USD 112 needs to make plans

Back in January, five of seven USD 112 board members voted in favor of closing Wilson Jr./Sr. High School. That vote, however, did not relieve them of their responsibility and duty to ensure a 7-12 education is readily available and accessible to those current students or any new student(s) to our area.

At the Monday, March 13, regular board of education meeting, several members of the board continued to claim planning for next school year could not be done because they don’t know what the enrollment numbers will be. After once again dodging any real indepth discussions, moments later they denied a oneyear extension to keep Wilson Jr./Sr. High School open.

Our family, directly impacted by their decision to close Wilson Jr./Sr. High, attended an open house at a neighboring school district. I have seen that planning can, in fact, be done. I can also say, our family has greater insight into what attending a neighboring high school would look like for us than attending the high school within our own district.

With one neighboring district, we know an approximate time the bus would leave each morning and that it will be from an undetermined pickup point. As a mother, I know what time to expect my daughter to be home on a regular school day as well as practice days if she decides to do sports. On game days, we know we would be responsible to pick her up after the bus returns to the school. With another neighboring district, confirmed by an article in the Ellsworth paper, we know we would be fully responsible for all transportation.

Amazingly enough, neither of these neighboring districts know what the enrollment numbers will be, yet they have a plan and parents know what to expect. Pretty wild, right?

The consolidation meeting minutes between USD 328 Lorraine and USD 354 Claflin to (form) USD 112 Central Plains is also another good reference; it will further confirm planning for multiple things in multiple ways is achievable. It also sheds light on topics our board should be discussing and gives insight into what compromising looks like in a consolidation.

So, there you have it. It is one thing for the vote to make students and families feel unwanted and unwelcome in our own district, but for our board to continue to make excuses, avoid busing conversations and push off planning for any number of our students, only further validates the sense of unwelcomeness. For the board members who previously claimed they truly wanted a unified district, they sure are missing their opportunity to shine and prove themselves.

They voted for this; parents now need basic information to determine if attending Central Plains Jr./Sr. High, the school within our own district, will work for us. Any new families to the area will also need this information.

Even if we find Central Plains Jr./Sr. High School would not work for our family, it still does not change the fact that USD 112 is solely responsible to ensure all students within its district boundaries have access to a 7-12 grade education.

Respectfully, Darcy Vopat Wilson