Consolidation Options Being Discussed

By Brandon Lavaley, Tekamah-Herman Superintendent

In March, the Board of Education hired Jerry McCall, with Education Consulting Services, and his decades of experience to assist board members in narrowing a focus to improve our facilities for our students. Through the work with Jerry, the recommendation was made to pursue a consolidated effort first and gauge the interest of other school districts, specifically Oakland-Craig and Lyons-Decatur Northeast. Since reaching out to those districts, it has been relatively quiet over the past several months. Lyons-Decatur Northeast indicated that they were not interested in further conversations at this time, stating that they had a relationship with Bancroft-Rosalie for activities with which they were pleased. Oakland-Craig expressed some interest, but felt they needed to evaluate all of their options.

Last week, committee representatives from Tekamah-Herman, Oakland-Craig, and Jerry McCall met to further discuss the potential of a consolidated effort between the two districts. The specific items discussed, in general terms, were the internal organization of grade levels in a proposed district, the potential site of a new high school, and the size of the building being to be built. These conversations are preliminary, with both Boards seeking additional definitive data from Education Consulting Services before making a commitment.

The committees asked for further clarification from Mr. McCall on potential educational programming for the proposed district and ideas of participation from Northeast Community College with career education and certification opportunities in a district of the proposed size. The committees are supportive of doing what is in the best interest of students. If education can be enhanced and facilities improved through consolidation, Tekamah-Herman representatives would certainly be interested in such an effort. The facility issues in our district are not improving and must be addressed in the near future. The Board members are attempting to make the best decision possible to address as many needs as possible.

The Board of Education at Tekamah-Herman wishes to be as transparent as possible with any potential election for the use of tax dollars. The members have spent countless hours interviewing, researching, and evaluating options. While this isn’t the only option available for the district, this is clearly the best option that must be investigated to its fullest, in the minds of the Board and representatives hired to guide the Board. Please feel free to communicate with your representatives about this and future issues.

Brandon Lavaley, Tekamah-Herman Superintendent