City, School District pledge new era of cooperation

Meeting together recently for the first time in as long as anyone can remember, City of Port Washington and Port Washington-Saukville School District officials pledged a new era of cooperation ushered in by new leaders with new ideas.

“This is a transformational time,” City Administrator Tony Brown said during the Sept. 21 meeting held at Port Washington High School.

Both the district and city are facing many of the same challenges and opportunities found in growing communities, and the new faces at the helms of both entities envision a joint approach to tackling them.

Relatively new to City Hall, Brown and Mayor Ted Neitzke are setting the tone for Port.

In the School District, it’s Supt. Dave Watkins and Director of Business Services Mel Nettesheim who have introduced new ideas.

And while last month’s meeting was more about setting the tone for a mutually beneficial relationship, tangible opportunities for cooperation were floated.

“I believe the School District should be working directly with Bob Harris on development in the city,” Neitzke said, referring to the city’s director of planning and development.

  Brown said he believes there are opportunities to work together on everything from ensuring children have safe routes to school to human resources, building maintenance and equipment purchases. He also mentioned the school police officer, a position the city and the district have already agreed to jointly fund.

“I’m sure there are a ton of other things we could work together on,” Brown said. 

The budding relationship between the city and district also benefits from a mutual understanding of each other. 

A Port Washington High School graduate, Neitzke is a former teacher and superintendent of the West Bend School District who now serves as CEO of CESA 6, one of 12 nonprofit agencies that provide educational services to Wisconsin public school districts. 

“I’m a teacher because of the people in this building,” Neitzke said, referring to Port High.

Noting she has served on the city’s Design Review Board and Plan Commission, School Board President Brenda Fritsch said the district and the city will determine what sort of community Port will become.

“It just makes sense for us to work together,” she said. 

The relationship between the city and district also promises to benefit from a similar data-driven approach.

Nettesheim said the district plans to chart its course based in part on a  survey that will be distributed to residents later this month.

“We want to hear from everyone, not just parents of students who attend our schools and our teachers but everyone in the community,” she said. 

Brown noted the city surveyed residents earlier this year for the purposes of planning and will seek additional input for its downtown plan, which is another step in the process of “casting a vision for the future.”

Neitzke said the city and district will meet twice a year — in fall to set objectives and in spring to evaluate whether those goals have been met.