Supporters of Wilson Jr./ Sr. High School filed a petition Tuesday to move forward with a vote to dissolve the USD 112 Central Plains school district.

“Our kids have been hurting this year,” Wilson resident Kenny Beneda said. “This school board does not care about those kids.

“This is the only voice patrons in the district have.”

A group from the Wilson and Dorrance area gathered in front of the Ellsworth County Courthouse prior to filing the petition.

“We’ve got five members on the school board and not one lives, shops or goes to church in Wilson,” USD 112 Central Plains board member Roger Robinson said. “They are making decisions that could last a long time.”

Beneda delivered the petition to Ellsworth County Election Officer Shelly Vopat Tuesday morning.

“It’s very rare to do it by election,” said Scott Gordon, general counsel for the Kansas State Department of Education. “I’ve been here 11 years and I’ve never seen it. I looked through our old records and have never seen it occur that way in any of the records in my office.”

For the petition to be filed, 20 percent of those who voted in the last at-large election had to sign a petition, which then had to be filed in the home county of the school district.

Vopat said despite USD 112 spanning five counties, Ellsworth County is the county of record for the district.

“We will verify all signatures and addresses that they’re within the school district,” Vopat said. “Once we verify that, I will call an election.”

The petition option is from Kansas statute 72-635 and stipulates that no election will be held between January 1 and July 1.

According to the statute, “If a majority of those voting in such election shall vote in favor of disorganization of the unified

“There is no ‘reorganizing’ by way of a petition — it is an all-or-nothing measure. It’s either USD 112, or it is broken up and given to other districts.”

Scott Gordon

General Counsel for the Kansas State Department of Education school district, such county election officer shall so notify the state board of education and it shall issue its order disorganizing the unified school district.”

“We’re in unprecedented territory,” Vopat said.

“The statute was written before we had advanced voting. It doesn’t talk about who pays for the election.”

Additionally, she said, one of the counties only has 14 registered voters, yet her office must coordinate with that county because of those voters.

Gordon said a district can be dissolved if a simple majority of voters in the election vote to dissolve the school district.

If the petition passes at the ballot box, the law says the disorganization will go into effect July 1.

In this instance, USD 112 would dissolve on July 1, 2024.

“The state board (of education) appoints a hearing officer to conduct a public hearing for the purpose of gathering information so that a recommendation may be made to the state board on how to assign the property and territory of the now-disorganized district,” he said.

If the measure fails at the ballot box, Gordon said it cannot be attempted again until 2025.

“Generally speaking, if a district is disorganized, the property and territory of that former district will be assigned either to a neighboring district or a district which the state board finds is most appropriate to take on those students,” Gordon said. “That may mean keeping the school buildings open, that may mean closing those buildings and assigning students to other schools.

“In reviewing past orders of disorganization, both of those results have happened. It is hard to say exactly what would happen as a result of a petition by election because I have no record of that happening and there is no attachment plan already built into the petition.”

When a school board files a petition to disorganize, it submits a plan on how to move forward. With a petition, no plan exists, so a public hearing would be held.

“The state board would take many things into consideration such as location, population, public comments and transportation costs in determining to which districts the school buildings would be assigned,” Gordon said.

“There is no ‘reorganizing’ by way of a petition — it is an all-or-nothing measure. It’s either USD 112, or it is broken up and given to other districts.”