Orient-Macksburg talks whole-grade sharing with Nodaway Valley

ORIENT — The Orient-Macksburg school board has begun discussions with Nodaway Valley in Greenfield about whole-grade sharing beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. The Orient-Macksburg board reviewed the concept during its regularly scheduled meeting Monday.

Whole-grade sharing is when multiple school districts share the same resources for students. “It’s a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade agreement. We share everything,” said Orient-Macksburg Superintendent Jeff Kruse.

Orient-Macksburg board members Jana Scott, Alex Maeder, and Kruse met with Nodaway Valley district representatives. “We went through a tentative whole-grade sharing agreement. I’d say 75, 80 percent of it is non-controversial,” Kruse said. Financial arrangements will be discussed among Kruse and Nodaway Valley Superintendent Paul Croghan with legal counsel.

The two districts will also discuss transportation. “I think it would be nice if they picked up all the transportation. But technically if we are a district next year, technically it still our responsibility,” Kruse said about busing students. No agreements on finances or transportation have been made. Kruse expects a public hearing to be part of the process to approve whole-grade sharing.

Kruse said all agreements must be approved by Feb. 1, 2025, for a whole-grade sharing to begin next school year.

Additional meetings about whole-grade sharing are planned between the two districts. Orient-Macksburg High School’s graduation requirements and how they fit in Nodaway Valley is another topic.

Because of declining enrollment and financial challenges, the Orient-Macksburg board approved in the summer to close the school after the 2024-2025 school year. A dissolution committee, created by the school board, spent part of the summer planning how to distribute the district’s territory to adjacent school districts, following certain guidelines. The intent was for voters in the Orient-Macksburg district to go to the polls last month to approve the proposal. Creston and Winterset districts objected to the proposal which canceled the election.

A September vote was the only time for a dissolution vote. The state also allows special elections in March 2025, but that would not have given the school districts and counties time to adjust financial budgets, that begin July 1, 2025, should the Orient-Macksburg voters turned down the proposal.

The dissolution committee is scheduled to meet Monday, Oct. 21.

Orient-Macksburg board president Jana Scott expects some Orient-Macksburg families to not want to send their child to Nodaway Valley.

“We know not everybody is gong to pick Nodaway Valley,” she said. “We need to decide if we want to let buses from other districts come and have a bus stop to make it easier on families.” She wants those topics as part of the planning of whole-grade sharing.

Scott said she does not know of any staff shortages at Nodaway Valley, should an Orient-Macksburg employee have an interest in working at Nodaway Valley. Kruse said Orient-Macksburg staff has provided him their interests of where they would like to work in the future and he has contacted those districts about potential employment opportunities.

“We are still planning on this being the last year,” Scott said.

In other Orient-Macksburg news....

School officials are not expecting to have enough girls to field a softball team next summer. Scott said Nodaway Valley would be a good place to send Bulldog softball players, based on the two schools already sharing sports. Kruse suggested to ask Nodaway Valley first. If Nodaway Valley declines, that would then give Orient-Macksburg the right to ask other adjacent schools.

Orient-Macksburg softball coach Mike Cooley’s resignation was also approved.