Is a smaller North Winneshiek School in the future?

A group of 75 North Winneshiek School District residents on Tuesday night urged school officials not to consolidate with the Decorah School District or dissolve the school district.  Overwhelmingly the school district residents backed a plan to shrink the size of North Winneshiek after 2017, running the school as a preschool through 5th grade or 6th grade facility.

School Superintendent Tim Dugger told the audience that dissolving the school district would split the district between Decorah and Howard-Winneshiek.  Consolidating the school district with Decorah--the only consolidation option being discussed--would quite likely lead to the closing of the North Winneshiek building and might also lead to the loss of some teacher jobs during consolidation.

Dugger told the group North Winneshiek School had 200 students in the building in the 2005 school year, but now has 143 students.  North Winneshiek district residents centered their discussion on the number of residents who have open enrolled their children into the Decorah district--an average of eight students for each grade level.  While some residents thought the answer to that issue would be to attract Decorah families to open enroll their children into the North Winneshiek district, Joyce Rediske asked, "If the parents in this district don't send their kids to this school, how are we going to get Decorah parents to send their kids to this school?"

That led district residents to further discussion of operating North Winneshiek through 5th or 6th grade, expanding the whole grade agreement with Decorah to send older students to classes in Decorah.  North Winneshiek Board President Brenda Kreitzer, after hearing public comment, urged "Let's give this a try."  District residents said it would be their hope to continue operating North Winneshiek as a smaller school so it could continue its record of educational achievement.