By Carleen Wild
Moody County Enterprise

As enrollment rises in the Colman-Egan School District, officials are closely watching developments in the neighboring Oldham-Ramona-Rutland (ORR) School District.
A petition to dissolve ORR, submitted on March 20, is now under review. Action on it is expected at the district’s next regular meeting on April 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the Ramona gym.
Supporters of the petition cite concerns over the financial strain of building a new school and a shrinking student population. They believe merging with neighboring districts could provide better educational opportunities.
“Supporters would like to see the board come up with a common sense plan to split the district in a way that makes sense geographically for the families, especially on the east side of the district. Many of the families are closer to Colman or Sioux Valley than they are to Ramona,” said petition organizer Sarah Wilson.

Wilson, who previously lived in the district and who’s daughter now attends through open enrollment, stated she was able to collect 180 signatures.
“Emotionally this decision was hard for a lot of local residents. However, the numbers show that the district is no longer viable. ORR spends more annually per child than the surrounding districts (before the cost of a new building), they have some of the lowest paid teachers in the state, lower test scores than their surrounding districts and enrollment dropped so far last year they cannot offer many electives, including a basic art class.”
Opponents want to keep the district intact but remain divided on how to handle the existing school. Proposals to renovate or build a new facility have repeatedly failed to gain voter approval.
Colman-Egan Superintendent Scott Hemmer said the petition is still too new for the district to fully consider its impact.
“It appears to be a long process and I don’t want to speculate on any part of it at this time,” Hemmer said.
The uncertainty however comes as Colman-Egan prepares to welcome at least 20 new open enrollments next year from three different districts, with speculation that more students from ORR could transfer if space allows.
“At this time we are still looking at all possible open enrollment apps and have not made any hard determinations on the upcoming year,” Hemmer said.
Colman-Egan currently has 321 students enrolled. That number is expected to climb to between 335 and 340 next year, exceeding an earlier projection of 320.
“When doing our projections we figured a 3-4% growth as we moved forward,” Hemmer said.
“It’s really hard to predict more than five years out at a time, but with the addition we feel confident that we are positioned to be able to continue to provide excellent facility space.”
ORR Superintendent Dawn HOeke said, “I still believe that the ORR School District has a majority of patrons/voters who support the district as they recognize the value in small school districts and the role they play for many students and families.”