Seems like they N-O is being proactive and is facing the inevitable sooner rather than later. Good on them IMO.
Neligh-Oakdale seriously considering consolidation
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Seems like they N-O is being proactive and is facing the inevitable sooner rather than later. Good on them IMO.
Not sure of the situation but good for them for being proactive. From listening to Bob on "Doug and Daddy Show" yesterday it appears that Stapleton should've done same thing. They have forfeited their 8-man schedule for this year and will be playing a 6-man jv schedule. I know they had co-op with McPherson Co. a few years ago and that dissolved but not sure why they wouldn't have tried go with them again knowing the number were diminishing.
Not every small town gets along and as long as the state doesn't force consoladating then small town schools will continue to decline. The state of Nebraska should look east to what Iowa did.
Small towns are already on the decline. People in these small towns need to be proactive and not reactive. And it makes me wonder what people in a town are thinking if they are willing to let this happen. I feel sorry for the Harbour (sp) kid. Sounds like he is a very good athlete. And so he gets to play jv football against some 110 pound freshmen and sophomores. Guessing the parents of those kids are excited to see that.
And I sat through co-op meetings 7-8 years ago and heard some idiotic reasons from people not wanting to co-op. (ie, we have enough girls that we can keep the girls going and let boys opt out, you can play basketball if there are 5 boys out.) I then listened to these people then say what a great idea it was now that the co-op happened. Someone against it even told me we should've considered co-oping 3-4 years before we did. And you know what...they were right.
And I sat through co-op meetings 7-8 years ago and heard some idiotic reasons from people not wanting to co-op. (ie, we have enough girls that we can keep the girls going and let boys opt out, you can play basketball if there are 5 boys out.) I then listened to these people then say what a great idea it was now that the co-op happened. Someone against it even told me we should've considered co-oping 3-4 years before we did. And you know what...they were right.
All should be reminded that this is NOT a co-op, but a push to consolidate 3 schools (Neligh-Oakdale, Clearwater, Ewing). This would involve building a new school at "midpoint" somewhere between the schools and closing down all of the current facilities in each town.
Yeah Stapleton is in a tough spot, but they should have kept going with McPherson County. 25 miles one way is tough, but I'd rather do that then play a JV schedule.
Teams north of North Platte and west of Broken Bow are going to have a tough go of it for awhile. Arnold, Callway, Thedford, Dunning, Mullen, Hyannis, Arthur, etc. It'll be interesting. That is why teams in the East need to realize how good they have it. Most consolidation can be done within towns 10-15 miles of one another, sometimes closer. Parents need to get over their pride from years ago and do what's best for the kids. Playing 8 man football with 14 kids out is not in the best interest for the kids.
I doubt they would close all the current locations. They would be used for elementary. Neligh is still going to be the major hub for the school.
You could build a new high school on 275 that would work great just north of Neligh. Is Ewing really going to be in it? I figured they would go with O'Neill, Orchard or Chambers.
Keeping any of the current sights now used opened is NOT part of the current considerations. There would be one new K-12 site for all three communities.
Ewing is 10 miles from Clearwater and 20 miles from Neligh. Ewing is also 20 miles fro O'Neill. They could go either way, but I've heard they are preferring to look at the Neligh/Clearwater option.
Interesting. Well that's fine too. A brand new building and school would help pull more kids to the district too IMO. The towns are close enough.
It's still amazes me Elkhorn Valley in Tilden is still by themselves.
It's going to happen whether people want it to or not. It's ultimately going to come down to economics. Staff salaries and costs to operate a school district are going to become too great to justify schools with graduating classes of 15 or less. It's unfortunate, but with the way the agriculture is becoming more modern, more efficient, there just aren't the jobs needed around these small towns anymore. I don't think we'll see Nebraska go the route that Iowa did where the state actually forces consolidation, but you never know.
Elkh
Elkhorn Valley school district is actual on an upswing as far as current enrollment and just passed a bond issue and is building a large new portion to their high school. Should be in next fall.
IMO it would be difficult to pull students in from surrounding areas, possibly a few from Orchard. Nobody is going to drive 50-60 miles round trip every day just to have a new school. In fact you might see several students from all 3 schools go elsewhere.
Elkhorn Valley school district is actual on an upswing as far as current enrollment and just passed a bond issue and is building a large new portion to their high school. Should be in next fall.
IMO it would be difficult to pull students in from surrounding areas, possibly a few from Orchard. Nobody is going to drive 50-60 miles round trip every day just to have a new school. In fact you might see several students from all 3 schools go elsewhere.
Interesting that Elkhorn Valley enrollment is on the rise. Happy for them!
they need to do some consolidating west of there too. Stuart and West Holt as Stuart is the true "west" holt and only 8 miles. Bassett/Springview/Ainsworth but that will be tough with some knot heads on all sides. Cody Kilgore & Valentine as Cody Kilgore only other school and Valentine is already Cherry County High School I believe.
Highway 2 is a whole other story.
Highway 2 is a whole other story.
Haven't heard anything lately. The original talks involved Elgin, Clearwater, Orchard, Ewing and Neligh-Oakdale. That has now morphed into consolidation talks between just three of those schools: Neligh-Oakdale, Clearwater and Ewing.
What exactly is the nature of the unified school district of Orchard, Clearwater, and Verdigre if Clearwater can just leave? I'm not sure I understand the arangement. Wouldnt it just make more sense to consolidate within the district?
It's an odd arrangement for sure. At this point I think the three districts just share a superintendent and maybe some faculty.
there is a rif between the Clearwater school board and the orchard school board and nobody gets along. they are only thinking of themselves and not of the kids that they are on the boards to help. I believe it is a very sad situation to say the least.
Sounds like many of our politicians on a national level as well. Everyone's too focused on their own agendas rather than what's best for the people they were elected to serve. Get past the nonsense and learn to work together. All the selfish BS is just going to hurt the same people they are supposed to be helping in the long run, in this case children.
Id say the democrats and republicans in congress are working quite well together in not doing what the country elected them to do last november.
But i get your point.
So sad. I really feel like some of these kids would like to play sports with kids from other towns. Parents make consolidations and co-ops not happen because of their own agendas and what happened when they were in school 20 years ago. Parents need to get over it.
Thing is, Clearwater and Orchard are still co-oping sports, they just can't come to terms on consolidation or even a weaker unification (like they had going).
Is this the most recent update? @Alum-Ni
https://www.nelighnews.com/clearwat...cle_10ebea38-43ea-11e8-844d-9735803fdaf2.html
https://www.nelighnews.com/clearwat...cle_10ebea38-43ea-11e8-844d-9735803fdaf2.html
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