Dozens of Iowa communities held school board elections on Tuesday but only one vote was on the merging of two school districts. Voters in north-central Iowa overwhelmingly approved the merger of Clarion-Goldfield and Dows. Bob Olson is superintendent for the two districts, located in Wright County.
“We’re elated,” Olson says. “As I get information back from board members and their reaction, it’s a great start for a new school year and a new school district.” The vote passed in the Clarion-Goldfield district by 98-percent and in Dows by 85-percent. As part of the agreement, the Dows elementary school will close next spring after 100 years, which Olson calls “a bitter-sweet farewell.”
“We’re thankful for the years that we were able to use the facilities and yet we’re also looking forward to continuing to use the building in a limited way,” he says. The two districts have been in a sharing agreement for the past nine years and now will move forward to reorganize into one district, starting in the 2014-15 school year.
(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)