Emotions, opinions shared at G-R dissolution meeting

REINBECK- The seven-member Gladbrook-Reinbeck dissolution panel and two representatives from the state Department of Education addressed a packed house at the high school gym in Reinbeck on Monday night as residents of the district had a chance to learn more about the process, ask questions and share their opinions during a two hour public meeting.
 
The panel— chairwoman Anne Boyer, Susie Petersen, Rod Brockett, Doug Rowe, Gary Stanley, Barry Thede, Superintedent Jay Mathis, and Jeff Berger and Tom Cooley of the DOE—mostly spent the evening explaining a timeline of events for the dissolution, which would be the first in Iowa history to be voluntarily decided on a popular vote, and how the district could be split if it were to be approved. Because those in favor of the dissolution gathered the required number of signatures last August, a concrete plan for how the district would be split up must be completed by August of this year followed by a public hearing within 60 days of plans being finalized (neighboring districts would then have up to 10 days to file objections).
 
Residents of the district, including those who have open enrolled their children to other schools, would then vote within 40 days of the public hearing, and a simple majority would determine whether the district continued as G-R or ceased to exist.
 
“There is no G. There is no R. It will be gone,” Boyer said, in reference to a question on what would happen if the dissolution were to pass.
 
Reinbeck could not continue on its own and would be forced to join with a neighboring school district, and the territory must be split between at least two school districts at a minimum of 95 percent and five percent.
 
All seven neighboring school districts have been contacted, and six of them (BCLUW, Dike-New Hartford, GMG, Grundy Center, Hudson and North Tama) expressed at least some interest in taking on some of the current territory that makes up G-R, though none would commit to using the school facilities in either Gladbrook or Reinbeck. Dike-New Hartford, the only contiguous district with increasing enrollment, did mention potentially utilizing a building for an elementary school in Reinbeck, and Grundy Center would likely need another building to accommodate the influx of students from the northern half of the district.
 
Read more about the meeting in this week's Grundy Register.