatively small number of students.
However, the PTA argues that enrollment trends should not be viewed in isolation from district policies, attendance boundaries and families' concerns about the school's future. Supporters say the district should first determine whether enrollment can be stabilized or increased through changes to school boundaries, outreach to families and other educational options.
A Call for Collaboration Instead of Division
Despite their criticism of district spending and the potential closure, Haugen supporters repeatedly emphasized that they do not want the debate to become a conflict between rural families and those attending schools in Rice Lake.
Nanstad said the goal should be a stronger district for all students, not protecting one school at the expense of another.
"This should not be Haugen versus Rice Lake," she said. "It should not be one school community against another."
Instead, she argued, the discussion should focus on the future of the entire district, responsible management of taxpayer resources and whether the board has fully explored alternatives.
"The more we uncover, the more questions we have," Nanstad said.
She believes a committee involving parents, district representatives and community members could help examine the competing financial calculations and develop options for preserving the school.
Peterson similarly urged board members to work directly with the PTA on its proposed five-year plan, establish a committee and survey district families.
Such an approach, supporters argue, could provide time to measure enrollment trends, evaluate boundary changes and explore cost-saving options before deciding whether closure is necessary.
Nanstad said she wants district leaders to demonstrate why closing Haugen is the most responsible financial decision rather than simply presenting it as one of the available options.
"If closing Haugen is truly the best financial decision, then show us the numbers," she said. "Show us the full district-wide analysis. Show us the alternatives that were considered. And show us why closing a school is a better solution than addressing the broader financial issues facing the district."
She also argued that board members should take a closer look at spending throughout the district before considering a decision that would permanently change the Haugen community.
"Our kids, our schools, and our taxpayers deserve nothing less," she said.
An Uncertain Future
For now, the future of Haugen Elementary remains unresolved.
The Oct. 12 meeting made clear that parents and community supporters are not simply asking the board to keep the school open without addressing the district's financial challenges.
They are asking for an opportunity to participate in developing a plan, review the financial information behind the proposed closure and determine whether alternatives could provide meaningful savings while preserving the school.
The district, meanwhile, faces the broader challenge of balancing educational services, staffing, enrollment and financial resources across all its schools.
Board members must weigh the costs of maintaining Haugen against potential savings, the impact on other schools and the consequences for students and families.
Several significant questions remain unanswered publicly, including the district's detailed calculations behind its estimated $750,000 annual savings, the potential financial impact if families leave the district, whether school attendance boundaries could be revised, and whether a five-year preservation plan could be developed.
Also unresolved is what would happen to the school building if it closes, including whether the village would be asked to assume responsibility for its maintenance.
For Haugen families, those questions are more than accounting matters. They involve where their children will attend school, how far they may need to travel each day, and whether the village will retain an institution that has long been part of its identity.
The PTA is asking the board to provide a timeline for responding to its committee proposal, family survey request and five-year planning initiative. Until those questions are answered, parents say the uncertainty will continue to affect families making decisions about where to live and educate their children.
What happens next could determine not only the future of Haugen Elementary, but also how the Rice Lake Area School District approaches rural education and financial decision-making in the years ahead.
For Nanstad and other supporters, the central message remains that the decision should be based on complete information and a thorough examination of alternatives.
And for the Village of Haugen, the stakes extend well beyond the classroom.
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