Category Archives: Schools

The combined vote total in Farragut and Hamburg to merge their school districts would have formed a supermajority in favor, but each district must vote separately. Hamburg opposed reorganization by seven votes. Not quite 1000 votes were cast overall, but it’s … Continue reading →

In far southwest Iowa today, the Hamburg and Farragut school districts are voting on consolidation to become Nishnabotna. There have been plenty of meetings on the issue, with slightly higher stakes than a normal school merger because of the potential … Continue reading →

It is very rare for an Iowa school building to close during the school year, but that’s what just happened at Ackley Elementary. Students packed up their things and left the old building for the last time Tuesday. The elementary, … Continue reading →

July 6, 2011: Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka High School in Crystal Lake. First, the good news: The old WCLT school building in Crystal Lake was sold to a private owner after WCL merged with Forest City, and the owners want to have … Continue reading →

The Creston News-Advertiser says that a consolidation vote with Prescott will be in April assuming petitions are gathered and the AEA approves. It’s a merger in name only, as the reality is the Prescott school will close and be a … Continue reading →

These articles from the Le Mars Sentinel and Sioux City Journal point to the same difficulty: The Remsen-Union and Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn boards could not agree on which town would get (and who would lose) the high school. Both articles also say … Continue reading →

There was a reversal of expectations in Gilman Monday night, as East Marshall’s school board voted to keep both the K-4 building in Laurel and 5-8 building in Gilman open. However, the Benton Community school board did proceed as expected, … Continue reading →

This story from the Norfolk Daily News is interesting and shows that Nebraska suffers the same problems with declining rural schools, only more so. The five towns involved are about 75 miles west of Sioux City.

The Marshalltown Times-Republican says the East Marshall school district is considering closing its elementary in Laurel and possibly also the junior high in Gilman. The decision will come Monday. Keeping all three locations (with Le Grand) is a possibility, but … Continue reading →