My purpose today is to provide two quick clarifications on statements made in an article entitled No Public Objections to Dissolution from the April 18 edition of the Marshalltown Times-Republican.
You can read the article in its entirety here, or also here even after the Times-Republican takes the article down from its website and the first link no longer works...but first, please read these clarifications... The article explains that the next required step in the process is for the commission to send the proposal to the surrounding districts once again. Assuming there are no objections from the neighboring districts, the commission's targeted timeline is to present their plan to the G-R Board of Education on May 18th.
A major point that needs clarification is the article's statement, "...If the board approves the plan as it is currently drawn up, the district would dissolve and be absorbed by the aforementioned districts." This makes it sound like the district could dissolve shortly after next month's school board meeting as the result of board action. This is simply not the case. The school board cannot dissolve the district. Only a vote by the citizens of the district can dissolve a school district.
In actuality, if the dissolution commission does present its proposal to the G-R School Board in May and if the board approves the plan, the board must hold another public hearing within 60 days and then must have its attorney draw up ballot language for a public vote. This ballot language must be submitted to the county auditor, and then an election must be held to determine the will of the district's voters. While the date of the vote has not been finalized, it is very likely that this vote will take place in September.
The second clarification is in regard to the title of the article. I've stated in previous blog posts that headlines are important, as they are often the only thing that people read. I've also explained in previous blogs that it is usually someone other than the writer of the article who writes the headlines; so, I harbor no hard feelings toward the writer of this article or toward the paper. The Times-Republican has done a wonderful job covering G-R's successful basketball and football seasons this school year as well as many of the other great things happening at G-R - and we appreciate it!
The headline makes it sound like nobody objects to the district dissolving, and that's just not the case. During my first ten months as the district's superintendent, I've been amazed by the tremendous community support for our school system. The headline really should have been No Public Objections to Dissolution Plan.
Because the commission's plan is identical to the first dissolution commission's plan, we didn't expect to receive much public comment at last night's public hearing. That doesn't mean that there weren't people in the audience that object to the dissolution of the district...these folks just understand that the commission is mandated with developing a plan and needs to go through this step in the process.
Ultimately, the voters of the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District will have an opportunity to vote on this important issue and the majority will prevail. I hope that all of the district’s citizens will take time to educate themselves on the related issues, attend the next public hearing or visit with dissolution commission members, and exercise their right to vote.
David R. Hill, Superintendent
You may wish to read my other recent blog posts related to the district's stability and the proposed dissolution:
August 25, 2016: Gladbrook-Reinbeck's Financial Stability
January 4, 2017: Gladbrook-Reinbeck Dissolution Update
March 16, 2017: Clarifying Recent Reports on G-R's Dissolution Process
All of the dissolution commission's agendas and minutes can be viewed here: http://tinyurl.com/GRDissolutionCommission
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