(Marsh Valley SD21 Notice, March 13, 2025)
Marsh Valley SD21 has posted the following on their website:
Dear Marsh Valley Patrons,
Most of you are aware that the district is reviewing opportunities to improve efficiencies and provide additional educational possibilities for our students. In today’s challenging economic environment changes need to be made to maintain a solvent budget. There are 4 options that the Board of Trustees is currently considering implementing for 2025-2026 school year to accomplish their goals. These options are explained below and they outline the pros and cons of each option. Some of these options would require the district to spend money on updates to obtain overall efficiency. Fortunately, we have received about $4,600,000 from the state that has a mandated use of capital expenditures (not general budget items), so we have some funding to be able to make those changes if necessary.
During the February board meeting, the board voted to place a supplemental levy on the ballot in May 2025. Each of the following options includes a levy in some form. Our current levy is $1,100,000 per year and expires at the end of this school year (June 2025). If the levy does not pass in May, the backup plan includes cuts that will be difficult to make but will need to be done.
All of the options make the following assumptions:
1. Employee attrition rates equal out with any staffing cuts that need to be made.
2. Salary negotiations with the teacher’s association breaks even with state funding.
3. Lava Elementary becomes a charter school next year (starting August 2025).
4. Student enrollment for next year is about the same as this year.
Option A—Maintain Status Quo
• Requires $1,750,000 per year supplemental levy that would have to be passed in May
• If the levy does not pass, we would have to implement Option B.
Pros
•All schools and classes remain as they are. Downey keeps combined grade classes, Inkom and Mountain View would not need to combine classes.
•Class sizes range from 8-26.
•Least disruptive to students and teachers due to no change made.
•Transportation is already established.
•Students stay in their current schools.
Cons
•Combined grade classes don’t provide best learning environment.
•Teacher collaboration is minimal due to extensive geographic areas between schools.
•Only having one class per grade in a school is problematic when a student has a conflict with a teacher and when we need to separate student behavior challenges into different classes.
•If the levy does not pass in May, urgent changes will be made over the summer to
accomodate budget shortfalls
Option B—Reconfiguration Option #1
• Downey Elementary keeps existing combined grade classes.
• Mountain View Elementary and Inkom Elementary will each have two Kindergarten classes and one single class for each grade 1-6 and one combined class for grades 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6 for a total of 11 classes.
• Class sizes range from 10 to 29.
• Requires renewing the current levy amount of $1,100,000 per year in the May election
Option C—Reconfiguration Option #2
• Elementary grades will be reallocated to different schools, with one-half of the grades Kindergarten-3 students attending Inkom Elementary and the other half at Downey Elementary. This would require two classes of each grade at each location.
• All classes for grades 4-6 attend Mountain View Elementary. This would be 4 classes of each grade.
• There would be no combined classes.
• Class sizes range from 16 to 23.
• Requires renewing the current levy amount of $1,100,000 per year in the May election.
Pros
•Students stay in their same schools.
•Disruption is minimized compared to some other options
•Transportation is already established.
•Costs about $270,000 less than Option A because it requires 3 fewer teachers
Cons
•Combined grade classes don’t provide best learning enviironment.
•Teacher collaboration is minimal due to extensive geographic areas between schools.
•Only having one class per grade in a school is problematic when a student has a conflict with a teacher and when we need to separate student behavior challenges into different classes.
•If the levy does not pass in May, urgent changes will be made over the summer to
accomodate budget shortfalls
Pros
•increased teacher collaboration is possible. Every grade has at least 2 classes in a building.
•No combined classes
•Having multiple classes per grade in a building helps when a student has a conflict with a teacher and when we need to separate student behavior challenges into different classes.
•Fewer buildings increaces efficientices and allows for improvements in in teaching our
special populations such as special education, Title I, English Language Learners, and gifted students.
•Costs about $270,000 less than Option A because it requires 3 fewer teachers.
Cons
•Disruptive to students and teachers; large number of student/teachers required to
relocate.
•Transportation is possible, but complex.
•Many students would be moved to another school.
•Some families would have elementary students that attend two different schools
depending on grades that students are in.
Option D—Reconfiguration Option #3
• Move grades 7-8 from the middle school to the high school. There are enough empty classrooms, but some classrooms require remodeling. Most of the remodeling needs are cosmetic.
• Move all classes for grades 4-6 to the current middle school. This would involve a few updates such as moving a playground from Inkom Elementary and/or Downey Elementary to this building.
• Move all classes for grades Kindergarten-3 to Mountain View Elementary.
• Close Inkom and Downey Elementaries.
• There would be 4 classes for each grade level, with no combined classes.
• Class sizes range from 18-22.
• Requires renewing the current levy amount of $1,100,000 per year in the May election.
Pros
•Teacher collaboration is maximized. All classes for a given grade would be in the
same building.
•No combined classes
•Having multiple classes per grade in a building helps when a student has a
conflict with a teacher and when we need to separate student behavior challenges into different classes.
•Having all classes for a given grade in a single location gives us the most flexibility when we experience increase/decrease in enrollment.
•Saves $270,000 over current district/school structure and over Option A as it would require 3 fewer teachers
•Saves another $300,000 over current district/school structure and all other
options because it requires fewer administrators and classified staff.
•Fewer buildings increaces efficiences and allows for improvements in teaching our special populations such as special education, Title I, English Language Learners, and gifted students.
Cons
•Disruptive to students and teachers; large number of student/teachers required
to relocate
•Closes two elementary schools
•While transportation is less complex than Option C, it adds two bus routes. We
would be reimbursed for most of the associated costs but would need two
additional bus drivers.
•Many students would be moved to attend school in another community.
•Some families would have elementary students that attend two different
schools.
