ACSD Board discusses concerns of parents and community members at special session held at Waterville Elementary

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for a nearly two-hour work session in Waterville Thursday evening, December 7 in the Waterville Elementary School library. The main purpose of the work session was to establish a dialogue with parents of Waterville Elementary students and Waterville community members regarding the board's upcoming decision on whether or not the district will keep Waterville Elementary open at the end of this school year. That decision is scheduled to be made at the board's next regular meeting, scheduled for this Monday, December 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Waukon High School Library.

Prior to opening up the floor to the public, each of the school board members introduced themselves and shared their perspective and feelings about the decision looming in front of them. Tom Baxter noted that after serving the school district for 19 years, he has received a lot of comments regarding this matter.

"It's something we never really talked about because it has such a polarizing nature," he noted, saying the issue has "been under the radar for many years." He noted that it is a difficult decision that no one wants to have to make, but as board members, they need to keep in mind what is best for all of the district and its constituents.

Patty Nordheim said that she was not comfortable with how the public forum held back in November unfolded. "The venue was not casual enough to have a real conversation," she said. She also said she understood this is an intensely personal issue, and she felt this second opportunity could produce better dialogue.

Tim Waters noted that this decision is not something that any of the board members wanted to be in a position to make. "We have to take the emotion out and look at the numbers and see what's better for the district," he said. He added that he felt the "kids will be fine."

Board President Al Rissman echoed the sentiment that this is a hard decision that has been weighing on everyone's minds. "As a board, we have to make decisions for quality education and be fiscally responsible," he said.

Scott Melcher noted that for him this is a very emotional matter. He attended Waterville Elementary, as did his parents and his children. He also has a daughter that currently teaches there. "A small part of me wants to lie on that floor kicking and screaming, 'I don't want this to happen'," he said. "But I can't do that. We just have to pray that we make the right decision."

After the board members all expressed their feelings and opinions on the matter, they moved on to address a few issues that they felt had not been adequately explained during the public forum or through the questions and answers that had been published. Nordheim stated that the well has been an issue for a while, with the board discussing it every year. When asked if the water tests were worse this year than previous years, the response was "way worse."

Later on in the work session, the well issues came up again. ACSD Superintendent Dave Herold briefly explained the testing process required by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He also explained that he didn't know if the school could use the Waterville Fire Department's well because he was not sure the testing procedure is the same. He discussed the possibility of having a chlorinator, which the district would have to house. Estimated costs could begin at $15,000-$25,000 should the school need to get a chlorinator.

Herold also noted the well is tested at multiple points and never tested poorly in the same spot. When asked about using the Culligan water, Herold said the DNR will allow use of Culligan water for one year, and after that the district will be required to install a chlorinator. Currently, the well has been testing good. There was some suggestion of possibly finding a way to flush the lines, since the well seems to only test bad after the building hasn't been utilized much over the summer break.

Nordheim also wanted to address a question asked at the public forum about academic benefits for the students from being moved from Waterville Elementary to East and West Elementary Schools in Waukon. One example given was that when it comes to the reading evaluation and interventions, the fact that there is a small number of students at Waterville prevents those who need interventions from being in a group with others who have the same level of challenges. Julie Askelson, Waterville Elementary principal, noted that the teachers in Waterville do an excellent job of taking time to make lesson plans for the two grades they teach as well as the required testing and intervention, but if they did move the students to town, it would allow for some of the time and preparation elements to be less. She also noted that the State of Iowa will be requiring Math FAST testing, which will mean more assessments and interventions.

Waterville Mayor Dave Monserud was present to discuss with the board some of the implications for the City of Waterville should the school close. He noted that the school currently pays a large portion of the bill for sewer services and if the school closes, the City would have to adjust everyone's sewer bills to compensate for that loss.

He also noted that there are concerns about the building itself if it becomes a vacant building. "It could end up burdening the town because of neglect or if someone buys it and then walks away from it," Monserud noted.

The board members were then asked that if they do decide to close the school, would they keep the City of Waterville informed on the plans for the building. "If the school is closed, we could keep the city in the loop," said Baxter. He added that they would probably even give the City first options on some things. However, it was noted the board has not yet discussed what would happen to the building and property should the school be sold.

Nordheim asked Superintendent Herold what some of the schools that have recently been closed have been used for. He explained that the use depends on the building. He gave a few examples, such as the elementary school in Ridgeway being turned into a shrimp farm. Other schools have become an apartment building and a daycare facility. The board has not discussed if the school district would have any use for the building should it no longer be used as a school.

The question was raised as to whether or not the district has always intended to have all students end up in the Waukon learning centers. "There has never been a plan that we'll get all the students in town," Waters said. "Nobody plans for that." Melcher echoed that by saying, "Nobody had a crystal ball to tell them where the kids would be." Melcher pointed out that with the decline in the number of farms in the area, the number of families has also declined. He further added that where school buses used to make several stops on a stretch of road to pick up kids, they don't do that anymore for the simple fact that there are not as many children in the area to attend school, as evidenced by the declining enrollment cited in the district's initial information mailed to constituents.

Rissman noted that when the board decided to move the sixth grade students to the Middle School in Waukon, they chose to do that because "there were only a handful of school districts in Iowa that didn't have a Middle School (grades 6, 7 and 8)."

The issue of capital expenditure and repair issues came up, with the questioner noting that it was "rather convenient that this has been piling up." Baxter noted that even if there were no repair issues, they still have to look at the number of students. It was noted that in the report sent out by ACSD earlier this fall, the projected enrollment for Waterville Elementary is 52 students, grades Kindergarten through fifth grade. Baxter also noted that the cost per student does not reflect repair figures.

The board did mention some of the repair projects that have been done at Waterville Elementary. Nordheim noted that the last major repair she remembers was the boilers. In past years, they also put a new roof on the gym. "There was no question of whether to do it or not," she said. "We've never consciously said no on Waterville." She noted that at the time, she had received some criticism on the board's decision to put the new roof on, but she said they felt they should have done it because it is an asset.

Several in attendance asked the board what other options have been considered besides the two spectrum ends of keeping the school open or closing it. The consensus was that the board really had no other viable options that they had been able to come up with. There was a suggestion of possibly incorporating teleteaching, which uses telecommunications or computer networks.

The board members were also asked if they would consider delaying making a decision for a year in order to give Waterville Elementary families time to do some fundraising and have time to come up with a viable solution to keep the school open. It was also noted that if the Waterville school closes, that could potentially eliminate some students from the after school programming, due to parents not being able to get their child from Waukon. Rissman noted that the after school programming is currently funded by grants. "The people who do those programs write a lot of grants, but you never know when that will dry up," he said.

The board members were also asked if they ever had or currently have a plan for maintenance on all the structures in the ACSD. "We've never had a 50-year plan or anything like that," said Nordheim. "But maybe that would be a great place to start."

There was some discussion on closing East Elementary and the building of the new addition at the high school. "The new addition was built because the old junior high building wasn't safe," Nordheim pointed out. Melcher added, "It's a false perception that it's an expanded facility, they actually subtracted square footage."

As to the question of what happened to the Blue Ribbon School sign that used to hang out in front of Waterville Elementary, it was noted that the sign was taken down when the new school sign was put up. The Blue Ribbon sign was put into storage and just never got hung back up.