They could have consolidated a long time ago… I’m looking at you Essex and South page
Iowa school district shuttering...
- Thread starter MitchLL
- Start date
All these districts are being positively affected by the DSM metro affect… B/F is a rapidly growing community currently. DSM jobs employ a lot of folks in central Iowa. Interstate roads makes for easy travel and short times.
Reports are out now and most of these grifting private schools have raised tuition 26-50%.Just asking a question but…..how “close” is the next nearest school district in scarcely populated SW Iowa? This is the REAL issue here. Kim’s gifting of tax money to private schools just speeds up this process of closing small school districts. Ironically, the small town school districts overwhelmingly support her and Republicans yet wail at the fact their small town communities are dying on the vine. They blame Culver, instead!
Sort of like colleges jacking up tuition as the free money rolls in.
While the district’s certified enrollment number is 163.9 students for the 2023-24 school year, 86.9 students have open enrolled out of the district and those state supplemental aid dollars follow the students to their new district. Thirty-three students have open enrolled into Oreint-Macksburg and only two students from the district are enrolled in Iowa’s new private school tuition voucher program.
With all of that factored in, the actual number of students served by the district is only 108.
Anyone have experience with a tiny district?
What options do you have when classes
are <10?
With all of that factored in, the actual number of students served by the district is only 108.
Anyone have experience with a tiny district?
What options do you have when classes
are <10?
I taught at a school that had around 500 students PK-12. We were able to have two sections of all grade levels most years. I'm a small school advocate, but I don't think a district with less than 200 students is viable except if the district tax payers are willing to pay extra to keep their school open. It would be hard for a school that small to provide many curriculum options at the secondary level.
I don't know Orient Macksburg's history, but there are schools near me that have refused to consolidate with other districts and they end up on an island by themselves. @ClarindaA's mentioned a couple.
Maybe move to where there are people? Cows and hogs might deserve senators but their educational requirements aren't that high.
I'm curious, what's the minimum before you'd agree closure is the best option?
They have 108 kids total when you add and subtract open enrollment. So divide that by 13 (k-12) and you get 8.3 kids per grade. Now maybe I am doing something wrong but that doesn’t sound sustainable.
If you wanna see “civil war” in Iowa, go back to the school consolidation days of the late 1950’s and early ‘60’s. That was the end of the “one room (rural) school” days, too. Lots of hard feelings that lasted many years. Iowa needs to plan for another such round of consolidations. There is going to be lots of school size growth in about 5-6 Iowa metro areas but many Iowa (rural) counties are gonna be on the shrink! Iowa needs to face the music and consolidate counties to about a third of what they are now in order to prepare for the future. Like a business, small (populations) are eventual losers and schools and county governments are not exceptions.
Are we seriously outraged that a school district with 149 students is shutting down?
I'm sorry, but that just isn't feasible.
My goodness.
I'm sorry, but that just isn't feasible.
My goodness.
It's primarily just one person in this thread, who blames Governor Reynolds for everything.
If our governor were a Democrat, you wouldn't hear a peep out of him, other than to support everything he/she did (even if they were the same things Reynolds does).
Did you highlight all the closings and consolidations during the recent 12 straight years that Iowa had a Dem governor?
But, she is primarily responsible for the school funding issue.
The largest cut to school funding in recent history came at the hands of a Dem governor.
Shh, don't mention that, it doesn't support the left's narrative.Haven't rural schools been shuttering for a few decades now?
More rural Iowa school districts plan to close their doors
Once again, the end of a school year means the end of several school districts in Iowa, continuing a trend seen for decades but one that doesn't get easier for the communities involved.www.desmoinesregister.com
Ahh yes. We should all look for articles from 8 years ago
The faster we close rural schools the better. I had the misfortune of moving from the Ballard school district to the Hayfield school part of Garner-Hayfield when I was in second grade. It was like a time warp. 9 kids in my class and we shared the classroom and teacher with another grade. My mother made it her mission to close the Hayfield school and within 3 years it was. Sure we missed the cafe, post office and small grocery store that went away as a result but at least I was able to get a real education again by 6th grade.
Maybe do some research on how many mergers have occurred since, say 1980. Then report back and tell us how the closure of O-M is the first of many dominos, and the cause of the closure.
And as I am sure you are aware, O-M closure isn't a done deal. Citizens can vote to keep the school district up and running.
AHSTW. Avoca, Hancock, Shelby, Tennant and Walnut. All hit with consolidation prior to Kim Reynolds. When I went there, it was Avo-Ha. Hancock closed their school in the late 60’s or early 70’s, I’m not sure when Tennant officially joined Shelby. But Shelby-Tennant joined Avo-Ha in 1992. My no pic wife was in their last graduating class with a whopping 13 seniors, one was a foreign exchange student. Walnut was added after the 2015/2016 school year.
AHSTW
MVOA
IKM-Manning
OABCIG
Fremont-Mills
Exira-EHK
That’s just a sample list from my area. The list is quite long.
I’m not saying it’s a good thing. I’m not saying consolidation is good for the students. An argument could be made that there are more educational and extracurricular opportunities at a school with a class size of 50 rather than 8 though. No point in arguing that today though. I do agree that it’s all about the dollar. You are being disingenuous saying that this is a new thing.
The Libs around here really seem to hate rural Iowa. Until one of their schools close, anyway.
I would ask if you’re a troll but even a troll can’t be as dumb as you.
Educate yourself on school closing and consolidation history in Iowa. Or just read the posts in this thread.
So...reporting a pertinent news story makes someone a troll???
I suspect it's more a case of you didn't like the news I reported.
BTW...be better.
You really think the school board made this decision without some input from parents???
JFC, you can't be this naive.
I think the article being 8 years old was the entire point of the post, no?
Is there a better way to refute the OP's claim that this is a Kim Reynolds issue?
Alright, the pigs don't have to attend. But the testing scores are going to suffer.
A Democratic governor would never be so phuquin’ stupid as to violate the separation of church and state and gift tax dollars to private/ parochial schools. That’s ONE reason this poster bashes the current Governor every time he has a chance to bash her. She’s a phuquin’ moron. And proves it damn near every day.
Last edited:
But the white Jesus schools in Iowa need the money more!
That's a decision based on many things including buildings and their condition, debt, staffing challenges, etc.
More to it than just enrollment numbers.
What teacher wants to take a job at these smaller schools knowing Mississippi North Republicans refuse to properly fund education??? Maybe a recent college grad for their first job.
Tell me you don't know anything about this State's schools without telling me you don't know the situation.
Almost every district in Iowa is in serious decline. Amazing to see some of the Cedar Rapids schools that are less than 1/2 the size they were in the 70's. Has nothing to do with Governor Reynolds. Has everything to do with Feminism and the resulting depopulation bomb. Women either just don't want to have children, or they are waiting to long to start families, all of which is caused by feminism. Gone are the days of 10-12 kids in families, like my grandparents generation.
