District to continue ‘conversation’ about Norton’s future as initial elementary enrollment decreases
Pictured is Norton Elementary School in April 2025. TRCS Curriculum Director Jen Graber and Superintendent Nikki Nash will share leadership duties of the school during the 2025-26 school year, something the district called a cost-saving measure as the school was restructured for the upcoming school year.
By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — Two Three Rivers Community Schools administrators will be sharing leadership duties at Norton Elementary in what the school board says is a “cost savings” to the district amid the ongoing restructure at the school.
On Monday, TRCS Board of Education President Erin Nowak said Curriculum Director Jen Graber and Superintendent Nikki Nash would take over those duties at the elementary school beginning with the 2025-26 school year, with Graber taking over principal duties and Nash giving “curriculum support” to the school.
Both administrators will be given a stipend for their increased duties, with Graber getting a $6,000 stipend at $500 per month for 12 months until June 2026, and Nash receiving a $4,200 stipend at $350 a month for 12 months until June 2026. Nowak claimed the move would save the district over $100,000, and comes as former Norton principal Julie Bentley was appointed last month as assistant principal at Three Rivers High School.
“At an overall cost savings from not filling [the principal role] of being $100,000-plus, we felt it was appropriate to offer a stipend to Jen and Nikki for the increased workloads the positions are going to bring to them,” Nowak said.
Having the two administrators cover leadership duties at Norton comes as the school’s future could be up in the air following a restructuring of the school that was announced back in April. The restructuring saw the elimination and dispersal of its fourth and fifth grade classes and the reduction of kindergarten to third grade down to one classroom each, while adding the Great Start Readiness Program and Young 5s classes.
Reading off initial enrollment numbers for each of the elementary schools, Nash said Norton is currently projected to have just 51 students and 20 Great Start Readiness Program students coming into the 2025-26 school year.
Because of the restructuring plan, and the overall decline in enrollment numbers, Nash told board members that there would be a “conversation” among administrators in the fall about Norton Elementary moving forward.
“Our numbers are low at Norton, so we’ll continue that conversation after official head count in the fall so we can see what our future looks like for Norton,” Nash said. “Obviously, with 51 students, it’s limited what you can do, but also we do have the capacity at Park to do what we did with fourth and fifth [grade] and take the first, second and third grade out there.”
Duties for Graber, who used to be the full-time principal at Norton prior to her current position as curriculum director, include supervising daily operations, working with different groups in the building, supporting and evaluating instructional programs, and evaluating teachers, according to Nowak.
“Even though it’s a small staff, and it’s a smaller amount of students, we still need a leader at the building,” Nowak said.
Nash’s curriculum support role, according to Nowak, includes monitoring school improvement, participating in curriculum review, ensuring continuous assessment and analysis of student achievements, assist with data review and grant management, and assist Graber in principal duties as needed.
“We’ll kind of wear three hats between the two of us to get us through this year; I think we will be totally fine,” Nash said.
TRCS elementary enrollment declines, overall enrollment in district slightly up
The decline in enrollment for Norton, while a bigger decline due mostly to the restructuring, follows a trend of enrollment decline at the elementary school level coming into the 2025-26 school year. According to Nash, enrollment numbers at Three Rivers elementary schools are projected to be down compared to the end of last year.
Nash said there are 985 students currently enrolled between the four elementary schools as of this week, down from 1,025 students at the end of the 2024-25 school year. In addition to Norton’s numbers, Andrews Elementary, according to Nash, currently has the most students enrolled with 325, while Park Elementary has 311 students and Hoppin Elementary has 298.
However, enrollment at Three Rivers Middle School and Three Rivers High School is expected to be up a bit compared to last year, with the middle school projected to have 502 students compared to 476 at the end of 2024-25, with the high school projected to be at 642, up by 30 from the end of the previous academic year.
“We got some good numbers of enrollments over the summer,” Nash said on the increases at the middle school and high school. “It’s really going to be, how does it look in August when we start if people move, then we get the records request when that all shakes out.”
In total, Nash said enrollment is up to 2,126 students for the 2025-26 school year as of initial numbers, up just 13 students from 2,113 at the end of last year. However, the elementary enrollment was a concern for Nash, who said Plante Moran is preparing a projection report this fall that will discuss the enrollment decline.
“They’re doing an enrollment projection for us, and with the birthrate down, our numbers are predicted to go down until 2032,” Nash said. “We have the future to look at as far as if the birthrate continues at what it does, it’s nothing we’re doing as a school system, it’s just where we’re at.”
In other business…
- The district approved a $700,665.31 bid via a Regional Educational Media Center Association of Michigan bidding program for an audio enhancement project to replace the public address systems at the schools which will convert the system from a PA system to a “modern building response” system, according to TRCS Technology Director John Londono. Improvements would include two-way calling and “segmentation” of the classrooms, in order to call individual classrooms if needed. It would also function without the need for internet, and allow integrations with classroom displays if necessary. Londono said a similar system is currently being used at Centreville schools. Work on the upgrade would take place in phases over the third phase of the district’s bond project, starting with Park Elementary and the high school to see how it works before moving on to other buildings.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
