CALEDONIA - Racine Unified officials met with Caledonia parents for two hours Tuesday night to discuss concerns about Unified and about a possible Caledonia secession from the district.

Parents met at Gifford Elementary, 8332 Northwestern Ave., for a Board of Education "Listening and Linking Session." The board has been holding these sessions for the past two years as a way to connect with various parents and community groups.

About 40 people attended, which Unified Superintendent Jim Shaw said is twice as many participants as usual.

While most Listening and Linking Sessions feature just one large group, Tuesday night's session broke attendees into three small groups to discuss questions provided by Unified.

"I liked the participation," said Shaw. "Small groups allowed parents to exchange ideas. It was more open."

A common theme in all the group discussions was district communication with parents. Attendees mentioned communication as one of the most important issues Unified needs to address, especially when, because of busing, a parent is farther from the school and may have a hard time getting there.

Unified's reputation kept coming up in discussion as well. Parents said a poor reputation is part of why families leave the district.

Troy Watros, 36, of Caledonia, feels a Caledonia school district would have a better reputation than Unified, resulting in more students and funding.

"A Caledonia district would bring in business professionals," said Watros, who works in Oak Creek and said his co-workers have negative perceptions of Racine and Unified. He said they view Racine schools as poor, violent and full of

disruption.

Watros said he hoped Tuesday's session would have included more talk about a secession, but that the topics laid out by the district were "excellent."

"It's a great program they're doing," he said.

Session attendees were met at the doors by proponents of an independent Caledonia school district. About 15 volunteers arrived 45 minutes before the meeting to stand in the cold with a Caledonia School District banner, signs and stickers.

While Caledonia secession from Unified is a difficult process, advocates are collecting signatures for a petition. At last count, they had about 1,300 signatures, said Brian Dey, president of the Caledonia School District Steering Committee.

Kathleen Dugas, 52, of Caledonia, spoke in favor of a secession because of bullying problems in Unified, which drew emphatic nods from many in attendance.

"This is part of the driving force for secession," said Dugas, whose 18-year-old son was jumped two weeks ago and says he is now afraid to go to school.

Dugas said Tuesday's Listening and Linking Session was helpful, but that she would have appreciated more dialogue from school officials on solutions to the issues raised.

Comments from the meeting will be compiled and shared with the full Board of Education at its next meeting.