Why Lee Thennes Closed Buildings to Save His District

Episode Description What do you do when your district has 1,200 fewer students than it did 25 years ago, but the same number of school buildings? For Lee Thennes, Superintendent of the Manitowoc School District, the answer meant making one of the toughest decisions a leader can face—closing buildings to preserve educational quality for the students who remain. In this candid conversation, Lee shares the reasoning, resistance, and resilience required to navigate one of education's most emotionally charged challenges. Meet Your Guest: Lee Thennes is the Superintendent of Manitowoc School District, where he has led the district through significant demographic shifts and structural reorganization. His student-centered approach to decision-making has made him a thoughtful voice on the difficult trade-offs school leaders must navigate in an era of declining enrollment and aging infrastructure. What You'll Learn In this episode, Lee breaks down the strategic thinking behind closing school buildings—and why it wasn't really about the buildings at all. You'll discover how he reframed a crisis of declining enrollment into an opportunity to strengthen what matters most: the people and programs that truly educate students. Perfect for superintendents, central office leaders, and board members facing similar challenges, this episode offers both the data-driven rationale and the human wisdom required to lead through controversy. Key Takeaways - Student outcomes matter more than facilities. The building itself doesn't educate children—the educators and support staff inside it do. Consolidation can preserve quality programming while eliminating inefficiency. - Declining enrollment demands difficult decisions. When you have significantly fewer students but the same infrastructure costs, maintaining the status quo isn't sustainable. Leaders must be willing to make structural changes rather than slowly decline. - Community resistance is inevitable—and that's okay. Emotional attachment to school buildings is real and valid, but it's different from what students actually need to thrive academically and socially. - Lead with clarity about your "why." When you can articulate that every decision prioritizes student learning and opportunity, you give yourself and your community a north star during turbulent times. - Leadership means you won't please everyone. The superintendent's role requires making decisions based on what's right for students, not on universal approval—and that's part of the job. Notable Quotes "I pick kids as an opportunity every time." "Can you please tell me the last time you learned anything from a building?" "We can't continue to operate the same way that we did 25 years ago when we have 1200 less kids." "It was the people inside of that building who help educate her children and teach them the values and help them learn how to be responsible and respectful. That really made the difference. Not the fact that that building sat there in that particular spot." "What I would say is to try to remember always why we're here, because you're not going to be able to please everyone in the role of superintendent or quite frankly, any leadership role." --- Ready to hear how one superintendent transformed crisis into opportunity? Listen now and discover the courage and clarity required to lead through change. **Subscribe** so you don't miss future conversations with education leaders who are making a real difference in their communities.