Site Location Discussion To Begin Again At October Meeting

The eight members of the Clearwater and Orchard Advisory boards have all turned in their questionnaires to the Unified Board regarding site location and their goals for the school.

Superintendent Dale Martin asked board members during the district update portion of Monday's Nebraska Unified District meeting how they want to proceed in discussing site locations and what other information he should put together to assist in the discussion.

Members spent about 30 minutes discussing how to proceed and eventually agreed to put the item on the October agenda and have open discussion about the surveys, which were submitted anonymously by the advisory board members.

The timeline on discussion and making a decision remains an item of contention for the Unified Board since the feasibility study with Ewing won’t be available until December. Unified Board Vice President Terri Hergert said discussion needs to begin prior to that date to allow time for a decision to be made.

She reminded the board of two time-sensitive matters — teaching contracts going out in February and new board members being sworn in during January from the November election for Advisory and Unified Boards.

“What happens will affect contracts. We can’t wait until January to hurry up and make the right decision without having discussion amongst the board,” Hergert said. “If we discuss this in January and make a decision in January because of contracts be in offered in February . . . . we can’t have that.”

Terra Williby, board member from Orchard, asked to begin discussing the questionnaires and said, “We have their answers. We asked for them, so let’s discuss them.”

An audience member asked the Unified Board to come up with a plan for Clearwater and Orchard prior to the feasibility study, so they have a plan in case bringing Ewing into the mix isn’t the answer.

Hergert said she’s not sure Ewing is the answer anyway and said the conversation with Ewing has happened several times before and never moved forward. Peggy Liska, a board member from Verdigre, said Ewing has been brought up three times since she was elected to the board.

Unified Board president Joe Thiele said Orchard’s new $800,000+ HVAC system installed over the summer is also a factor in the future of the school district. “The investment in the building in Orchard has changed things. If you spend $800,000, you’re not going to walk away too easily,” he said.

Thiele said his hope is that the feasibility study has a “black and white” answer with the levy as to whether Ewing should join the Unified District and where the students should be located. Hergert asked the other members what will happen if the study suggests an elementary school in each town and then constructing a new high school, leaving the district with four buildings to maintain. 

Thiele said he has heard Orchard would leave the Unified District before consolidating or constructing a new building. Hergert said she couldn’t speak for the Orchard District, but she doesn’t see the need for a new building when “there isn’t anything wrong with anybody’s buildings.”

Marty Kerkman, board member from Clearwater, asked if the board plans to make a decision or plan prior to the feasibility study with Ewing, then why did they approve the $6,000 study. Hergert said she’s asked herself that question several times. 
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“I don’t know what is going to come out of (the feasibility study) that will fix this, other than the possibility of a new building,” Hergert said. “And I think that’s a long shot. Even if that’s it, you won’t have that in 6 months. That’s 2-3 years down the road.”