Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Why didn't 'Winneshiek County school district election results' include results from Turkey Valley?"

(After decorahnews.com posted the results of last Tuesday's school board elections, a reader asked, "Why, when you report on "Winneshiek County School Board Race Results," don't you include results from the Turkey Valley District?)

Mr. Answer Person says: "The answer involves little-known procedures by the State of Iowa.  The Secretary of State's Office notes, "Many school districts (and all community colleges) cross county lines, as do some cities…When that happens, the auditor whose county has the largest taxable base is given the responsibility of conducting the election for the jurisdiction. This auditor is known as the "control county auditor."

Winneshiek County actually has seven school districts--Allamakee, Decorah, Howard-Winneshiek, North Winneshiek, Postville, South Winneshiek and Turkey Valley.  Winneshiek County is the "control county" for only North Winneshiek, Decorah and South Winneshiek.

The Turkey Valley School District actually has property in four different counties—Howard, Winneshiek, Fayette and Chickasaw.  The property in Chickasaw County has a higher value, so the Turkey Valley School District is considered a "Chickasaw County school district."  It does NOT matter where a school district's buildings are located.  That means that even though the Turkey Valley School is in Jackson Junction, which is in Winneshiek County, the State of Iowa still considers Turkey Valley a Chickasaw County school district.