Unification Remains Uncertain Between Schools

Will Clearwater, Orchard and Verdigre continue their unification? March will tell.

Unification was one of the main topics at the Nebraska Unified School District meeting on Monday night.

“We thought it was important to have the original boards all get together and have some discussion on the unification piece there as far as that topic and what people are interested in with unification and anything else there that might be an option besides that,” Superintendent Dale Martin said.

After Verdigre, Orchard and Clearwater board members spoke, it was clear that not everyone had the same thoughts of renewing the unification.

Peggy Liska and Marty Konopasek of Verdigre both said their advisory board members were satisfied with the unification and wanted to continue for another seven years.

The Orchard board members agreed.

“We make a motion to recommend unification for another seven years,” Terra Williby said.

Terri Hergert said their board talked very little about consolidation or other options.

“We’d like it to stay just the way it is for another seven years,” Hergert said. “It was a pretty cut and dried conversation for us.”

“Ours was not quite so cut and dried,” Marty Kerkman of Clearwater said.

Joe Thiele said Clearwater board members gave him “definitely a sense of still keeping some options open, maybe talking to Ewing.”

“ I know I’ve heard a little bit in the rumor mill that Ewing might be out asking some schools what’s out there for them, which obviously, could include Orchard easy enough, and obviously Clearwater too,” Thiele said. “So I don’t know where that’s going to go, but unification is not definite. But it is on the table.”

“I’d say right now, it’s probably not our number one choice, but also, at this time, it might be our only option,” Kerkman said. “If that makes any sense at all. We’ve advised our administrator to make some phone calls and talk to a couple neighbors to just kind of see where that goes.”

Thiele said that Clearwater board members had concerns about dwindling class sizes.

“Class size, if we don’t look at some changes, is a concern,” he said. “We might likely have a class of maybe just one boy and all girls coming up. Is it a big deal? No, but if it’s kind of a sign of what’s coming, it could be. Cause we had that happen several years ago and the boy ended up leaving, so then it was a class of all girls.”

Martin said Clearwater is talking with both Elgin and Ewing about options.


“So we might know more next meeting and we might not,” Thiele said.

Williby expressed concerns about a timeline for their decision.

“We talked about the 2020, you know June-July, when the unification is up so we did visit at least a little bit about where we’re at time-wise, keeping this thing moving a little bit because there will be people wanting to know,” Thiele said. “Probably no real direct urgency today, but it probably won’t be too long and there will be.”

Williby questioned whether discussions should go on.

“Does Orchard and Verdigre at this point continue discussions on the new agreement?” she asked. “In my mind, I think we should start discussions on a new agreement, but that’s just my opinion.”

Hergert was also concerned about delaying a decision.

“I mean, how long do we sit here and wait?” she said. “We can’t wait until even eight months down the road for an answer because we’ve got to get a plan into the state board of education by November. That’s more of a deadline than June of 2020. November of 2019 is more of a deadline.”

Martin agreed that November would be the “bare minimum” timeline to agree on unification.

“This will automatically dissolve if all three do not reup on it,” he said.

Liska said she is not absolutely set on a seven year unification and would consider three years, if that suits Clearwater better.

“Well, I appreciate that, I do think, it looks like it would be better off to have Clearwater for three years than go with two districts for seven and not have a third partner,” Thiele said. “And then at the end of three years, maybe things will be in a situation that everybody will vote for seven again and continue on.”

Martin said what it boils down to is how much time they should allow Clearwater “to sort things out to come to that point.”

It was decided that March of 2019 was a reasonable amount of time for Clearwater to reach a decision.

“We’ll keep it on the agenda every month,” Martin said. “If there’s new information to report from anybody we’ll be able to do that.”

The next unified meeting was set for Monday, Sept. 17 in Clearwater, starting at 6:30 p.m. with the budget hearing.

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