CLAFLIN — While a vote this spring indicated the intention to close grades 7-12 in Wilson School, action taken by the Central Plains USD 112 board of education Monday night legally began that process.

By a 5-1 vote Monday evening, the board approved a public hearing on the matter. That meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28, in the commons area at Wilson School. The topic will include closing the school and reassigning those students in grades 7-12 to Central Plains Jr./Sr. High School in Claflin.

Three reasons were given for the proposed reassignment — the financial condition of USD 112, the district’s need to reduce expenses and the district’s need to gain those efficiencies which can be gained by closing a building.

Roger Robinson, board member from the Wilson-Dorrance area, was the sole no vote. Brad Schiermeyer, board president, also from Wilson, was absent.

Superintendent Bill Lowry noted the motion made in April to close the 7-12 building in Wilson and reassign those students to CPJSHS was an “intent” motion only. To move forward with that reassignment, established procedures, per state statutes, must be followed.

Before Monday’s vote, however, several Wilson residents voiced their concerns.

Michelle Brokes, a parent and former board member, said it is no secret that the relationship between Central Plains and Wilson has been strained.

She noted a couple of years ago, a configuration study was established with representa- tion from across the district and several recommendations were presented by the group, but almost none were ever acted upon by the board. One of those recommendations was to synch the schedules at Wilson Junior-Senior High School and CPJSHS so teachers could be utilized both ways.

“When this was presented, teachers stated simply that they did not want to teach at both ends and that was the end of the discussion,” Brokes said.

Instead, she noted a motion was approved by the board on a 5-2 vote in April 2022 to close WJSHS and absorb those students into CPJSHS.

“Two of the five members that voted for that motion had been on the board a mere three months,” Brokes said. “Three months! That is nowhere near enough time to understand what does or doesn’t work in the district, which leads me to believe the board members came on board with this agenda in place. It didn’t matter what recommendations the committee had put forth, the board was going to do what they were going to do, regardless.”

Brokes said the second part of that motion in April was to pursue a land transfer for Wilson before the 2023-24 school year. As such, the two Wilson board members (Schiermeyer and Robinson) were sent out on their own and given nine months to find another district that wanted to form a longterm relationship.

“The motion was made in April, paperwork has to be completed and into the state by January,” Brokes said. “Nine months!”

Brokes said if this truly what was best, it should have been an effort by all seven board members and enough time should have been allowed to create a true, long-term solution.

“Those two Wilson board members were set up for failure from the beginning and once again the kids were the ones being drug through the mud,” she said.

Brokes said the decision in 2019 to close the school in Bushton was a difficult one.

“The difference then was that the board took over a year to study options, get public input and look for any other solutions besides closing a school,” she said. “In the end, unfortunately, that was the only viable option we had, but at least the board took the decision very seriously and took the time to make sure all staff and students would suffer the least harm possible.”

Brokes said nowhere in the decision to close WJSHS was public input sought by the board.

“It seems to me this was a rash decision made as soon as the board was comprised of enough members to make it happen,” she said.

Jeff Keith, a parent and former member of the configuration committee, said it is a “kick to the face” by the board for not taking any of the recommendations into account.

“We gave up our evenings with our families and we gave up everything for the evenings to try to make the district better,” Keith said. “Then it was voted on to close, which wasn’t even one of our options at the forefront. So I look at this as an agenda. There was a plan in play, and they wanted to make it look like we were working together to try to make the district better when that really wasn’t their overall plan to save the district. You’re here to do what’s best for the students, but your actions have shown otherwise. You’re doing what’s best for one set of students, not all students involved in the district.”

“There’s not a very unified school (district) here,” said Dan Steinike. “You’re closing a school that’s going to effect a bunch of kids, a bunch of families and the community. And I think it’s a vendetta for some reason. You, yourself, said the reason the school was wanting to close was that it was time for us to feel the pain of a building closed. If that’s not a vendetta, I don’t know what it is.”

Robinson asked Lowry how much moving the Wilson 7-12 students to CPJSHS would save the district and how would that savings be used.

Lowry estimated the move would save the district $600,000 a year for two years. He suggested that savings could go toward paying teachers.

“So we’re going to sacrifice 7-12, and transfer students down here to increase our pay, plus we’re going to have to do something else, because you’re not going to give $600,000 to salaries,” Robinson said. “Are we going to reduce taxes? We’re trying to be efficient and do what’s best for the taxpayer, I would hope.

Lowry said the funds could also be spent on custodians to maintain the district’s buildings.

“So I come back to the point then we’re going to close a school and transport kids down here to give our custodians and maintenance — and lose a school in the community — to maintain a building,” Robinson asked.

Board member Joshua Hurley said closing the school in Bushton saved the district $90,000.

“Everything is going up,” Hurley said. “We’ve got to do something, or otherwise we’re in trouble.”

“None of this has been a rash decision,” said Tamara Dody, board vice president. “It’s been things we’ve been talking about for over three years.”

“It’s been rather rash to the point where it was only three months into a new board, and there was no discussion up to that point,” Robinson said. “And then in March a motion was made to move the activities for 7-12 here (to Claflin) and the next month there was a motion to move everything 7-12 here. That did not fail — it passed. So in three to four months that’s pretty rash to me, with no previous decision before that point.”

“Like Tamara said, it was discussed even clear to three years ago, when the old school board was still here,” Hurley said.

In other business:

• The 2022 district audit report presented by Danielle Hollingshed of Adams, Brown CPA’s of Great Bend was approved.

• After a final reading, updates and adjustments to board policies from the Kansas Association of School Boards was approved. Topics included substitute teaching, school site councils and standards of conduct for federally funded contracts.

• Approval was given to receipt of a $5,000 grant for a “Launch Learning program” for all students in USD 112. The district is working with H&B Communications in Holyrood and the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson to provide the program.

• Approval was given to out-ofstate travel for the “O” Club to attend a Kansas City Chiefs football game in Kansas City, Mo.

• A donation of beef from Hipp Farms was approved.

• Approval was given to two substitute teachers — Mark Spears and Cami Drees.

• Approval was given to hire Karla Hurley as a full-time bus driver.

The next monthly meeting of the Central Plains USD 112 board of education will be at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, at Wilson School.

“It seems to me this was a rash decision made as soon as the board was comprised of enough members to make it happen.”

Michelle Brokes

Wilson parent and former USD 112 school board member