Maybe next year

Officials at Clay Central/Everly and Sioux Central are slamming the brakes on a new sharing agreement between the two school districts.

CC/E Superintendent Kevin Wood, who also serves the same role at Sioux Central, said a sharing agreement would not be in place for the 2024-25 school year. The CC/E school board in April signed off on a whole-grade sharing plan with Sioux Central while keeping its existing whole-grade sharing agreement in place with Spencer.

“The holdup was drawing a line or boundary that would determine where 7-12 students would attend through the tuition agreement, either Spencer or Sioux Central,” he said. “The board was not in a position to make that decision based on the timing.”

According to previous board discussion, the agreement would have most notably affected transportation. It would have allowed Sioux Central to transport CC/E students in grades 7-12 to and from locations inside CC/E’s boundaries. Currently, only Spencer can do that.

The agreement did not pertain to students in PK-6. If they choose to open-enroll out of CC/E, parents have to find their own means of transportation.

Wood was unsure if the CC/E school board would pursue a resolution to the issue in the future or move on entirely.

“If the board decides to proceed, they will have to determine a line for the tuition agreement,” he said. “It’s not planned for the 2024-25 school year. We need additional time to make a decision.”

Discussion about a second sharing agreement was sparked during last winter. According to a district survey, 57 percent of responding families wanted CC/E to pursue a second 7-12 tuition agreement with Sioux Central.

CC/E has maintained a 7-12 sharing agreement with Spencer since the district ceased offering those grades following the 2018-19 school year. The board never intended to end that agreement and it remains in place, as several 7-12 grade students attend Spencer.