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"This is absolutely a mixed bag," Superintendent Dr. John Long remarked at Tuesday's hour-long forum. "There are some definite positives and there are some definite negatives depending on your perception and for your specific child."
A final forum will be held this Thursday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. at the Black Hawk Middle School media center.
Long emphasized that no decision has been made by the school board. He said board members are trying to use the information gathered from the four forums - two were held in the past two months at the monthly school board meetings - as a gauge to determine what direction to go.
No timetable has been set on when a decision will be made.
"I will take whatever time it takes," said Dale Schowe, school board president. "If it gets done in a year, two years, five years or if it never happens, that is what I want to do and I want to do it right."
The benefits of a reorganization allows students to remain in a school for more years and not have to adjust to repeated transitions, eliminates parents from having to travel to multiple schools to drop off kids and may even lead to fewer conflicts with school events, according to officials.
In previous meetings, various school officials have shown an interest in moving toward "community" schools. However, more work would have to be done to determine how many kids can fit in each school and drawing up school boundaries.
Initially, district officials anticipated the reorganization to coincide with the construction of a new school north of Interstate 70. All five of the district's schools sit within a one-mile radius.
Concerns that the parents have voiced focus on bus routes, the cost and having kindergartners in the same building as fifth graders.
Dr. Travis Arndt, who has spoken at previous meetings, preferred that a detailed plan suggesting how issues, such as transportation, would be dealt with. He said he knows students who already arrive at school an hour early and then have to stay an hour after because of how their bus routes are run. He envisions other transportation issues arising.
"This is not a well thought-out plan," Arndt said.
Long later fired back that the patrons would have criticized district officials had their input not been included.
"This is not the time to have that plan," Long said. "This is the time to find out people's opinions and not to lay out a final plan on the table."
Long also tried to clarify funding figures that had been brought up at two previous meetings. He said the reorganization would cost between $0 to $500,000. At the September board meeting he projected to expense to be about $225,000.
School officials also disputed that the move was being made for accreditation reasons which was brought up by parents. However, they did acknowledge afterward that the switch may lead to better test scores.
Currently, the district is organized so that all children attend Daniel Boone for kindergarten and first grade, then progress to Warrior Ridge for second and third grades. After that, they move on to Rebecca Boone for fourth and fifth grades, then to Black Hawk Middle School and finally on to high school.
Long estimated that roughly 98 percent of the school districts in the state have K-five schools. While no decision has been reached, he noted that the reorganization will occur at some point in the district's future due to projections that enrollment will grow to upward of 6,000 students when the housing market picks up.
