Editorial

Area schools down by half in 50 years

Friday, February 20, 2004

Ask someone who was alive in 1955: Would you have guessed, back then, that the 12 counties of Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas would have half as many high schools now as they had then?

Be truthful. Just one year short of 50 years ago, did you foresee that more than 40 high schools in the area would shrink to less than 20, as will be the case for the 2004-05 school year?

Most of us didn't see it coming, although we did realize that small towns -- and school districts -- were having a hard time holding their own. But what is surprising to us is the extent of the high school shrinkage.

When classes resume in August, only 18 high schools will remain in the 12 counties of the Golden Plains. In this list, we are including the counties of Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Hayes, Hitchcock, Gosper and Red Willow in Southwest Nebraska and Cheyenne, Decatur, Norton and Rawlins counties in Northwest Kansas.

In the region -- which covers more than 10,000 square miles -- the high schools remaining when the 2004-05 term begins will be those in the following towns: Arapahoe, Atwood, Benkelman, Bird City, Cambridge, Curtis, Elwood, Hayes Center, Imperial, Maywood, McCook, Norton, Oberlin, St. Francis, Trenton and Wauneta, as well as Southern Valley and at the Red Willow community.

What a drastic change it has been -- for students, for parents, for teachers and taxpayers.

This year alone, the area will be losing the high school attendance centers in Bartley, Culbertson and Herndon. They are being merged into larger districts, and -- while they may keep grade schools or junior highs -- the towns will no longer be secondary school sites.

Over the past half century, the same thing has happened to towns throughout the area. Also gone are the high schools once located in Beaver City, Danbury, Edison, Haigler, Holbrook, Indianola, Lebanon, Max, McDonald, Norcatur, Parks, (the previous) Red Willow, Stratton and Wilsonville. And, not too long before, the high schools in Marion and Stockville also passed into oblivion.

Gone, too, are some interim steps in consolidation, with Beaver Valley already non-existent and Twin Valley and Republican Valley soon to follow. Towns on the edge of the area are also joining forces, with Eustis-Farnam now hooked up, and Grant and Wheatland considering a merger.

It's been a staggering change, brought on by dramatic declines in population. But the surprising thing, despite the extent of the school changes, is how well the consolidations have been accepted. Students, especially, have done a good job of adapting to their new school environments.

No, a half century ago, we could not have imagined the extent of the school changes. But, having lived through all that has taken place, we're proud of how well this area has handled the massive consolidation of schools.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: