Retaining staff is a challenge for the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District, a similar issue for many districts throughout Wisconsin, and Superintendent Garrett Rogowski believes one key factor is the lack of child care in western Shawano County.
Rogowski told the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School Board on Jan. 22 that the district is trying to find a way to implement a child care program within the schools that would help keep teachers and other employees in the community long term.
“There really is no access to viable child care for the Birnamwood and Wittenberg area to support areas with children,” Rogowski said. “We have small pockets, but nothing easily accessible.”
The district thought it had a lead through the Homme Home for developing a child care program using a former nursing care wing as a facility to care for young children in the community, and Rogowski noted that it seemed “conducive” to providing those services. However, the facility has changed directors since Rogowski started talks with Homme.
“They have repurposed it since then for something else,” he said. “There doesn’t seem to be significant interest on their part.”
Rogowski added that the district could continue to pursue that possibility, but that would involve reaching out to Homme’s board of directors, and he questioned if that board was fully aware of the talks between the home and the school district.
“We’re not giving up on that, but one thing I know is, as we talk about a child care center in the district, you’re also talking about tax dollars,” Rogowski said. “We have this notion, this idea, but like other districts, we’re not looking to make money with this child care center, if it was to come to fruition. We also wouldn’t want to lose money, and we don’t want to put it on the backs of our taxpayers.”
Having a child care facility would more directly impact local families already here, in Rogowski’s view, but he believes that staff retention would also be a decent side effect.
“When we do exit interviews when they decide to leave, it sometimes but not always has to do with having to take the children to Weston or somewhere west of here,” Rogowski said. “Teachers foster good relationships with students, and it’s always hard when they leave.”
The area is seeing growth with a new set of apartments being built in Wittenberg, Rogowski said, so having child care available is vital to that continued growth.
“Those are one-, two-, three-bedroom apartments that are probably going to attract families that could very well move in with children,” Rogowski said.
Ultimately, any plan for a child care facility will require partnerships with other entities, according to Rogowski, and he plans to continue to reach out and look for help.
“We’re actively considering that’s something we want to do,” Rogowski said. “We are exploring.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
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