North Winneshiek School will consolidate with Decorah at the end of the 2018-2019 school year

The North Winneshiek School will close its doors permanently in the spring of 2019.

That's the decision made by the North Winneshiek School Board, which has spent countless hours studying options for the district's long-term future.    

A statement issued by the school district on Thursday morning said, "Despite our hope to delay consolidation, the enrollment projections continue to decline.  A stable or growing enrollment is the key to the survival of Iowa school districts.  Specifically, we are faced with a very small incoming preschool class for the upcoming school year.  Also, North Winneshiek has one of the highest transportation cost per pupil of any school in the state. With a lack of students and exorbitant transportation costs, it becomes very difficult to remain financially stable."
 
The school board will meet May 9th to formally approve a schedule for the next four years.  The schedule calls for North Winneshiek to remain a preschool through 8th grade school for next school year, then a preschool through 6th grade school during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years before fully consolidating with Decorah for the 2019-2020 school year.

North Winn officials say more information will be distributed over the next few months regarding the specifics of this process.