Some 80 residents of Elk County held a “community conversation” Monday night in the West Elk High School commons — and there wasn’t an unkind word spoken during the two-hour session.
Moderated by Terry Woodbury of Kansas Communities, LLC, it was the second such combined conversation of people living in Howard, Moline, Grenola, Longton and Elk Falls plus Severy since it is included within the USD 282 school district.
Since Monday night’s meeting included several members of the USD 282 Board of Education, it was necessary for it to be opened and closed as a special meeting of the board.
The meeting was planned by the Elk Konnected organization which tries to pull together the various communities in Elk County and come up with positive solutions to the challenges facing these towns and rural areas. At the apex of their concern are the young people of Elk County and the two school systems which serve the area — West Elk and Elk Valley.
The evening was spent by split-out groups which at first were divided into the towns where participants reside. The eight groups brainstormed about any and all concerns they have about Elk County then tried to focus upon one positive recommendation to deliver to the larger group.
They then were reshuffled with members of each community included in each group, and they continued their discussions to positive strategies for Elk County’s future.
If there was one issue to dominate the discussions, it was the school situation both in West Elk and Elk Valley districts. All expressed concern over decreasing enrollment therefore less state funding for schools.
West Elk patrons were more vocal about their current structure of schools which includes three campuses: West Elk High School at Howard, Moline Grade School and Severy Elementary School. Even though certain streamlining efforts are currently being worked into the district, there remains disagreement over how the future school system should be structured.
Several of the focus groups found consensus that USD 282 should work toward a general idea of one centralized campus, but all expressed concerns over the impact it would have on the towns that would lose their campuses.
At least two of the groups expressed strong feelings that before any centralizing is done, there should be an improvement in communications among the communities in the district. Also, they believed any such plan should include specific proposals about the future use of the school facilities that might be vacated.
But the West Elk school situation was not the total focus of the evening.
“Better communication” remained the biggest concern of the group. While the group was large in number it was a small fraction of the total number of Elk Countians. It will require many such meetings, perhaps one in each town, to gain input of residents and put together ideas for Elk County’s future.
“We’re trying to rebuild the public square one community at a time,” said Woodbury who currently is working with 15 Kansas communities. “That can happen only if we build consensus within every town, every neighborhood and within both school districts.”
Among comments from Elk County participants:
“We’ve got to more than hang on and survive in Elk County. We want to thrive and improve our lifestyles.”
“We’ve got to ratchet up our communications between our towns.” “The people in our school districts need to have more access to our school facilities, especially evenings and weekends.”
“We should share some curriculum between Elk Valley and West Elk schools, which would expand our class offerings.”
“We need a Grow Your Own concept for bringing back teachers, store owners, farmers, ranchers and other vocations. Let’s train them to stay here and help us make a future for ourselves and our children.”
“Aggressively work in economic development as a countywide project.”
“Develop the best possible virtual classes using modern technology. Link with other schools not only here in Elk County but throughout the state and nation.”
“Work on a dynamic public relations program to make sure our own residents are saying the same thing, seeking the same goals.”
“Look into green concepts as we make facilities improvements. This may lead to successful grant applications.”
“Focus on quality in everything we do.”
“Keep moral standards high on our priority list. Our children, parents, teachers and administrators must strive to be good citizens.”
“Above all, work together to put our children first. They are our future.”
The Elk Konnected steering committee which is composed of Andrea Arbuckle, Nancy Barker, Richard Fish, Liz Hendricks, Sally Morgan, Dave Sanchez and Dave Whetstone will compile findings of Monday night’s meeting (as they relate to the school district) and report them to the next meeting of the USD 282 Board of Education, next Monday night, Dec. 8.
Woodbury commented, “We did not come here tonight to make decisions. We came to talk among ourselves and try to understand the view and concerns of our neighbors.”
