During a pair of joint school board meetings in Villisca on Aug. 11, an independent committee presented its feasibility studies on whole grade sharing, concluding that Corning and Villisca would benefit from whole grade sharing.

The same team determined that whole grade sharing between Villisca and Stanton was “problematic.”

Headed by Dr. Robert Decker of the University of Northern Iowa, the team consisted of Dr. Liz Jurgensen, associate principal at Marshalltown; Dr. Michael Jurgensen, principal at Marshalltown and Dr. Roark Horn, 267 AEA Chief. Analyzing five areas of each school district, including faculty and administration, educational programming, enrollment, facilities and finances, the team asked themselves two questions during their study: “Do the schools in question now offer the experiences required for an effective education, and can they do so in the future?” and “Which facilities would provide the best learning environment and the richest educational experiences for the students of both districts?”

Keeping these questions in mind, the team determined that whole grade sharing at the secondary level would be appropriate for Corning and Villisca, as enrollment numbers would be substantial enough for the critical mass needed to offer strong programming and academic discourse, a partnership would be financially healthy, and sharing would enhance both districts’ extracurricular activities, whether academic or athletic.

During each of the two meeting outlining the teams findings, first for Stanton and Villisca and later for Villisca and Corning, Decker impressed upon those in attendance the independent nature of the study, noting that none of the team members had any connection to anyone from the communities involved, though Corning/Villisca Superintendent Willie Stone, disputed this claim in the interest of transparency. “I am not sure why the firm stated that they didn’t know anyone from the community,” said Stone. “While taking graduate classes at the University of Northern Iowa, Dr. Decker was one of my professors. I also know Dr. Horn, who just joined the team, when he was a superintendent several years ago at NE Hamilton.”

According to Horn, a Stanton-Villisca sharing agreement would lack advantage, with transportation and education being unsustainable after a couple of years. “It could cause problems down the road,” said Horn, who predicted a “similar situation three to five years down the road.”

By contrast a Corning-Villisca partnership would bring about a reasonable leveling off of enrollment numbers, based on projections, and the districts’ fiscal health would help to facilitate curricular and athletic positives that both districts could enjoy. “Both districts have worked hard to expand financing,” said Horn, who noted that Corning’s unspent balance was at $3.4 million ($7,415/pupil) while Villisca’s was at $170 thousand ($455/pupil).

If carried out in line with the team’s recommendations, a sharing agreement would have no impact k-5, while housing a middle school at the Villisca facility and the high school at the Corning site.

“The challenges facing both school districts are similar in many ways to those being faced by similar districts in other parts of the state,” noted the team in their complete report. “The fact that the Board of Directors and administration of Corning and Villisca Community School Districts have commissioned this report reflects willingness on their part to face these challenges and to make difficult decisions. A temptation frequently exists to do what is necessary to maintain the status quo…At present, the opportunity exists for the district and community to exercise some influence over their destiny, to play an active part in shaping the educational systems which will serve youth well into the 21^st century.”

Comparison

The team outlined point-by-point comparison of the two school districts, starting with the similarities between the districts’ faculties, noting that both schools boast just over 28 percent of their faculties possessing advanced degrees. According to their research, Villisca staff has an average of 11.5 years of experience in the district while Corning’s staff experience averages 7.55 years. Where student-teacher ratios are concerned, Corning has a K-12 ratio of 11.27:1 and Villisca has a ratio of 10.59:1.

Financially, the team outlined that unspent balance is a key indicator of fiscal health, with both districts’ financial standing demonstrating conscientious work on the part of both boards.

The team noted that enrollment trends were headed downward for both districts, with the birthrate in the four county area in which the districts reside losing 10 percent over the last decade, with Adams County distinguished with the third highest population loss in the state. According to statistics provided by the Iowa Department of Education, Corning’s enrollment numbers for the 2001-02 school year were 614 while Villisca’s were 409. In school year 2010-11, the respective numbers had dropped to 431 and 323, while projections for 2015-16 look to slow the downward trend at 412 and 275. The team indicated that these numbers would provide the critical mass necessary to continue the excellent programming currently on offer in a financially viable way.

While the study revealed that both districts work toward a “core” experience for all students with dropping student enrollment impacting both schools. The Corning district requires 60 semester credits for graduation, offering 112 courses (103 on site), while Villisca offers 47 classes. During the presentation, the team noted that Corning offered nine courses through Southwestern Community College (SWCC), with 21 college credit courses on offer, making no mention of Villisca’s collegiate offerings.

“I feel it is important to bring out information about the Villisca Community School District that was incorrect in the study. The main mistake I found in the report was the fact that Villisca didn’t offer college credit classes to its students,” said Stone. “After digging through our invoices at the [Villisca] school we know that we offered 18 college credit classes and that 13 students of our students were enrolled through Iowa Western Community College or SWCC for the 2009-2010 school year.”

In comparing facilities, the team noted that both school’s could handle increased student numbers, though it found concern in Villisca’s ability to provide adequate student parking.

“It is true that Villisca does not have as much onsite parking as the other two districts, but it I don’t think it is as big of a deal as what the educational consulting firm made it out to be,” said Stone. “Villisca has the ability to look at solutions to remedy this issue.”

In the final analysis, the consultants indicated that a whole grade sharing agreement would double the academic offerings to Villisca students, while allowing Corning to continue to afford the strong curriculum it has developed over recent years and increase the extra-curricular activities for each community. While the study was informative and expressed potential for a productive Corning-Villisca partnership, there are “no time tables yet,” said Stone. “This is the first step for both districts in a long process of gathering information.”

The team’s findings “are just guidance,” said Corning school board member Gary Goldsmith at the board’s Aug. 15 meeting in reaction to concerns raised by a pair of Corning teachers regarding the team’s suggestion to house a 6-8 grade middle school at Villisca, and this impact on Corning’s recent commitment to multi-age classrooms at the elementary level, which includes sixth grade. “No decisions have been made.”

If a sharing agreement is to take hold for the 2012-13 school year, decisions would need to be made by February of 2012, said Stone at the Aug. 15 meeting. “The middle school would be a point of discussion if we get that far,” said Stone. “Both communities have decisions to make.”

To that end, the Corning and Villisca boards have laid plans to flesh out initial reactions to the study within two weeks, with the Corning board scheduling a meeting tentatively for 6 p.m. on Aug. 31.

The complete Sharing Feasibility Study can be found on the Corning School District’s website at www.corning.k12.ia.us.

Father Lazarus Kirigia began his ministry at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Corning and Lenox July 16.

Born and raise by farmers in Kenya Kirigia grew up with four brothers, growing corn, beans and various fruits. “I can identify with most of the people here,” said Kirigia, who is familiar with small communities.

Kirigia came to the United States in 2003, completing his seminary schooling at Mundelein College in Chicago in 2007. Ordained June 8 of that year, Kirigia served in Council Bluffs and West Des Moines before coming to the Corning and Lenox parishes.

“I’m looking forward to working with everybody—not just Catholics—but the entire community,” said Kirigia, who noted that his reception to the local area has been positive.

In addition to familiarizing himself with his congregation and the surrounding community, Kirigia has worked in recent weeks to visit homebound parishioners. “We have a lot of elderly who cannot join us for Mass,” said Kirigia. Fluent in several languages, Kirigia is poised and willing to reach a wide audience, brainstorming methods to combat declining attendance and to make worship more relevant. “I’m here to reach out to the community, to minister to the people in any way possible,” said Kirigia. “I’m available day or night. That’s why I’m here.”