September 10, 2010: Cornerstone of the Bonaparte school building. Note centennial coming up.
The Harmony school district in southeast Iowa, a very early runner among non-geographic names, is exploring whole-grade sharing with Van Buren. KTVO had a story earlier this week. The Ottumwa Courier had a story two months ago and listed six options being considered. That list was not exclusive to Van Buren, but all six resulted in the closure of Harmony Elementary in Bonaparte. However, more recent developments leave the possibility of it remaining open.
Harmony Junior-Senior High School is on J40 half a mile west of the Lee-Van Buren county line. Its elementary is in Bonaparte. Van Buren High School is in Keosauqua, Iowa’s third-smallest county seat. There’s also an elementary school in Douds-Leando very near the end of the soon-to-be-decommissioned IA 98, but fifth and sixth grades are moving out. Stockport was closed in 2011.
Harmony’s enrollment has declined by 20% over the past decade. Van Buren had a bump in enrollment after absorbing Fox Valley in the mid-2000s, but has declined steadily since. Harmony and Central Lee were together in football in 2012 and 2013 but Harmony fielded an 8-man team this year. It did not go well.
Should the two districts engage in whole-grade sharing in the future, the combined area would be the largest in Iowa with one high school.