The suggestion by Ellsworth-Kanopolis-Geneseo USD 327 Board of Education members to acquire land not currently under consideration for a land transfer could, at first glance, be jarring.

Once any shock wears off, though, it might merit discussion.

The point of having local school boards is for local taxes to be controlled by residents. The implication is that those tax dollars benefit those who live within that area. USD 327 board members Jake Svaty and Brian Rush point out students in Ellsworth County attend school in USD 327, but the tax dollars travel out-ofcounty to Claflin, Central Plains USD 112.

The state of Kansas redrafts its congressional, state senate, state house and school board district boundaries every 10 years based on federal census data. New boundaries were last enacted in 2022.

It might be worth adding student population considerations to district maps. If the majority of students within a township attend a school, does it make sense for the tax base from that township to also support that school?

The inverse is that students in the townships that border USD 327 who attend school in the district aren’t represented in decisions made by the board.

Since USD 112 is considering adjusting its boundaries, it will have to craft new districts within those boundaries. Perhaps it makes sense while going through this process to also consider which areas it does not draw students from, and take the opportunity to draw district lines that more accurately reflect its student population. Karen Bonar, Publisher