NV leaders review Orient-Macksburg map

Nodaway Valley school leaders remain steadfast in assisting Orient-Macksburg with whatever their needs are now and beyond when the district plans to dissolve.

NV Superintendent Paul Croghan spoke about recent conversations he and Board President Kristen Jensen have had with the Orient-Macksburg Dissolution Commission during Nodaway Valley’s Wednesday, July 17 board meeting in Fontanelle.

O-M recently also held talks with Creston, Winterset and East Union. The dissolution process has been fast but thorough because of time constraints put on the commission by law, available election dates and their own financial situation.

Croghan and NV’s school board praised the diligence shown by the O-M dissolution committee throughout the process.

NV made a proposal to Orient-Macksburg. Two big issues are busing and facilities. There were counters that took place.

Croghan said his feeling is that Orient-Macksburg should have control of decisions about future uses for the building, even though the facility would fall within Nodaway Valley’s control in the final map. Orient-Macksburg leaders are seeing what legal options there are for them to take action on that prior to their district dissolving July 1, 2025 but after school gets out this school year. There is some potential that Nodaway Valley could use the building for some non-academic purposes, Croghan said, but specific on that are unknown. The City of Orient stated at a community meeting in May that they may be interested in buying the building.

They also found that a large group of parents in the town of Orient are already sending their children to school in Creston. One item being talked about is allowing Creston to bring a bus to a bus stop in Orient each day to ease that process for those parents. Creston would have to agree to this arrangement. It could have a sunset where it has to be re-negotiated in 15 years after O-M dissolves, which would be in 2040.

The reasons Orient-Macksburg wanted some “assurances” from Nodaway Valley was that Nodaway Valley, at about 90%, has such a large amount of O-M’s current territory.

Croghan said districts are not able to object to what they weren’t given in these situations, but only what they were given.

“Really, a lot of this is contingent on what we agree to in their plan,” Croghan told NV board member. “The law says you can’t give a district everything, and in a dissolution you can only give up to 95%. If they give you more than 95%, then you have to reorganization and that wouldn’t meet the time constraints that they have. So we will receive about 90% of it.”

The map, which is now final, would give Nodaway Valley added territory in Adams, Union and Madison counties.

Based on 2023 valuations, Croghan said Nodaway Valley’s total valuation was approximately $353 million and Orient-Macksburg’s is $308 million.

Dissolution commission members followed careful, time-consuming research for certain boundaries in the outer parts of their district in Adams and Madison counties.

NV board member Susan Stevens commented that Orient-Macksburg’s desire to give Nodaway Valley as much of the current territory as possible shows their appreciation for the ongoing sharing Nodaway Valley has provided them.

NV and O-M have shared some high school level classes and middle and high school activities since August 2021 after a similar plan had previously been in place with Creston.