MDRoffers Consulting LLC

In 2024, MDRoffers Consulting projected continued elementary enrollment decreases for the Wausau School District. Without changes, we projected that the District’s then-13 elementary schools would have more than 1,300 empty seats by 2027. Adding to that, CESA-10 estimated that those 13 schools had approximately $25 million in deferred maintenance needs and the District was projected to face a $2–$3 million annual operating deficit by 2027. Based on these findings, the District concluded that a reduction in its elementary school footprint was necessary.

With this direction, the District, with assistance from MDRoffers Consulting, formed a citizen-led task force to verify that the number of elementary schools should be reduced and, if so, how many, when, and where. The task force—appointed with 45 parents, other community members, and District staff—met ten times throughout 2024. Task force members first reviewed enrollment projections, facility conditions, 4K programming options, deferred maintenance, transportation, District finances.  Next, the task force, through a facilitated process, agreed on the number of elementary school buildings to be closed or repurposed.  After that, the even more difficult assignment of which ones had to be decided. The Task force considered 10 different options, after reviewing maps and data that compared each option to a pre-set list of criteria and associated metrics.

With guidance and support from MDRoffers Consulting and District staff, the task force advanced a final consolidation recommendation that was unanimously approved by the School Board in January 2025 for implementation in the 2025–26 school year. Under the approved plan, the District’s elementary footprint was reduced from 13 to 9 comprehensive elementary schools, with three of the four buildings sold and the fourth repurposed as an Early Learning Center/4K Academy. As a result, elementary school building utilization increased from approximately 70 percent to 85 percent in the District, resulting in more balanced enrollment among remaining schools, a reduced burden on District residents, and a more sustainable future.

The task force’s final presentation to the Wausau School Board, delivered jointly by MDRoffers Consulting and task force members, can be accessed here.

MDRoffers Consulting assists communities in modernizing, standardizing, adjusting, and updating a variety of municipal ordinances.  These include zoning ordinances, building code, subdivision ordinances, and ordinances related to park land impact fees and assessments.

MDRoffers Consulting understands that modern, updated, standardized ordinances help clear confusion and resolve inconsistencies from previous piecemeal updates while making ordinances user-friendly and easy to navigate.  Furthermore, standardized municipal ordinances help reduce municipal staff workload by streamlining processes of typical municipal functions such as permitting, reviews, and approvals.

The services offered by MDRoffers Consulting range from minor updates, such as incorporating recent changes of State law into municipal ordinances, to major updates, such as completely overhauling and re-writing a municipal building code or municipal zoning ordinance.

Recently, the City of Rhinelander hired MDRoffers Consulting to completely update the City’s zoning ordinance, which had been updated through minor patches and piecemeal updates over a span of 50 years.  The zoning ordinance was outdated, difficult to navigate, and sometimes contradicted itself, making standard zoning processes challenging for municipal staff.  Over the course of a year, MDRoffers Consulting met with municipal staff across departments, attended meetings with the Planning Commission, and took questions and comments from members of the public for the zoning ordinance update. 

The end result was an entirely new zoning ordinance, with an easy-to-follow, organized format, which incorporated modern land uses and performance standards in clear and concise language.  The new zoning ordinance will better position Rhinelander for improved housing and economic development while streamlining municipal workflows to lessen the burden on municipal staff.  

MDRoffers has performed numerous ordinance updates of varying degrees and budgets for communities across Wisconsin, including Cottage Grove, New Glarus, Poynette, Prairie du Sac, Springfield, Rhinelander, and Weston.