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jsb

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Yesterday voters in the Gladbrook-Reinbeck district voted NOT to dissolve. Now that it's settled how do they operate since dissolution in the first place was because there wasn't enough money to operate? Voting to remain a school district doesn't make money appear.

Has anyone been through this before? I'm not asking about the emotions of losing a school (which kills a town), I'm asking what happens when a district vote to stay open when they know there isn't any money. Is it prolonging the inevitable? Are they wasting money repairing buildings with fewer students each year, etc?

I think the gladbrook issue was less about the money and more about one town bring pissed that they lost an elementary school.
 

ISUCY23

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They're just delaying the inevitable. Should have just ripped the bandaid off now.
 
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BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
Corwith Wesley luverne in the NC part just basically stayed open and made the state tell them they are done. You can ask the state for extra money and you get it once without much hassle, then they start looking at your more you ask but seemed to give it until it was a decent hit annually. We were suprised how long they were left going.
 
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DSMCy

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NW Iowa has been hit by the same thing.

Laurens held on as long as they could. I believe they are now going with Poky.

Alta/Aurelia fought to stay separate (there's bad blood between those towns) but they had to consolidate.

Albert City-Truesdale has been in with Sioux Central for probably about 10 years already.

It definitely is sad for towns and people who are losing their schools. But it is inevitable with decreasing population in rural towns.
I feel for those farm kids that are driving 30-60 minutes one way each day to school.
 

SCNCY

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I've not heard of one of those towns. Isn't it weird we bemoan the loss of our small towns and at the same time push our best and brightest kids to "do better"? We kill the very things we are trying to save.

It is like being between a rock and a hard place. It sounds like these communities want to keep these schools, but they probably do not want to increase their taxes in order to keep them operational.
 

BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
Big problem is state requirements for money allocations. Only certain taxes can pay for certain things. I know a couple districts that were willing to jump property taxes, but you can't use those for what they were short in. The district had over a million in a couple different funds but were broke on the general fund and couldn't transfer from one to another.
 

Bobber

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Apr 12, 2006
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Hudson, Iowa
Big problem is state requirements for money allocations. Only certain taxes can pay for certain things. I know a couple districts that were willing to jump property taxes, but you can't use those for what they were short in. The district had over a million in a couple different funds but were broke on the general fund and couldn't transfer from one to another.

Yeah, but I can see that being a problem too. You rob Peter to pay Paul and eventually another important area of the school suffers.
 
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Rabbuk

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Mar 1, 2011
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My favorite is when they don't consolidate or drag their feet because they can't agree on an acronym. The you end up with SoDaPaCoLaDiTi school anyway
 
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wxman1

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I have family that lives near GR but is closer to Garwin thus they are in the GMG district and from them it sounds like a chunk of the Gladbrook people have already open enrolled to GMG.
 
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cdface

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Oct 28, 2014
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Behind Enemy Lines (IC)
Corwith Wesley luverne in the NC part just basically stayed open and made the state tell them they are done. You can ask the state for extra money and you get it once without much hassle, then they start looking at your more you ask but seemed to give it until it was a decent hit annually. We were suprised how long they were left going.

Is that the one that they did the IPTV special on? I remember seeing a good one on consolidation a few years ago.
 

wxman1

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I'm no expert in school district but will GMG survive in the long run?

Green Mountain has 125 people and Garwin has 600.

Hard to tell. I do know that along with some people from Gladbrook they also have a few that open enroll (especially for elementary) from Marshalltown.
 

isufbcurt

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Apr 21, 2006
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Collins-Maxwell and Baxter agreed to split up this past summer too. Now Baxter is on its own and Collins-Maxwell are together.
 

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