ARMSTRONG - The Armstrong-Ringsted school board voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with plans to consolidate with North Kossuth and Sentral.
With talks heating up this summer and some back and forth over whether the district should team with NSK or with Estherville, board members had been wary of making a choice.
But after a meeting with Estherville Lincoln Central last week, it appears Armstrong-Ringsted is willing to give North Kossuth and Sentral a try.
"What we were offered with Estherville Lincoln Central was they would take our high school students, grades 9-12," said Armstrong-Ringsted Superintendent Randy Collins. "But they are not interested in any additional sharing. They would not be sending any students over here."
Collins added there would be no job opportunities for Armstrong-Ringsted high school teachers at Estherville.
However, Estherville's offer remains open.
"They did say if things didn't work out with North Kossuth and Sentral, they would still be willing," Collins said. "They said, 'Randy, the door is always open.'"
Board member Jim Boyer argued sending the high school students to Estherville might be better education-wise for students.
Another issue addressed was a survey in which a majority of respondents did not want the school board to do anything, but rather lave the district as is.
However, officials know that with declining enrollment and statewide budget cuts, it is only a matter of time before Armstrong-Ringsted will no longer be viable on its own.
"Two years in a row, the urban district representatives have introduced bills that would limit how small a district can be before it is considered no longer viable," Boyer said. "So far, it hasn't received the support because it'd be political suicide. But it's only a matter of time."
One man at the meeting asked why Armstrong-Ringsted and NSK are pushing consolidation while other districts are not. It was pointed out that Graettinger-Terrill made its consolidated district official this year, while the state has taken aim at several other small districts. This is the last year for Woden-Crystal Lake-Titonka, which will be dissolved. There are other districts in the area that also have a murky future.
In the survey, an important consideration for consolidation was knowing that reorganization is happening to most rural districts and to "get on with it before it's too late."
After nearly an hour of discussion, board member Jen Von Bank moved to go forward with the process of hiring a facilitator under the condition that all three districts agree ahead of time to abide by the facilitator's recommendation.
"I don't want to sit here and argue about what's going to go where for the next five years," she said. "If we do this, we follow what the facilitator says. If we don't like it, we suck it up."
"We need to realize it's not going to be about Armstrong-Ringsted, North Kossuth and Sentral anymore," added Howard Taylor, who seconded the motion. "It's going to be a new district and we need to consider what's best for this new district."