GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Come next school year, the number of Green Bay schools will most likely be significantly smaller.

The group tasked with creating a plan to downsize the schools in the district has come up with a final proposal for the school board.

The proposal would close several schools, including Beaumont, Doty, Elmore, Kennedy, Keller, MacArthur, Minoka Hill, Leonardo Da Vinci, Tank, Washington Middle School, Wequiock, and a district office.

Educational Facility Advisor on the task force, Chuck Holden, says, “There’s just excess capacity in the school district. Within 10 years, the demographers are predicting 67% enrollment in the schools, and that’s just not sustainable, or if it is, it’s taking tax dollars away from teaching and program things that kids really need.”

The plan would also involve spreading out the students enrolled at each of the high schools to even out the number of students.

At the most recent task force meeting, some parents expressed concerns over closing schools.

“You’ll be stripping away so many years of irreplaceable learning opportunities for our children. You, the board, along with the district, should be looking at ways to advertise the uniqueness of Wequiock,” Green Bay resident Kate Janiak says.

Although some are opposed to the proposal, Holden says it could save the district up to $30 million.

“I know people look at this as a challenge and maybe negatively, but it really isn’t. It’s a positive thing. We’re going to really make improvements and do a lot of good things for the kids in the future,” Holden says.

The board is expected to vote on the plan on May 8th. The public can voice their opinions at tabletop discussions with the task force that are scheduled on May 9th at 5:30 pm at West High School and May 10th at 5:30 pm at East High School. There will also be a public forum on May 24th at 4 pm at Washington Middle School.