Hatton-Northwood

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Postby ndfan » Sun Jul 15, 2007 2:08 pm

Just wondering what the future of this co-op is now after the vote to consolidate the two didn't pass. Chance this could end the co-op or everything gonna be alright?


NORTHWOOD-HATTON MAY BE AT RISK
CONSOLIDATION VOTE FAILS IN HATTON
Amanda Ricker, Herald Staff Writer
The defeat of a plan to consolidate the Northwood and Hatton, N.D., school districts means a cooperative agreement both districts have enjoyed for several years may break up, officials from both districts say.

The plan was overwhelmingly approved by Northwood voters Tuesday by a vote of 355-14 (96 percent), while Hatton rejected the plan by a vote of 234 to 173 (57.5 percent). The measure needed a majority vote in both districts to pass. If approved, all students in grades nine through 12 would have attended school in Northwood, while seventh- and eighth- grade students would have been in Hatton, starting in the fall of 2008. The two towns, located 35 miles southwest of Grand Forks, are 12 miles apart.
Both districts' school boards will meet Tuesday to begin talks about alternate plans. Northwood may seek another neighboring district to join, which could end an agreement with Hatton to share teachers, sports teams and other resources.
"The board will need to decide if it wants to look somewhere else," Northwood Superintendent Paula Pederson said Wednesday.
Consolidation plans have brought tension between residents of both towns.
Proponents of the plan say they were shocked when a last-minute "no" campaign in Hatton swayed votes with inaccurate information.
Hatton residents opposed to the plan say it would have resulted in the inevitable loss of their school.
"We're concerned about the community," said Polly Bumgardner. "It's not something against Northwood."
Co-op continues
At least for next school year, business will go on as usual for the most part in both school districts, according to officials.
Northwood and Hatton's cooperative agreement will continue next school year, but the Northwood School Board will have to decide whether to continue for subsequent years, Pederson said. The agreement saves the schools money by sharing about 10 teachers and combining sports teams.
"Right now you're only paying half, so it does help," Pederson said.
Officials will just have to look at what's best for the students, she said.
Other neighboring districts that might be candidates to consolidate with Northwood include Larimore, Thompson and Finley-Sharon, according to Don Piper, a consultant who facilitated the consolidation plan.
If the board wants to try again to consolidate with Hatton, it would probably take at least another year to comply with state requirements and bring it to a public vote, he said.
Hatton School Board member Kevin Wold said the board there plans to look into trying to bring the issue to a vote again.
"A couple of our elementary classes are below 10 (students)," he said.
Hatton Superintendent Kevin Rogers said the district will be OK financially for at least the next school year. He expects the budget will balance or only a slight amount of money may be deficit spent. The district has the option of refinancing one of its loans if needed, he said.
"But within the next two to three years, there may be some costs that need to occur for us to stay financially above water," Rogers said.
The district will need a school bus, and pay raises to teachers will be difficult to provide, he said.
"Hopefully, we're going to continue to work with Northwood," Rogers said.
Bumgardner, a Hatton resident who opposed the plan, said people who voted against the consolidation want to keep the cooperative agreement.
"I have already heard rumblings that there are some in Northwood who are offended by the 'No' vote," Bumgardner said. "The 'No' vote has nothing to do with the community of Northwood or the people of Northwood.
"Co-oping has been beneficial and there is no reason to jump to the other end of the spectrum and end something that has been very good," she said.
Dorothy Flaten and Janet Green, Hatton residents who also opposed the consolidation plan, said it would have ruined their town. Flaten said she's willing to pay more, if that's what it costs to keep the school.
"I really think that if we lose our school, which is inevitable if we lose our high school, you could just as well roll up the streets," she said.
Piper, the consultant facilitating the plan, said it prohibits the Hatton School from being closed in the next five years and doesn't imagine either of the districts' schools closing in the next 10 years. A new school board with representatives from both schools that would have been created under the plan would need to vote to close the Hatton school, he said.
Declining enrollment eventually could cause the need for only one building, but "that's far down the road," Piper said. The plan clearly says that both schools will remain open, he said.
"My guess is that it will not be long before many Hatton community members, even some who voted 'No', will begin to realize the opportunity they have lost because of this vote," Piper said.
He's disappointed that he wasn't able to respond to Hatton residents' concerns, he said.
A few days before the election, the local Hatton newspaper published articles from residents both for and against the plan. It's the first time that any of the concerns were voiced, officials said. None were brought up at informational meetings or to committee members over the past year of the process.
Several Hatton residents contacted by the Herald, whose names were printed in the local paper as opposing the plan, declined to be named Wednesday.
Some people have been fearful to express their opinion, Bumgardner said.
"There's been a lot of angry responses that a lot of people have had to deal with from both sides," she said.
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Postby Stromer » Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:37 pm

I don't think they will ever consolidate in the future.  This was their chance and they turned it down.  A consolidation works better if it is done before it is absolutely necessary.  While I can see Hatton voting no, I think they will kick themselves in a couple of years.  They get to keep their school for a while longer but it only will postpone the inevitable.  By not giving the kids larger class sizes and better class offerings, they are actually encouraging families to leave for bigger schools.  This will just compound the problem. 

I think the co-op will still be a viable option for awhile but the bridges have been burned.  It is kind of like a couple of schools in my area.  Munich and Starkweather have been co-oped for a while and voted within the last couple of years to consolidate or merge districts.  Munich gave it a yes vote and Starkweather a no, much for the same reason as Hatton did.  Now the co-op will continue for a while but the writing is on the wall.  Munich will end up going to Langdon and Starkweather to Devils Lake, but its just a battle to see how long they can remain independent. 
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Postby ndfbfan » Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:12 pm

This is such a touchy subject around the state. There are so many points of view, but here is my main problem with this whole thing. First, I am not from a school that has consolidated, so I guess I can't speak from that side of the fence. It seems to me that these people that want to hold on to their little schools are being rather selfish. It isn't about them anymore, its about the quality of education that is being offered the students in their community. If a school can no longer provide an education that is well rounded, then it isn't doing the students much good. If you can co-op with another school, increase class sizes, class offerings, increase resources, then you are benefitting the students. These small town people that don't want to lose "their" schools I believe are being selfish and rather ignorant about what the future holds for schools in ND. This is just my opinion of course.
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Postby GRIDIRON GURU » Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:11 am

I applaud Hatton for trying to save their school. I am from the other side of the fence where we lost our school to consolidation when we did not have to, we should have held and made the other schools come to us we had the higher enrolments at the time but we folded and the rest is history.

You want to save your town, save your school, you want business to come to your town save your school, you want people to move back home with kids, save your school.

I would love to move back home but no way in heck would I send my kids 50 miles one way to school.

 

 
Last edited by GRIDIRON GURU on Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby ndfbfan » Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:35 am

GRIDIRON GURU wrote:I applaud Hatton for trying to save their school. I am from the other side of the fence where we lost our school to consolidation when we did not have to, we should have held and made the other schools come to us we had the higher enrolments at the time but we folded and the rest is history.

You want to save your town, save your school, you want business to come to your town save your school, you want people to move back home with kids, save your school.

I would love to move back home but no way in heck would I send my kids 50 miles one way to school.

 

 

I know people who have been on your side of the fence, and I wasn't trying to stir anything up. Your situation sounds a little different, and to be honest, I don't know much about the Hatton situation except for the article. My point is that when a kid's education is compromised for the sake of "saving" a town, what is that worth?? As new teachers replace old ones, I can guarantee you that more and more will drive 30-40 miles to be located in Fargo, GF, Bismarck etc.... rather than live in the smaller towns. Fact of life and its happening already. I know quite a few teachers who live in Bismarck-Mandan and travel that distance and more to teach in Center, New Salem, Wilton, Washburn etc........ I don't have an easy answer, and I agree Gridiron that it is sad seeing these small towns go by the wayside.
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Postby GRIDIRON GURU » Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:48 am

I always thought and believe that kids get a BETTER education with a lower student to teacher ratio not a higher one like you would have in a bigger school.

people who are pro consolidation are always preaching about a better education for the kids..... bull..... when two or more towns consolidate it's the same teachers teaching the same classes with the same books after a longer bus ride, with more students in the class. how is that a better education?? They will claim a better curriculum but in the smaller towns say for instance Hatton and Northwood the curriculum would not change one bit.

 

 
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Postby ndfbfan » Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:22 pm

Points well taken, but I have to disagree. A smaller teacher-student ratio may sound like a good thing, but whenever you can combine a few more students, you get more opinions and viewpoints which leads to a more well rounded student. A school also receives more foundation aid monies which in turn SHOULD be used to offer a more diverse curriculum with better technology, and face it, in todays education world, it is less and less about books and more and more about the technology. In the social science classes, more students offers more dialouge and discussion with different ideas which only enhances the learning process. Now let me make myself perfectly clear. If you are talking 20-30 students in a class, that to me is still a manageable situation. If you have 15 or less, it gets to be a situation where it may be best for the students to be placed in a different situation. Again, my opinion and as i said before, i don't have an easy answer. These are just things I have noticed teaching in a smaller school and now in a bit larger one.
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Postby GRIDIRON GURU » Tue Jul 17, 2007 3:17 am

It's like I tell my wife all the time, if everyone had the same opinions and view points as me the world would be a better place. LOL

I just think that the original point that Hatton voted down the consolidation was a good thing for them at this point. If Northwood is so excited about the consolidation Hatton should wait them out and make Northwood come to them. At the expense of the kids? I don't think so. They are going to get a quality education either way.
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Postby hoop_fan1 » Thu Jul 19, 2007 3:03 am

From what I  heard, the high school was going to be in Northwood, is that the main reason people in Hatton voted it down?  Hatton would still have an elementary and middle school-isn't a "middle school"  include either 6th grade or 9th grade?

Question- who/how was the decision made that the high school was to be located in Northwood?  was it based on current class sizes, quality/quantity of facilities? 
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Postby hfs77 » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:18 pm

"They will claim a better curriculum but in the smaller towns say for instance Hatton and Northwood the curriculum would not change one bit."

 

 


OK, you're wrong.  In fact, there were going to be MANY more classes available for the students if the consolidation happened.

The folks in Hatton that voted it down were completely ignorant of the facts.  This is the truth.  There was basically no opposition at any of the informative meetings held in the months previous the the vote.  Then about a week before, there was a big misinformation campaign by a group of people who fear change (and never attending any meetings)....people who wanted their precious little snowflake to be able to walk home for lunch, etc.

It's ridiculous....
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Re:

Postby gingahata » Wed Nov 07, 2007 9:35 pm

GRIDIRON GURU wrote:It's like I tell my wife all the time, if everyone had the same opinions and view points as me the world would be a better place. LOL

I just think that the original point that Hatton voted down the consolidation was a good thing for them at this point. If Northwood is so excited about the consolidation Hatton should wait them out and make Northwood come to them. At the expense of the kids? I don't think so. They are going to get a quality education either way.

hatton voting the consolidation down was a bad idea....thier school not cool and both have declining enrolement the thing is no one else is going to come to hatton and say hey want to join schools because we like what you have going on because they bring nothing to the table.....hatton has already had to raise its tax to keep the school running northwood hasnt also northwood recently added a new addition (although a tornato dominated the school now and northwood is getting a tottaly new one) and with the new building and willingness to work with people makes northwood bait in more deals with hatton being selfish to "save" their school (although middle school still would have used it) eventually if they do not consolodate they will be forced to close and just join another school like MPCG with no H involved and yes joining would have offered many more courses also

most voted it down because some meathead put a bunch of false information in the Hatton Free Press the day before the vote and not much debate had been put in before that they said how it would completely get rid of the school (wouldnt) and hatton would have to pay northwoods debt (wouldnt) and a bunch of lies about that and without time to react the ignorant people that didnt bother to look into it otherwise belived it

bottom line: hattons facitly not cool and they need to find someone to co op with or they will just be shut down
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