Algona/Lu Verne Reorganization Information
The Algona and Lu Verne Community School Districts would like to thank everyone who signed the petition for reorganization. This is one of the first steps that should allow our patrons to vote on reorganization in September of 2022 for reorganization to take place starting July 1, 2023. We would also like to thank our committee members, board members and other members of the public who spent time collecting signatures.
The next step in the process is being taken by our local Area Education Agency. The petition was delivered on March 11, 2022, to Dr. Meade at Prairie Lakes AEA, PLAEA. The PLAEA will review the petition for compliance, to ensure it meets the reorganization plan, and make sure both districts do not have any general obligation bonds, which we don’t, at their March 21, 2022, board meeting. The PLAEA Board of Directors will then set a deadline for filing objections to the petition, which can’t be more than 60 days after the petition was filed. They will also set a hearing on the petition. This meeting will be posted in the local newspaper and will include the deadline for filing objections to the boundaries and the date, time, and place of the hearing. The unofficial date of this hearing will be on May 17, 2022, in Algona at 5:00 pm. At the PLAEA board meeting, they will officially set the meeting. Both districts will post information on this meeting via social media, both district websites, and district news articles.
School districts in Iowa are struggling to find staff; this includes both Algona and Lu Verne. Even with our two districts combined, we have only nine more students than we did 17 years ago. This is even after taking in two other school districts during this time, Titonka and Corwith-Wesley. Loss of students is real in rural Iowa and both districts have been facing that fact for the past 10 years. Many districts are receiving very few and even sometimes no applicants for open teaching positions. While people may not see this as much in Waukee or Ankeny, it is especially true in rural Iowa. We do not see this drop in student population and lack of staff trend changing in the near future.
The state continues to add more requirements on districts, like the proposed transparency law, proposed civics exam for graduation, etc. It is becoming more difficult for all of us to meet these requirements by ourselves. By combining our resources, we have a better chance of not only meeting those requirements but also excelling in all areas of our educational programs.
By moving now towards reorganization, we will also be able to take advantage of three more years of financial incentives that the state will give our combined districts. These incentives are set to sunset in the near future. So if we start taking advantage of them now, we will be able to receive those funds for the full three years. Even though both districts are in very good financial shape, we must take advantage of every funding opportunity we can to better position ourselves to handle lean financial years, which are always certain to come.
If you have any questions, you can visit our reorganization website at:
https://www.algona.k12.ia.us/page/algona-and-lu-verne-reorganization
For any questions not answered on our FAQ page on the website, please contact Superintendent Carter (jcarter@algona.k12.ia.us) or Superintendent/Principal Hueser (jhueser@cwl-csd.org), and we will be happy to try and answer your questions.