TELLING RESULTS FROM 3-WAY SCHOOL BOARD POLL
Thursday, January 13th, 2011 -- 10:51 PM
The members of the Loyal, Granton and Neillsville school boards got together last night in Granton with their futures anything but certain.A straw poll of school board members in attendance revealed some telling results:
Of the 11 board members answering the question, not one believes all four area schools will exist in 10 years. 6 of the 9 answering that question believe a school closing or consolidation could happen within 5 years.
Of the Granton and Neillsville board members in attendance, 7 believed those two schools should explore consolidation, only 1 thought they shouldn't.
And all 10 school board members answering the question believe all four districts should explore consolidating together within 10 to 15 years.
The survey results underscored a rather bleak outlook for each district. Granton Superintendent Arnie Snook noted the 4 districts have lost 556 students in 10 years. That's the equivalent of the entire Loyal school enrollment. The reason for the decline, according to Snook is evident: the demise of family farms has left the area with a shortage of large families.
That decline, coupled with a state budget that is $3-billion in the hole, could lead to tough decisions being made sooner than people expected even one year ago.
Last night's meeting was largely a crash course on school finance, but also involved some brainstorming among board members. One idea that seemed to find some traction was Granton and Neillsville exploring Granton operating as a "feeder school" to Neillsville's high school.
The arrangement, known as a unified school district, is currently not allowed in Wisconsin, but administrators thought the state legislature may be open to the idea.
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