WILSON — Central Plains USD 112 Superintendent Bobby Murphy met with a group of around 25 people for about 45 minutes Monday at the Wilson Elementary School Commons to discuss a proposal that could see seventh and eighth grades once again being taught at Wilson School.

Murphy began by noting a survey was distributed about a month ago fifth and sixth grade students to gauge interest in potentially bringing seventh and eighth grades back to Wilson.

According to feedback from those surveys, of the 12 sixth graders enrolled, seven completed the survey. Three were yes, three were no and one was a potential. Of the nine fifth graders enrolled, seven completed the survey. Five were yes and two were no.

“We’re just in the exploration stages of what this could look like moving ahead,” Murphy said. “I know there are a lot of questions you guys might have. Some of them I might be able to answer, some of them I might have to say I would have to get back to you on those.”

Murphy said one thing the USD 112 board of education has discussed is about keeping the faculty and staff who are currently in place at Wilson while being able to offer seventh and eighth grades at that school.

“I know the sports side of it, and the activities is going to be a question that a lot of us have moving forward,” he said.

In addition to Murphy, Wilson School Principal Karin Mohr, as well as the two USD 112 school board members from the Wilson-Dorrance areas, Kayla Cullens and Cherilee Ward, were also at the meeting.

Murphy said one thing that was brought up in the survey was opening old wounds.

“I really feel bad we’re where we’re at with that, but that’s not the intent of this,” Murphy said. “The intent of this is to see if we could get to the point where we would be able to look at adding a middle school here at Wilson, and if you guys take it as opening old wounds, I’m going to apologize in advance, because by no means was that our reasoning for trying to do this.”

Following are some questions Murphy received from those in attendance, as well as the conversation:

• What is the rationale and thinking behind bringing the junior high back since we had one and it closed?

“I think the rationale is that if we can use the staff that we have and offer a quality seventh and eighth grade middle school, then I think it’s something we need to look at if there is the need for continuing their educational services here in Wilson,” Murphy said.

• Would you be moving all seventh and eighth grade?

“No,” Murphy said. “That has never been the conversation. The conversation was would this be housed just like it is in the elementary school side over here? They would just have the opportunity to continue with the seventh and eighth grade here at Wilson.”

• How does the board feel?

“I felt like most of them were open to the survey,” Murphy said. “To see what kind of data we would get from the survey.”

• Wouldn’t it make the most sense, stability-wise, to open a seventh and eighth grade up here because of the overcrowding down there? Wouldn’t it make more sense to make the whole seventh and eighth grade of both sides combine and come up here, financially, fiscally and teacher-wise?

“I don’t know the answer to that right now,” Murphy said. “I’ve only been here seven months and that would be something we’d really have to look in to.”

• Currently, we rent the Bushton School for athletics, for some room.

Correct?

“We rent Bushton for the room, for the gym space,” Murphy said.

• And we have two gyms here (in Wilson).

“We do have two gyms here,” Murphy said.

Murphy said that was done as part of making all communities in the USD 112 school district feel a part of the whole.

“You brought up old wounds,” a patron said. “It got downright nasty. In meetings. In public. In private. In social media. As a parent, I would never feel comfortable, but that’s my personal opinion. I don’t know those wounds are healed enough for some to be able to support this option because it was gross. On both sides it was nasty.”

“The divorce has happened,” another patron said. “It’s time to decide the custody. I think we’re at that point. Because 90 percent of our older kids are going to Sylvan. There are some that go to Russell. There are some that go to Ellsworth. But the vast majority of our kids go to Sylvan.

“I think those talks between you and the superintendent up there need to get serious and looked at before adding a seventh and eighth grade here is completed. And the reason I say that is if you are not willing to bring all of the seventh and eighth grade up, you’re going to again put our kids on the road down south to go practice, and then back on the road up here.

“There’s a whole lot of give on our end and a whole lot of take on the other end, and it’s always been that way.

Everything is said about saving money, but everything that they’ve done in the past — and like I said this is before your time — oh, we’re going to close the high school or the district office being here, but district people don’t want to drive up here. But we’re going to rent a building in Claflin. It’s the complete opposite of saving money. It’s continued spending. That’s where my frustrations are. We’ve got two gyms up here and we’re renting a gym down on the south end so they can feel included?

You’ve got the building, you’ve got the access to the facilities already and it doesn’t cost any extra money, but we’re going to roll out more money to appease a select few.”

• If you don’t have air conditioning, how to you expect kids to want to come and take part in a building that needs air conditioning?

“That would be something we’d have to address,” Murphy said.

• How bad do you and the board want a junior high here?

“Again, we’re just doing the exploration phases,” Murphy said. “We just asked the board if they would be OK sending out a survey to see what the need would be. That is as far as we’ve got. We have not gotten any further to ask the board members where they’re at on it, so I can’t answer that question.”

“OK, then basically, we are, as somebody said, this is a waste of time,” another patron said. “If the board is not on board with it anyway, why are we even talking about it?”