Waukesha Times

The Kettle Moraine School District has announced changes to its elementary school boundaries for the 2026-27 academic year, citing a decline in student enrollment as the primary reason for the decision. The district’s board voted to close Magee Elementary after a review process that examined factors such as school sizes, classroom capacity, open enrollment, per pupil costs, student concentrations, and transportation.

"The Kettle Moraine School District is committed to providing the best possible learning environment for our students in a manner that is fiscally responsible. Declining student populations required a reevaluation of our operational efficiency to ensure that resources support educational outcomes rather than scaling our district for pre-existing student populations. After a lengthy process of comparing school sizes, classroom capacity, open enrollment, per pupil costs, student concentrations, and transportation, the board voted to close Magee Elementary. Please visit kmsd.edu/fiscal-planning for documentation of this process," the district stated.

Following the closure decision, KM Explore will be relocated to Dousman Elementary. The board approved busing services so all families can access this program. New elementary boundaries were also approved by the board.

"We have now entered the planning phase of our restructure, with the board voting unanimously to move KM Explore to Dousman Elementary and provide busing to make this learning environment available to all families. The board also approved new elementary boundaries," according to the statement.

The district is working with Dousman Transport to maintain or reduce current maximum transit times and is considering ways to improve transportation efficiency for families.

"The District is working with Dousman Transport to keep transportation at or below current maximum transit times as well as exploring opportunities to create efficiencies for families," officials said.

To gather feedback during this transition period, three Teacher Listening Sessions have already been held and a fourth session was scheduled for August 14th. Community Listening Sessions are set for August 14th from 6-7pm at the KMHS Library and on August 20th from 6-7pm at Wales Elementary.

"As part of this planning process, we have conducted three Teacher Listening Sessions, with a fourth taking place on August 14th. We will also be holding Community Listening Sessions on August 14th from 6-7pm at the KMHS Library and a second on August 20th from 6-7pm at Wales Elementary," according to district communication.

Further information about restructuring efforts can be found at kmsd.edu/restructure.