Do you think consolidations should keep the separate schools in the consolidating towns or should have to build a school in the country similar to what summerland or cross county(I think) have done?
Every situation is different, but I like the idea of building a central location in the country off a major highway. What Summerland did was very proactive and it will set up education in that area for a positive future for years to come. Cross County did the same thing, just wish they could have brought in High Plains or Osceola with them. Osmond, Plainview, and Randolph need to think about something similar. Build a K-12 right on Highway 20.
I believe data and building issues need to put into perspective. If a schools enrollment has decreased by a certain percentage over a set amount of years, something needs to happen from the state.
Whether it's just a rule that if a schools enrollment decreases by 10% in a five year span, that school must hire a firm to decide why this is happening and what can help prevent the loss of kids. If enrollment isn't increasing within the next two years, another check must be put in place with school to open discussions with a neighboring school about a merger. Something like that.
Enrollment trends are important to gauge the health of a district. Here is an example of this. Below are Nebraska Dept of Education enrollment numbers from 01-02, 11-12, and 21-22 for a school that has four K-12 public schools within it's 20 mile radius. Does the current enrollment justify keeping a school when they are losing 75+ kids to option enrollment to those neighboring schools?
2001-2002 enrollment: Kindergarten (26), 1st grade (24), 2nd grade (25), 3rd grade (21), 4th grade (23), 5th grade (26), 6th grade (26), 7th grade (19), 8th grade (30), 9th grade (24), 10th grade (26), 11th grade (20), 12 grade (19).
Total K-12 enrollment 314
2011-2012 enrollment: Kindergarten (17), 1st grade (13), 2nd grade (14), 3rd grade (16), 4th grade (17), 5th grade (13), 6th grade (17), 7th grade (16), 8th grade (16), 9th grade (23), 10th grade (20), 11th grade (14), 12th grade (18).
Total K-12 enrollment 227
2021-2022 enrollment: Kindergarten (19), 1st grade (15), 2nd grade (18), 3rd grade (15), 4th grade (5)!!!, 5th grade (14), 6th grade (13), 7th grade (10), 8th grade (14), 9th grade (11), 10th grade (15), 11th grade (8 ), 12th grade (15).
Total K-12 enrollment 193
Total enrollments YOY since 2011-2012
2011-2012: 227
2012-2013: 239
2013-2014: 228
2014-2015: 204
2015-2016: 208
2016-2017: 216
2017-2018: 205
2018-2019: 204
2019-2020: 206
2020-2021: 193
2021-2022: 193