North Winneshiek Community School District

The North Winneshiek Community School District was a public school district in unincorporated northern Winneshiek County, Iowa, with a Decorah address.[2] At the end of the district's existence it only served grades Pre-K through 8th. The enrollment for the 2015–2016 school year was 126 students.[3]

North Winneshiek Community School District
Location
3495 North Winneshiek Road, Decorah, Iowa 52101
United States
District information
TypePublic school district
GradesPre-K to 8
SuperintendentTim Dugger
Schools1
Students and staff
Students126 (2015–2016)
Teachers17[1]
District mascotMustangs
ColorsBlack and Gold
Other information
WebsiteOfficial website

The district, with about 135 square miles (350 km2) of area,[4] was entirely in Winneshiek County,[5] and served the census-designated place of Burr Oak,[6] as well as these unincorporated areas: Bluffton, Hesper, and Highlandville.[4]

Governance

The school district is governed was a School Board with five members. The district was overseen by a superintendent, Tim Dugger.

History

The consolidated school opened in 1964, replacing one room schoolhouses. Initially it served up to grade nine, but it began serving all levels of senior high school the following year.[7] The first superintendent was Gordon Christianson. Initial enrollment was about 400. The residents wanted to retain a school with a rural atmosphere.[8]

Schools

The North Winneshiek Community School was the district's lone school, serving grades Pre-K through 8th Grade at the end of the district's life.[9] The former school, 3 miles (4.8 km) from Burr Oak,[4] and north of Decorah,[10] is located in Hesper Township.

In 2001, the school district closed its high school, and entered into agreements with the Decorah Community School District that year, and also at one point with the Mabel-Canton School District to allow North Winneshiek High School students to attend Decorah High School and the Mabel-Canton high school program.[9]

In 2018 the enrollment was 165.[11]

Consolidation

In 2016, the North Winneshiek Community School District agreed to consolidate with Decorah CSD.[3] Reasons for the decision to consolidate were rising costs and declining enrollment.[12]

As a part of the consolidation process, North Winneshiek 7th and 8th grade students were to begin to attend Decorah Middle School at the beginning of the 2017–2018 school year, before fully consolidating in the 2019–2020 school year.[12] The grade-sharing agreement was modified. Additionally the consolidated interim board signed an agreement with Mabel-Canton so North Winneshiek area students may continue to attend Mabel-Canton.[13] The North Winn board also agreed to share a librarian with the MFL Mar Mac Community School District for the remainder of the district's life.[14]

In 2018 voters in the districts agreed to make the consolidation final, with North Winnishiek voters saying yes on a 224-32 basis and Decorah voters doing so on a 621-104 basis. Andrew Wind of the WCF Courier described the result as "overwhelming".[11] Wind added that "If the vote hadn't passed in either district, North Winneshiek would have eventually closed or dissolved."[11] Effective July 1, 2018 the North Winneshiek district consolidated into the Decorah district.[15] North Winneshiek School closed its doors at that time.[16]

References
  1. "North Winneshiek" (PDF). Iowa State University. June 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  2. "District Info". North Winneshiek Community School District. 2002-02-13. Archived from the original on 2002-02-13. Retrieved 2020-04-06. 3495 North Winn Road Decorah, IA 52101 - The campus is not in the Decorah city limits despite the "Decorah, Iowa" postal address. The City of Houston website stated: "The U.S. Postal Service establishes ZIP codes and mailing addresses in order to maximize the efficiency of their system, not to recognize jurisdictional boundaries."
  3. Shirley Descorbeth (April 15, 2016). "North Winneshiek School consolidating with Decorah". KWWL-TV. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  4. "Comprehensive Plan" (PDF). Winneshiek County. December 2016. p. 91. Retrieved 2020-04-06. - (PDF p. 92/512)
  5. "North Winneshiek" (PDF). Iowa Department of Education. 2018-04-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2020-04-05. - Despite the "Decorah, Iowa" postal address, the City of Decorah was not in this school district as shown by the map. Alternate map
  6. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Burr Oak CDP, IA" (PDF). 2010 U.S. Census. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-04-06. - Compare to the map of the North Winneshiek district.
  7. Strandberg, Sarah (2016-04-18). "North Winn will consolidate with Decorah in 2019-2020". Decorah Newspapers. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  8. "The last homecoming –The Final Roundup". Bluff Country Newspaper Group. 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  9. "North Winneshiek Community School History". North Winneshiek Community School District. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  10. "Decorah School Board discusses costs of North Winneshiek's school building". Decorah News. 2020-02-10. Archived from the original on 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  11. Wind, Andrew (2018-02-07). "Decorah-North Winn school consolidation vote overwhelming approved". WCF Courier. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  12. "North Winneshiek School will Consolidate with Decorah at the end of the 2018–2019 School Year". Decorahnews.com. April 14, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  13. Blake, Lissa (2019-02-08). "Decorah-North Winn Interim Board expected to sign agreement for students on the border". Decorah Newspapers. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  14. Bachman, Brandi (2016-05-10). "North Winn School Board officially approves consolidation". KCRG. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  15. "Iowa Educational Directory 2019-2020 School Year" (PDF). Iowa Department of Education. p. 175. Retrieved 2020-04-05. (PDF p. 177/186) - From section "REORGANIZATION & DISSOLUTION ACTIONS SINCE 1965-66"
  16. "Home". North Winneshiek Community School District. 2019-09-19. Archived from the original on 2019-09-19. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
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