Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Supporters of a breakaway Mattoon school district had their hopes dashed again Thursday after an appeals board upheld a decision by Antigo school officials not to let the question go to a referendum.
“Parents in the Mattoon area are exploring other venues of education for their kids,” said one of the organizers of the effort who did not want to be quoted.
No one on the appeal boards board could be reached for comment Friday.
The Unified School District of Antigo board voted 8-1 Jan. 10 against the proposed referendum.
Supporters filed a petition in February seeking a ruling from the School District Boundary Appeal Board, a panel of school board members from around the state appointed by the state superintendent of public instruction.
The appeal board held two public hearings in Antigo, one on April 25 and another Thursday prior to going into closed session to reach a decision.
The board then voted 6-1 to uphold the Antigo board’s decision.
Efforts to create a Mattoon district, which would serve students in kindergarten through sixth grade, were spurred by the Antigo board’s decision last year to close Mattoon Elementary School.
Antigo school officials voted twice to close the elementary school.
Some parents say the school board’s first vote in April 2016 was taken without any public notice. The board held a special meeting in June to vote again and came down to the same 5-4 decision.
The village of Mattoon sought a court injunction in May 2016 to keep the school district from closing the Mattoon school, maintaining the village and parents of elementary school students in Mattoon were blindsided by the decision.
Two parents of Mattoon elementary students joined the village as plaintiffs in the complaint.
The complaint alleged the school board’s vote to close the Mattoon school was retribution for the lack of support for the school district’s failed referendum in April of last year.
The $25.9 million plan would have closed five of the district’s seven elementary schools, renovated the remaining two, and built a new, centralized school in Antigo.
The referendum failed by a vote of 3,787-2,615.
The civil complaint maintained that the school’s closure will make the village of Mattoon a less attractive place to live, leading to a decline in population, business presence and economic vitality.
A court order issuing a settlement and stipulation to dismiss the suit was issued on Aug. 4, after the Mattoon school had already been closed.