The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By David Grimes, Quill Correspondent
LaHarpe members of five-district planning group meet for discussion with La Harpe School Board.
LA HARPE, Ill. If a school consolidation study takes a little longer than planned then so be it if it means a better education for students.
That was the consensus among those attending a special meeting Tuesday night called at the request of LaHarpe School Board's five members of the Committee of 10, the five-district group studying the consolidation issue.
The Committee of 10 was formed last year as a result of a possible merger between the LaHarpe and Northwest school districts. Five community members from the Northwest School District, Sciota, comprise the other half of the committee.
At the beginning of the current school year, the Colchester, Roseville and Southern school districts were invited to be included in a consolidation study by Max Pierson of Western Illinois University.
The study includes two-, three-, four- and five-district combinations. But after an initial presentation last month concerning curriculum, some committee members expressed disappointment with Pierson's lack of details.
"I just hope the financial presentation is a bit more detailed," said LaHarpe School Board president Rick Johnson.
Fellow board member Larry Caston agreed.
"If we show how this will provide a better education for our kids, people will be willing to pay for it," he said.
But Committee of 10 member Steve Rodeffer said the presentation was more of a blueprint that included a variety of possibilities.
"It will be more customized as time moves along," he said.
When the consolidation possibilities involved only the two districts, placement of the ballot question had been targeted for November. The question about the three latecomers surfaced in fall 2001. While LaHarpe and Northwest had conducted several community meetings to answer questions and share information, Colchester, Roseville and Southern were in the early stages of talks and had not had time to discuss the options with their communities.
When Dallas City closed its high school last year and sought a district to send nearly 100 students, Southern boasted about how quickly its board had put together a proposal to include the Dallas High School students.
But when negotiations between the two districts soured in March, Southern expressed a betrayal of oral agreements.
That experience may have created an uneasiness with Southern, along with representatives from Colchester and Roseville in the fall, when Northwest Superintendent Don Mulch encouraged districts that had not committed to consolidation and placement of a ballot question to get off the fence and gain a sense of urgency.
"Don Mulch may have alienated some people," Rodeffer said.
Southern, for instance, met with the Union School Board last month. The two met again this week, with invitations extended to the Roseville and Yorkwood school districts, as well.
Of the five-district consolidation, Southern Superintendent Charlie Barber said last month, "I don't see how we can give them an answer at this time."
At the same time, Southern School Board president John Corzatt said, "We'll have to be doing something, that's why we're looking now."
Costs, which some people see as an opportunity for improved curriculum, remain a concern. Pierson is to have the financial portion of his study complete and ready for the committee's perusal Feb. 5.
Committee member Tracey Anders said he can understand why districts are not ready to commit to any arrangement until crunching numbers. School location and how consolidation will affect tax rates are universal concerns in all communities, he noted.
"What we've come to realize is that we all need to look at the numbers," he said.
Curriculum concerns favor the middle 50 to 60 percent of students who will not attend college, but intend to remain in the technical trades or labor force. Vo-tech programs and courses in skilled trades were a primary concern.
"It's going to cost some extra money. That's a given" Caston said. "But it needs to be considered."
As a veteran school administrator in districts with high schools of 500 to 600 students, LaHarpe Superintendent Jerry Arthur stressed the importance of getting the community involved in the decision and seeing the merger as a benefit for their children.
"This is a very tough call for any district to make," he said. "It has to be a grassroots effort from the very beginning.
"There has to be time to get over the emotional issues involved and then time to deal with the logic of the whole idea of consolidation."
Committee member Jerry Brown hinted at the possibility of extending the voting timeline beyond November. Johnson supported that possibility.
"We're willing to take as long as it takes to provide the best possible education for our students," he said.