Big Budget Deficit Will Impact MASD Schools in 2025-26

$1.4 Million Shortfall Projected

Mukwonago, WI – The Mukwonago Area School District (MASD) is forecasting a $1.4 million budget shortfall for the 2025–2026 academic year, attributing the shortfall primarily to declining student enrollment.

At Monday night’s school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent & Chief Human Resources Officer Rachel Hermann delivered a presentation outlining the deficit. “We are currently projecting a current 199 student decline for the 25-26 school year in comparison to the 24-25 school year, ” Hermann said during her presentation, later adding, “every body in our seats equates to student dollars. When we lose a student we lose dollars.”

The bottom line: Fewer students mean fewer dollars—and that trend has haunted the district since the 2021–2022 school year. The real question is: Why is enrollment falling?

Contributing Factors

District Data

This week, I spoke with several staff members from the Mukwonago Area School District to better understand the key factors behind the district’s declining enrollment. They pointed to a range of data-supported reasons – including a falling birth rate, rising mortgage rates in recent years that have discouraged families from moving into the area, and the impact of unusually large graduating senior classes.

Tom Karthausser, MASD Chief Financial Officer, spoke about several of these factors. “Declining enrollment is due in part to declining birth rates coupled with the economic cycle we are in”, he said. This hasn’t always been a major issue for MASD, but the recent nationwide mortgage crisis has certainly made its mark on the district.

“In prior years, despite a declining birth rate, our district was able to grow the number of resident students because of the number of families that were moving into the MASD. With home mortgage rates remaining high, this has slowed the housing market. The number of families we typically see moving into the district has slowed.” – Tom Karthausser

Alternative Enrollments

Another contributing factor to declining enrollment is parents choosing different education options. The most common choices include open enrollment opt-outs to other districts, private schools, and homeschooling.

For the 2024-25 School Year, students who do not attend MASD Schools attend these alternate forms of school:

• Private School – 204
• Open Enrollment Opt-Out: 321
• Homeschool – 156

In the 2024–25 school year, 681 students who were eligible to attend Mukwonago Area School District schools opted for different education options. While 321 students open enrolled out of the district, nearly 600 students open enrolled into MASD. When all enrollment data is considered, the district still experienced a net loss in overall student attendance.

Karthausser presented this data to the MASD School Board during a January 2025 meeting. You can view that entire presentation here: MASD Committee of the Whole Jan 13, 2025. If you would like to view the entire presentation PDF, you can find that here: 2025-26 Budget Assumptions.

2025 Graduating Class

School Board President Dale Porter agreed with Karthausser’s overall assessment and pointed to another key factor behind the projected decline in 2025–26: the unusually large size of the 2025 graduating class. While student loss due to graduation is expected each year, this particular class stands out. According to data shared with WCW from the official third Friday count in September, Mukwonago High School currently has 434 seniors.

Parental Concerns

WCW asked parents on Facebook – “If you have decided not to enroll your children in MASD, or have pulled them from MASD, for what reason(s)”? One message came through loud and clear: Parents are unhappy with how their children are being treated.

On parent said, “I started home schooling my son freshman year because of the relentless bullies that face no consequences from the school and most of the time their parents don’t care either. MASD claims to have a zero tolerance policy for bullies yet my son has been severely bullied since we moved here when he was in 5th grade at Clarendon.” That parent went on to claim that MASD “does absolutely nothing” about bullying, and even “deleted a video with proof of several types of bullying and harassment to make it go away”.

The parent also alleged she was “completely ignored by the Superintendent,” though she did not give further details. It is unclear whether she was referring to current Superintendent Joe Koch or former Superintendent Shawn McNulty. Regardless, concerns about bullying have persisted within MASD during both administrations.

This parent wasn’t alone in raising concerns—several others echoed similar frustrations. One parent shared: “For me, it’s the MASD administration—there’s a lack of partnership, they hide behind policy, and the overall educational experience is lacking.”

IEP (Individualized Education Program) Needs

Multiple parents also alleged that the district has routinely turned away students with IEP (Individualized Education Program) needs. One parent wrote: “I’ve been trying to enroll my son in Mukwonago for years. He needs a special education seat, but I was told there was no room—so he stays at his private school.”

Others expressed the same struggles, with one parent saying: “I was advised one year to just call and ask when the budget comes out in January. I give up—he’s going into 7th grade next year.”

I asked Dale Porter about concerns about IEP students being turned away. He clarified that all students who live within the MASD district are guaranteed admission into the IEP program and are never denied services. However, students who apply through Open Enrollment—those who live outside the district—may occasionally be turned away. While not all are denied, some applications are declined due to limited staffing and resource availability in a given year. Porter emphasized that he wishes no student ever had to be turned away, but acknowledged that difficult decisions must sometimes be made based on available personnel and capacity.

Community Response

The Mukwonago community has been very outspoken so far about declining enrollment, and the MASD Referendum that was passed in the Fall 2024 election. Some have questioned the need for a newly built middle school building, given the 2025-26 enrollment projections. When asked about that, Dale Porter stressed the need for a new middle school building, regardless of current projections.

“We need a new middle school, and that [enrollment projection] is a separate issue from the new middle school” – Dale Porter

Although Park View has served as a middle or junior high school for the past 50 years, it was originally constructed as a high school in 1956 and has undergone minimal updates since. The approved referendum will fund a much-needed new building to replace the aging facility. It’s also important to understand that, within the overall MASD budget, funding is divided into distinct “pots of money.” Referendum funds are legally separate from general operating funds and can’t be redirected to cover staff salaries or other expenses—and the reverse is also true.

MASD Optimism

MASD leadership remains optimistic that the current decline in enrollment is a temporary challenge. When I asked Tom Karthausser about his confidence in a rebound, he responded, “Like all economic cycles, I anticipate this will not persist.” He emphasized that Mukwonago is not alone—school districts across Waukesha County are experiencing similar enrollment trends.

I’m confident that enrollment will increase.  Mukwonago is a destination district that families choose to live in for a number of reasons.  When interest rates fall and more housing inventory becomes available (be it existing homes or new homes), I believe resident growth will increase.  – Tom Karthausser

Dale Porter echoed those sentiments, noting the increase in new residential construction throughout the area. He expressed optimism that this growth could positively impact enrollment numbers in the coming school years.

Next Steps for MASD

To address the challenges posed by the budget shortfall, Rachel Hermann emphasized the need to make thoughtful, responsible staffing decisions—while ensuring that students’ educational experiences remain unaffected.

“We want students in the classes that they want to be in. That is what will promote the highest level of engagement for those students, and then we want to maximize the impact of our employees. So, we want teachers teaching in the content areas that they’re certified to teach. I don’t want a teacher who is certified in math to pick up 50% of their day doing a study hall. That’s not impactful,” – Rachel Hermann

She expressed confidence that the district will respond effectively, ensuring that excellent teachers continue to educate and inspire Mukwonago students—and that commitment, she assured, will not change. Hermann – “We have some of the best teachers I have ever seen, working with students, passionately working their butts off again to prepare every student to be (in) college if they’re ready. That is not going to change, and we’re going to continue to monitor our enrollment,” she said.

You can view Hermann’s entire presentation here: MASD Committee of the Whole April 14, 2025.

The next step for MASD leadership is to collaborate with department heads to prepare curriculum and instruction plans for the upcoming school year.

This is a developing story. As more details emerge—particularly about potential staff reductions or other key decisions—WCW will continue to follow up with district leadership and keep the community informed.