STURGIS, S.D. – The Meade 46-1 School Board held their November meeting Monday night with proposed rural school closures on their agenda.
The board took action last night to close the Atall but not the Hereford School, and also voted on a plan to send the Whitewood fifth grade students to Sturgis.
Eleven students are affected by the Atall closure and 9 would have been affected by the closure at Hereford.
The proposed closures were due to a nearly $1.25 million dollar budget deficit. Superintendent Wayne Wormstadt says the deficit is the result of lower enrollment numbers for the district.
The district was looking to save $250,000 by closing both schools.
Before the votes, the board once again heard from the public pleading with the board to find a way to keep the rural schools open.
After discussion, the board voted 6-3 to close the Atall School. Voting yes were Justin Jutting, Aaron Odegaard, Scottie Bruch, Terry Koontz, Megan Snyder and Brian Voight. Voting no were Tim Amdahl, Thomas Schneller and Lee Spring.
However, when it came to closing the Hereford school, the board voted 3-6 against it. Those voting to close the school were Terry Koontz, Megan Snyder and Brian Voight.
The board also discussed and narrowly approved moving the fifth grade students at Whitewood Elementary to Williams Middle School in Sturgis. The vote was 5-4 with Justin Jutting, Aaron Odegaard, Terry Koontz, Megan Snyder and Brian Voight voting yes. Tim Amdahl, Scottie Bruch, Thomas Schneller and Lee Spring voted no.
