Consider the concentration.
Three nearby closures would change school access and daily routines across the SE area. Ask the district to measure that combined burden.
The community questions →KEEP OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL.
Keep
Tomahawk
open.
Three of the five proposed elementary closures are concentrated in the SE planning area.
Tomahawk, Heritage and Black Bob serve neighboring communities. Ask the Board to weigh their combined impact—and compare an alternative that keeps Tomahawk open.
Independent community advocacy. Check the sources.
OFFICIAL DISTRICT MAP DETAILONE PLANNING AREA
District closure proposal ↗
3 / 5
SE planning area · July 21, p.16 ↗proposed elementary closures
Tomahawk · Heritage · Black Bob
District closure proposal ↗
Compare every elementary school.
See enrollment, functional seats and building costs across the district, using the same source and calculation.
Explore school data →The next boundaries matter.
Briarwood and Havencroft alone cannot absorb all three schools while retaining their current pupils.
See capacity and assignments →The district's case—and our request
The district attributes the southern concentration to its denser network of neighborhood schools. Consolidation may reduce operating costs and use spare capacity. Tomahawk's utilization alone does not answer that case, and its listed repair costs exceed several nearby schools'. We ask for a complete comparison that includes an alternative retaining Tomahawk, transportation costs and the concentrated impact on the SE community.
Read the district's rationale ↗UTILIZATION & ENROLLMENT
Compare the schools
on the same basis.
Compare all district elementary schools using raw 2025 enrollment, functional student seats and the spreadsheet’s 2030 estimates. Middle schools are excluded.
2025 enrollment and functional capacity
Source: spreadsheet p.1 ↗The spreadsheet includes Westview, which merged into Rolling Ridge for 2026–27. Its historical row is available in the school filter and CSV. Missing values remain “Not listed.” Westview merger source ↗ Central-area consolidation and program changes can affect 2030 estimates; endpoint changes are not pure demographic trends.
What the utilization rate means
Rates here equal raw enrollment divided by functional student capacity. We show the seats as well as the percentage: 80% of a smaller building is not the same number of pupils as 80% of a larger one.
The spreadsheet's labeled percentage column does not consistently match its raw 2025 counts. These rates are recalculated from the raw values.
A forecast question worth asking
Tomahawk's spreadsheet endpoints are 361 in 2025 and 369 estimated in 2030. The district separately cites future decline. Two endpoints do not prove continuing growth or disprove a longer-term decline.
Ask: Which forecast horizon, cohort definition and program assumptions support the closure recommendation?
District rationale ↗Use a figure you can explain.
Pair each number with its year, denominator and source.
BUILDING CONDITION & COSTS
Publish the comparison
behind the grades.
Compare the published building grades and upcoming expenditures for every district elementary school. Ask for the assessments, project scopes and timelines behind these figures.
What the district spreadsheet lists
Spreadsheet pp.1–2 ↗Blank, N/A and struck-through fields are shown as “Not listed,” not zero. The ages for Meadow Lane, Central, Fairview, Northview and Ridgeview are struck through in the source. Westview is available as a historical row in the filter. “Upcoming expenditures” is the source's label. These figures are not annual operating savings, complete lifecycle costs, or a verified cost of keeping each school open.
Tomahawk's listed costs are higher.
The $1.3 million estimate is above Havencroft's $610,000, Indian Creek's $350,000 and Briarwood's $445,000. That weighs in the district's favor on this particular comparison and belongs in an honest advocacy case.
Tomahawk, Havencroft and Indian Creek all have a listed C grade. A shared letter grade does not establish that their repair needs are equivalent.
Ask for scope, timing and net cost.
- Condition assessments and criteria behind each grade.
- Project lists, urgency, estimates and useful life.
- Costs required whether a building closes or stays open.
- Operating savings after transition, program and transportation costs.
- The same comparison for an alternative retaining Tomahawk.
“Please publish the condition assessments and comparable cost estimates that show why closing Tomahawk is preferable to retaining it.”Suggested question for the district
Make the request specific.
Build your comment ↗SE BOUNDARIES & CAPACITY
Three closures. One boundary challenge.
Tomahawk, Heritage and Black Bob must be considered together. Reassignments also affect families at the schools that stay open.
2025 pupils at the three schools1,057361 Tomahawk + 283 Heritage + 413 Black Bob
Open seats at Briarwood + Havencroft489At 100% functional capacity, with current pupils retained
Pupils beyond those two schools' room568Other receivers, program moves or further boundary changes needed
How this capacity check works
Briarwood has 547 functional seats and 304 pupils; Havencroft has 494 seats and 248 pupils. Their combined room is (547 − 304) + (494 − 248) = 489. At an 85% planning target, that room is about 333 pupil equivalents (332.85 before rounding), or 331 additional whole pupils without exceeding 85% at either building.
This is a same-source 2025 screen, not a forecast or a district assignment plan. Other receiving schools and Black Bob's program relocation are part of the wider proposal. Actual fit also depends on grades, programs and transportation. The calculation shows why a complete regional plan is needed.
Raw counts and functional seats · spreadsheet p.1 ↗Choose a numbered district area, assign its estimated pupils, and watch capacity and road flags change. Read the assumptions alongside each result.
Loading the boundary tool…
Numbered planning areas come from the district's map. Student allocations and route flags are community estimates. This tool does not show proposed or adopted attendance boundaries.
Ask for a complete plan that retains Tomahawk.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
Make the daily
consequences visible.
Three of five proposed elementary closures are in the SE planning area. We are concerned that concentrating those changes would place an undue burden on this community. Ask the district to measure the combined effects, and add specific firsthand experience.
Walking access
Describe the route and routine your family uses. Ask how many current walkers would gain longer trips or new road crossings.
Time & transportation
Identify changes to travel time, childcare or work schedules. Separate an actual experience from a projected reassignment.
Neighborhood relationships
Explain how the school supports regular contact, participation and informal support. Use firsthand examples.
Your firsthand account
Prepare a community statement.
This creates a private draft to copy or download. It does not submit a story or publish anyone's information.
Use the detail needed to explain the impact. Children's names and exact home addresses are not needed.
Check district transportation information ↗Bring firsthand experience and a concrete ask.
Prepare a public comment ↗TAKE ACTION
Ask the Board
to keep Tomahawk open.
Make one clear request, support it with evidence, and explain what matters to your family or neighborhood.
Build an editable draft.
Nothing is sent automatically. Review and personalize the wording before using it.
Your draft
The draft is a starting point, not a statement from every family. Source links are available in the evidence brief and library.
Evidence brief
The core facts, limitations, strongest counterargument and request in a printable evidence brief.
Six specific questions
Ask for the underlying forecasts, cost scopes and a complete alternative retaining Tomahawk.
Official board resources
Find current meeting information and the district's participation instructions.
Board of Education ↗SOURCES & EVIDENCE STANDARDS
A strong case should
be easy to check.
Use original district materials wherever possible. Keep source facts separate from calculations, scenario assumptions and personal accounts.
Source fact / calculationScenario hypothesisOpen questionFirsthand experienceAdvocacy request
How this site handles uncertainty
Figures retain their year and denominator. We identify conflicting source definitions, describe calculations and show evidence that cuts against our preferred outcome. Scenario outputs do not establish district intent or operational feasibility.
A dated source snapshot
This edition was updated September 11, 2026. Each source card lists its review date. Links open live district resources, which may change. Before quoting a schedule or proposal status, check the original source.
Community statements are drafted locally. The site does not collect submissions, publish testimonials or claim a membership count.