by Rachel Ranfeld and Natalie Kirton
As noted in previous articles, Montezuma needs a building update since it has not been renovated in the last 20 years.
Speculation says that because it is the only school in the surrounding area that has not been updated this century, it has a better chance of closing than flourishing in the near future.
In a study of all the schools in Iowa, 137 schools have a lower student population than Montezuma and yet they are still open. This shows that we are far from being too small to function; we just need a few improvements to our school building to keep up with other nearby schools.
Lana Taylor said, “It is my personal opinion that if the bond issue fails and if the subject of redistricting rises in this political environment, Montezuma Community Schools in its current condition of disrepair would be placed immediately on the radar.
In the worst case scenario, if we do not invest in our own future, two things would most assuredly happen: The community will be sending its youth to Grinnell or Brooklyn for education and as a result of redistricting, property owners would pay Debt Service. Both BGM and Grinnell have a Debt Service levy incorporated and voted by their citizens. Both also have a Voted Physical Plant levy that adds to the total.”
Because Grinnell and BGM both have debt from their recent renovations that required a bond issue and Montezuma currently has no debt, citizens’ taxes would increase because they would then pay the other school’s tax if Montezuma is closed.
As it stands, Montezuma’s current school tax is about the same as that of the two schools in Poweshiek County that closed down since it has no debt to be repaid.
Bottom line: if the school bond issue fails, so does the community. We have all seen this before when Deep River-Millersburg Community Schools closed their 7-12 grades in 1992. The town’s population was 345 according to the 1990 census. In the 2010 census, the population dropped to 279.
Could this be Montezuma’s fate?
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