March 28, 2024

schools consider merger

SUMNER (AP) — Iowa’s list of consolidated high schools represented by an alphabet soup of abbreviations may soon have a new member, as two schools in the state’s northeast corner consider merging their facilities.

Voters in these two school districts will soon make the call as to whether the schools will merge before next academic year.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier says the election is Tuesday for the Sumner and Fredericksburg school districts. If the majority of voters in both districts approve, the merged district would emerge as of July 1 next year.

The districts already share academic programs, buildings, teachers and extracurricular activities. Sumner and Fredericksburg students share a middle school and a high school. The elementary schools are separate. The merger would combine the districts’ business sides.

Officials say that during the first year of the merger, taxpayers would save $1 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.

The new district’s school board would have representatives from both communities. Voters in both towns would vote on all candidates.