Feb. 21, 2026
By ANASTASIA PENCHI
DE SOTO, Wis. — A De Soto Area School District committee has recommended the district consolidate its elementary schools and relocate them to the Middle & High School campus in De Soto.
The 33-member Community Stakeholder Committee, which was comprised of two people from every municipality in the district, also recommended a “phased implementation plan and clear guardrails to protect community identity and educational quality,” said School Board President Holly Nickelatti at the board’s regular February meeting.
The committee was formed last May after voters rejected an operational referendum in Spring 2025. It was the third operational referendum to fail in the district during the past two years, in addition to other challenges: declining enrollment, aging facilities, three superintendents over three years and school board turnover.
In the Long Term Facilities Plan Report, Nickelatti told the rest of the board that four things the committee learned are:
– The “three building model,” with schools in Stoddard, Retreat and De Soto, is financially unsustainable.
– Partial consolidation (closing either Stoddard Elementary or Prairie View Elementary in Retreat) does not solve the long-term problem.
– A “single-campus model” provides the strongest long-term stability.
– Community concerns are real and must be addressed.
“It’s a plan – not the plan,” Nickelatti said. “This is information we are putting out for discussion in the community.”
Nickelatti said the plan is fiscally responsible and promotes educational excellence with strengthened teacher collaborations, access to special programming opportunities and equity for students across all grade levels.
She said she believes they could use the existing school site in De Soto for the expansion.
Interim Superintendent Craig Gerlach said the district assessed enrollment trends in an Enrollment Study, documented building needs in a Facility Study and surveyed residents last December. Survey results were mixed with no clear majority of opinion.
“We don’t have support for anything, so let’s do what’s best for kids,” Gerlach said. “This is not a perfect solution, but I don’t think you have a perfect solution either.”
Gerlach told the board the district will need to discuss having another operational referendum within the next six months regardless what happens.
“That’s right around the corner,”he added.
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