Legislative Forum

Rep. Chuck Soderberg

and Sen. Dave Mulder will be hosting legislative forums Saturday, April 14 at 9 a.m. at the Hawarden City Hall and at 11 a.m. at Akron Public Library. They will be discussing various

issues concerning the Iowa Legislature. The public is encouraged to attend and address any issues of concern.

Showmanship clinic

A free showmanship

Explorers coming

The Sioux City Explorers, sponsored by the A-W Athletic Booster Club, will be holding an exhibition game in Akron May 2. Watch for more information.

“Grease” dinner

First National Bank is sponsoring a dinner prior to the April 14 performance

of “Grease” at Akron Community Theatre. See ad on Page 15. “Grease” will be performed at Akron Community Theatre April 13, 14, 15.

Belgian Waffles

A benefit for Lea

Jacobs, sponsored by St.

John's Lutheran Church,

featuring Dad's Belgian

Waffles, will be held

April 15, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

at St. Patrick's Parish

Hall.

City wide rummage

The City Wide Rummage,

sponsored by The

Wireless open house

Long Lines Wireless is hosting an open house April 28, 2-7 p.m. at FNB Community Room.

By Julie Ann Madden

Local South Dakota legislators left no hope there would be any legislative action to amend Senate Bill 157 at a special Greater Hoyt School Board meeting on April 3. This law forces school districts with less than 100 students to reorganize with other districts. Two local South Dakota school districts are affected: Greater Hoyt, which contracts educational services with Akron-Westfield School District, and Greater Scott, which contracts with West Sioux School District in Hawarden. “How could we restructure the law that would allow us to continue to operate?” Greater Hoyt School Board President Greg Heeren asked Representative Joel Dykstra and Senator Ken Albers. “With 50 or 60 people between me and the door, the easiest thing in the world to do is tell you what you want to hear,” said Dykstra, “but there are 105 legislators, and this is a statewide deal.”With (SB 157) on one side, we could go to the other extreme, deciding “that these circumstances are so unusual we should rewrite (the law) or write an exception,” said Dykstra, adding the two local districts were not any more unique than other school districts affected by the new law. “The difference between contracting schools here is you are disrupting a whole community...we are considered 'West Hawarden' and 'West Akron,'” said Greater Scott School Board President Cindy Waterman. “We live, work, play in Hawarden. We live, work, play in Akron.” “But it's not that unique,” said Dykstra. “It's true on every border in every state in the country...I'm not disagreeing with you. I just want you to be realistic.” Heeren disagreed with Dykstra, saying Greater Hoyt is not just a “contracting school district,” it levies for General Fund, Capital Outlay and Special Education taxes and spends monies on building improvements and transportation -- the same as other school districts. If an exception to the law was written, Albers said, “We'd probably get (only) three votes.” Dykstra encouraged local people to try a middle of the road approach -- Senate Bill 1236, which is a law also enacted this year, authorizing South Dakota Secretary of Education Rick Melmer to negotiate an open enrollment agreement between South Dakota and Iowa with Iowa Department of Education Director Judy Jeffrey. “(Melmer) wants to come down and have a meeting with us and you, to move this forward,” said Dykstra. South Dakota officials are already working with Iowa officials to create an agreement exactly like the “cross border open enrollment” agreement South Dakota has with North Dakota. When Albers asked if Iowa legislators needed to enact a law allowing the Iowa Department of Education like South Dakota did, Akron-Westfield Superintendent Ron Flynn said, “No,” explaining an email he'd received from Jeffrey led him to believe the two Department of Education heads could do it. Greater Hoyt and Greater Scott School Districts would still dissolve under Senate Bill 157; however, a “cross border open enrollment” agreement would allow students from Elk Point-Jefferson and Alcester-Hudson school districts to open enroll to Iowa school districts West Sioux Superintendent Paul Olson noted there were some differences between Iowa and South Dakota laws regarding open enrollment. The differences would have to be resolved, said Dykstra. Differences include transportation, individual board's decision making power, and funding disbursement. “It's obvious that you'd like to see the open enrollment work,” said Heeren. “That's something if nothing else would work out for us, we'd have that but I would still like to see us work toward something that will allow us to continue to work like we have been. That has always been our preference.”  “I'm not surprised that's your preference,” said Dykstra, “but I'm not able to promise that we can deliver that. I'm still optimistic that we can end up with a deal that allows your kids to go where they are going now and go indefinitely -- leave that door open forever.” When told Elk Point-Jefferson School District doesn't have room for Greater Hoyt's 61 students, Dykstra said they wouldn't have a choice. He noted this open enrollment agreement would be for the whole Iowa-South Dakota border and not just these two school districts. “Our promise to you is we'll keep the pressure there,” said Dykstra, “and we'll look for ways to make that deal work with Iowa.” “It's early in the process,” said Dykstra. “Certainly we'll be a long ways down the road by the time school starts in the fall. It'll be a lot clearer what the options are.” “I think there is a lot of hope as far as our kids always going to be able to stay at Akron-Westfield,” said Heeren after the meeting. “We would like our arrangement to continue as it always has been and that may not be able to happen. But, we're not going to give up on it yet.” “It was nice that they listened,” said Olson, “but I don't think it's going to change anything. The law is the law. It's not going to change.” “(If the open enrollment gets through the state level), and all of our students open enroll out of state, what was the point of reorganizing us?” said Waterman. With such an agreement, Akron-Westfield would still lose revenue -- about $200,000 annually.

The Akron Community Foundation, which is part of the Siouxland Community Foundation, announced its grant winners April 3 at the Akron Museum. All local board members were present: Mike Hohenstein, Harold Higman, Kevin Eekhoff, Craig Bobier, Chuck Haugland, Jim Black, and Bob Frerichs, who fills in for Harold when he's gone. Also present, Debbie Hubbard, executive director of the Siouxland Community Foundation. Last year there was $6,000 available for grants, this year the Foundation was able to distribute $15,806 towards eight projects. Grant winners included the Akron Historical Society, the Akron Lions Club, the Akron Public Library, the Akron Park Board, the Akron-Westfield FFA and the A-W Community School.