Many parents are mad the Iowa City Community School District is closing its elementary school in Hills, but that doesn’t mean they want to send their kids to a lower-ranking district instead.
This is despite offers from two Republican state lawmakers to help the Johnson County community move its students to another school district, such as Lone Tree.
“The Iowa City school district offers so many more opportunities for foreign languages, clubs and swimming,” Nancy Hebl said Monday night at a Hills City Council meeting. “I want my grandchildren to go to the No. 1 high school in the state, not the 139th.”
U.S. News & World Report ranked Iowa City West No. 1 in the state and 398th in the nation. Iowa City Liberty is ranked 6th and Iowa City High ranked 12th. The Lone Tree high school is number 139 out of 317 ranked Iowa high schools on the list.
The Iowa City School Board decided last month to close Hills Elementary at the end of this school year to save the district about $1.66 million toward the $7.5 million leaders need to cut over the next two years.
Only about 40 of the 100 students enrolled at Hills this year live in Hills. The rest are bused from the southern part of Iowa City or unincorporated areas of Johnson County.
Sen. Dawn Driscoll, R-Williamsburg, and Rep. Heather Hora, R-Washington, met with the Hills City Council last week to talk about the possibility of changing school boundaries to move Hills students to the Lone Tree Community School District instead.
Hora said she and Driscoll — both running for re-election this year — had talked with the Lone Tree school district leaders, who were interested in the idea.
“We wanted to bring it to Hills and say, ‘Is that something for you to have a conversation with your residents about?’ and see if that's even something that would be entertained,” Hora said.
Iowa law provides two paths for changing school boundaries.
Neither one of these paths is quick and potential legislative changes to speed the process aren’t likely to happen in the waning weeks of the 2024 legislative session, said Mark Stutsman, a Hills resident who spoke at Monday’s meeting.
Jody Bailey said she and other residents are forming the Hills Coalition 2.0 to help gather community input on school boundaries and potential uses for the building.
Hills Mayor Tim Kemp last week asked Lone Tree Superintendent Tyler Hotz why his district would want Hills’ students. Kemp joked it felt like Hills had entered the transfer portal, a status when college athletes are looking for new schools.
Hotz said the two communities had a lot in common, and that there had been interest in busing students from Hills to Lone Tree, which has about 450 students in two buildings. As for maintaining an elementary in Hills, Hotz said more information was needed.
“We want to make sure its financially responsible for us to keep it open and what that would look like,” he said.
But Hills leaders and residents agree they want to regain ownership of the Hills school building, built by the Liberty Township in the 1960s and sold to the Iowa City school district for $1 when the town joined the district later that decade.
The building could be used as a child care center or for home-schooling opportunities, residents said.
“We need to find out their plan for that physical structure,” speaker Ron Stutsman said of the Iowa City school district. He’s heard of other districts getting federal funding to remove structures and remediate contamination to create a “greenfield” site desirable for new development.
Iowa City Community School District spokeswoman Kristin Pedersen said Tuesday the district was not asked to participate in last week’s work session with lawmakers. Discussions have not yet started at the district about what to do with the Hills building.
Hills students will attend Alexander Elementary School next fall, she said. That school is 8 miles, or about 12 minutes, from the Hills school.
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This is despite offers from two Republican state lawmakers to help the Johnson County community move its students to another school district, such as Lone Tree.
“The Iowa City school district offers so many more opportunities for foreign languages, clubs and swimming,” Nancy Hebl said Monday night at a Hills City Council meeting. “I want my grandchildren to go to the No. 1 high school in the state, not the 139th.”
U.S. News & World Report ranked Iowa City West No. 1 in the state and 398th in the nation. Iowa City Liberty is ranked 6th and Iowa City High ranked 12th. The Lone Tree high school is number 139 out of 317 ranked Iowa high schools on the list.
The Iowa City School Board decided last month to close Hills Elementary at the end of this school year to save the district about $1.66 million toward the $7.5 million leaders need to cut over the next two years.
Only about 40 of the 100 students enrolled at Hills this year live in Hills. The rest are bused from the southern part of Iowa City or unincorporated areas of Johnson County.
Changing districts would require votes
Sen. Dawn Driscoll, R-Williamsburg, and Rep. Heather Hora, R-Washington, met with the Hills City Council last week to talk about the possibility of changing school boundaries to move Hills students to the Lone Tree Community School District instead.
Hora said she and Driscoll — both running for re-election this year — had talked with the Lone Tree school district leaders, who were interested in the idea.
“We wanted to bring it to Hills and say, ‘Is that something for you to have a conversation with your residents about?’ and see if that's even something that would be entertained,” Hora said.
Iowa law provides two paths for changing school boundaries.
- A majority of residents from both the current school district and proposed school district would have to vote to approve the changes.
- Or both school boards would have to agree.
Neither one of these paths is quick and potential legislative changes to speed the process aren’t likely to happen in the waning weeks of the 2024 legislative session, said Mark Stutsman, a Hills resident who spoke at Monday’s meeting.
Jody Bailey said she and other residents are forming the Hills Coalition 2.0 to help gather community input on school boundaries and potential uses for the building.
What will happen to an empty Hills school?
Hills Mayor Tim Kemp last week asked Lone Tree Superintendent Tyler Hotz why his district would want Hills’ students. Kemp joked it felt like Hills had entered the transfer portal, a status when college athletes are looking for new schools.
Hotz said the two communities had a lot in common, and that there had been interest in busing students from Hills to Lone Tree, which has about 450 students in two buildings. As for maintaining an elementary in Hills, Hotz said more information was needed.
“We want to make sure its financially responsible for us to keep it open and what that would look like,” he said.
But Hills leaders and residents agree they want to regain ownership of the Hills school building, built by the Liberty Township in the 1960s and sold to the Iowa City school district for $1 when the town joined the district later that decade.
The building could be used as a child care center or for home-schooling opportunities, residents said.
“We need to find out their plan for that physical structure,” speaker Ron Stutsman said of the Iowa City school district. He’s heard of other districts getting federal funding to remove structures and remediate contamination to create a “greenfield” site desirable for new development.
Iowa City Community School District spokeswoman Kristin Pedersen said Tuesday the district was not asked to participate in last week’s work session with lawmakers. Discussions have not yet started at the district about what to do with the Hills building.
Hills students will attend Alexander Elementary School next fall, she said. That school is 8 miles, or about 12 minutes, from the Hills school.
Hills school closure prompts city to consider changing districts
Many Hills parents are mad the Iowa City Community School District is closing their elementary school, but that doesn’t mean they want to send their kids to another lower-ranking district. This is despite offers from two lawmakers to help the Johnson County community move its students to another...
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