This year’s West Elk winter homecoming candidates are (back row) Zach Carlson, Kevin Love, Bradley Linder, Miguel Zaragoza, (front row) Desiree Carter, Kayla Jacobs, Morgan Boles, and Sarah Taliaferro. The homecoming ceremonies will be held during the half-time of the boys’ basketball game at WEHS on Friday, Jan. 29… provided it is not cancelled because of snow.

Forty-two patrons of the West Elk school district say they will continue to oppose USD 282 plans to close the elementary schools in Moline and Severy.

The group, formed at a Saturday meeting in Severy, will be called “Concerned Citizens of USD 282,” and they have acquired the services of attorney Mary Ann Shirley of Eureka.

The meeting was called by Lesa Schroeder, a former member of the board of education, and Eric Krug, both of whom reside at Severy. Read more

Raising their hands was never a more difficult action, but board of education members for West Elk USD 282 felt they had no more options as they voted to close Moline Elementary School and Severy Elementary at the end of this school year.

The action came at the board’s regular meeting Monday night in Howard where the consolidation of all three schools in the district will take place.

In recent years, all pre-kindergarten through sixth grade students in USD 282 have attended classes Read more

About a third of the auditorium was filled with school patrons Monday night as the USD 282 West Elk Board of Education listened to views on the proposed merging of three campuses into one.

Board president Marty Taliaferro told the audience that state laws require a hearing anytime a school is proposed to be closed, noting that proposal is to close elementary schools in Severy and Moline, moving all students to the Howard campus.

Supt. Corey Reese gave a brief update on information from the Kansas State Board Education.

“According to what I have received since the last board meeting, it appears that the state board has been granted the authority to make even more cuts than it has made already,” Reese said. “I don’t see this situation as getting any better, and the West Elk district stands to lose in the range of $400,000 more in state aid.” Read more

Even though voters in USD 282-West Elk voted down a bond issue earlier this fall, apparently thinking it might save their elementary schools in Severy and Moline, it now appears the schools will close anyway.

At Monday night’s board of education meeting, it was proposed that the Severy and Moline schools close, although a vote was not taken on the actual closure.

The board did vote to hold a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 4, in the West Elk Auditorium at Howard, to gather input on the proposal.

Supt. Cory Reese told Prairie Star that details will be hammered out by the board and committees but it appears that modular units will be purchased to accommodate the creation of eight new classrooms on the Howard campus.

See this week’s Prairie Star for more information on this breaking story.