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GRANADA - At Thursday’s Granada-Huntley-East Chain (GHEC) School Board Meeting, the board opted to limit nonresident enrollment of certain grade levels.
Superintendent Doug Storbeck said there have been conversations about this topic, and some families have already called about it.
“My suggestion, and my suggestion is not necessarily based on the number of students in each class, but my suggestion is more so based on the ‘Who are we going to have walk in our doors at this time of the year?’ kind of conversation. My suggestion would be to close the grade levels four through 12 and leave K through three open. We limit them to what they are right now, which would effectively close them at this time, unless we lose students.”
To make sure the technicals are clear, Storbeck said this does not include nonresident students who then become residents of the district.
“Anybody who moves in is in district; we have to accept them, as that does not count in this calculation," he said.
There is only one section per grade level. For example, Storbeck said there are currently 19 kindergartners, 11 of whom are residents of the school district and eight that are not.
"If we left open enrollment open all the time, that class could grow into the 30s," he said. "We want to keep our class sizes relatively small so we can meet the needs of the students that we have in our classrooms. At this time of the year, we’re already through the first quarter. I don’t think anybody in the area wants students going from one school to the next."
As for why to leave the earlier grade levels open, Storbeck said it is good to bring them in so they are better acclimated to stay there long term.
Board Member Jessica Salic expressed hesitation at the junior high level, where she said they could still add eight or nine kids per grade level. Storbeck posited they could leave grades seven and eight open.
Board Member Ken Madsen asked when this would take effect. Storbeck said it would be effective immediately and last until the end of the school year.
The proposal to limit nonresident enrollment in all grades besides kindergarten through third and seventh and eighth was approved unanimously.
In other news:
-- Rick Uttech, Terry Bentele, Rachel Maloney (Shumski) and Wade Blazejak were announced by Principal Andrew Walden as the first class of the GHEC Athletic Hall of Fame. The inductees will be honored Saturday, Jan. 2, between the boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball games.
-- A proposed amendment from the Minnesota State High School League that would mandate that, for all sports in which sex-separated teams are identified, individuals would have to participate based on biological sex, was received well by the board. A letter will be sent on behalf of GHEC in support of this amendment.