Clearwater-Orchard Won't Change Locations Anytime Soon

About 90 minutes was spent discussing the site location of Clearwater-Orchard Schools on Wednesday night, but no imminent change appears to be in the future of the school. 

Advisory boards from both schools unanimously voted to replace the April 5, 2010, motion of organization with a new interlocal agreement during the meeting, but there's no guarantee of when or how the interlocal agreement may occur since the previous agreement was not dissolved.

The Orchard board requested a deadline of February 2016 to reach the new interlocal agreement due to teacher contracts being dispersed then, but the Clearwater board said they didn't want to rush the process. Instead, no deadline is in place, leaving uncertainty if there will be a location change in the future.

After much discussion - with a visible division between the boards and among the two communities with nearly 200 people in attendance - board members agreed to continue the way things currently stand but will discuss the site location more.

"It does not mean the orgonal motion is dissolved until the new peramiters of the new interlocal agreement are agreed upon and signed," Clearwater board member Amy Thiele said. "The old motion does not go away until the interlocal agreement is agreed upon and signed, and we will work together to figure out what that interlocal agreement says. . . That original motion does not go away until it is signed and approved by the unified board."

Orchard board member Candice Hoke did most of the speaking on behalf of her board.

Having stayed quiet most of the night as the respective boards made little ground, Superintendent Dale Martin finally spoke out sternly on how remaining Clearwater-Orchard Public Schools is important for the students. 

"What I'm hearing is a lot of dissension right now, and that's unfortunate that we're at that point. It looks to me like we're at the point where it's going to be very difficult to come together on this right now," Martin said. "My recommendation early on obviously was that we not do a rotation. I've said that many times, but my follow up to that is we've got to do something together. I don't think that option is to go apart at all costs. I don't think that's a good move to pull us apart and to go our separate ways. I see it heading that direction, and I really feel that is not a good choice for kids. . . . We have to work something out."  

The action to agree to eventually have a new interlocal agreement did not set well with Orchard residents who said the motion further cemented the current agreement which will keep the middle school in Orchard and high school in Clearwater. Orchard residents have asked for the high school and middle schools to rotate between the communities every two or three years.

During the public participation portion of the meeting, there was a mix of people who spoke out for fairness in locations and others who spoke to keep things the same. 

Several seniors also spoke at the meeting, one of whom became very emotional and said, "At the end of the day, I just want to go to school with them. I know it doesn't affect me because I'm graduating, but at the end of the day, I just want to be with my friends."

Another student asked the board members to talk to students about how they feel about the site locations.

"I feel there's been too much bickering between a parent in this town or a board member in that town. No one is truly looking at how the students feel, want or need," he said.