Decorah Community School District

The Decorah Community School District is a rural public school district located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. The district is almost entirely in Winneshiek County, with a small portion in Allamakee County. In addition to Decorah,[2] the census-designated place of Burr Oak is in the district boundary.[3] Other unincorporated areas in the district include Bluffton, Freeport, Hesper, Highlandville, Locust, and Nordness.[4]

Decorah Community School District
Location
Decorah, Iowa
Winneshiek County and Allamakee County

United States
Coordinates43.299859, -91.786877
District information
TypeLocal school district
GradesK-12
SuperintendentMark Lane
Schools5
Budget$23,050,000 (2015-16) [1]
NCES District ID1908730 [1]
Students and staff
Students1767 [1]
Teachers115.33 FTE [1]
Staff133.71 FTE [1]
Student–teacher ratio15.32 [1]
Athletic conferenceNortheast Iowa
District mascotVikings
ColorsRed and Royal Blue
   
Other information
Websitewww.decorah.k12.ia.us

History

In 2001 the North Winneshiek Community School District ended its high school program. That year it entered into an agreement with Decorah CSD to allow students from its boundary to attend Decorah High School.[5]

In the 2012-2013 school year the district had 1,419 students.[4]

In 2016, the North Winneshiek district agreed to consolidate with the Decorah CSD.[6] Reasons for the decision to consolidate were rising costs and declining enrollment.[7] As a part of the consolidation process, North Winneshiek 7th and 8th grade students began to attend Decorah Middle School at the beginning of the 2017–2018 school year, before fully consolidating in the 2019–2020 school year.[7]

In 2018 voters in the districts agreed to make the consolidation final, with Decorah voters saying yes on a 621-104 basis and North Winnishiek voters saying yes on a 224-32 basis. Andrew Wind of the WCF Courier described the result as "overwhelming".[8] Effective July 1, 2018 the North Winneshiek district consolidated into the Decorah district.[9] The pre-merger Decorah CSD had almost 175 square miles (450 km2) of area while North Winneshiek had about 135 square miles (350 km2) of area.[4]

In 2018 the combined interim board of Decorah CSD and North Winneshiek CSD approved an agreement with Mabel-Canton Public Schools in Minnesota, effective for five years, to allow students in the former North Winneshiek district boundary to attend Mabel-Canton if they choose.[10] The agreement applies to any post-merger Decorah CSD resident who is geographically closer to Mabel, Minnesota, the location of the Mabel-Canton school, than to Decorah, where all Decorah CSD campuses are located.[11]

Schools

School buildings in the district, all of which are in Decorah, include:

  • Decorah High School
  • Decorah Middle School
  • Carrie Lee Elementary
  • John Cline Elementary
  • West Side Early Childhood Center (ECC)

North Winneshiek School, which is no longer open,[12] is now in the possession of Decorah CSD, which spent $88,000 on upkeep from July 1, 2019 through January 27 of the following year.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Decorah Comm School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  2. "Decorah" (PDF). Iowa Department of Education. Retrieved 2020-04-05. - Boundary prior to the merger with North Winneshiek CSD
  3. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Burr Oak CDP, IA" (PDF). 2010 U.S. Census. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-04-06. - Compare to the map of Decorah CSD.
  4. "Comprehensive Plan" (PDF). Winneshiek County. December 2016. p. 91. Retrieved 2020-04-06. - (PDF p. 92/512) - Since Decorah CSD and North Winneshiek CSD are now in the same district, unincorporated places from both are included here.
  5. "North Winneshiek Community School History". North Winneshiek Community School District. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  6. Shirley Descorbeth (April 15, 2016). "North Winneshiek School consolidating with Decorah". KWWL-TV. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  7. "North Winneshiek School will Consolidate with Decorah at the end of the 2018–2019 School Year". Decorahnews.com. April 14, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  8. Wind, Andrew (2018-02-07). "Decorah-North Winn school consolidation vote overwhelming approved". WCF Courier. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  9. "Iowa Educational Directory 2019-2020 School Year" (PDF). Iowa Department of Education. p. 175. Retrieved 2020-04-05. (PDF p. 177/186) - From section "REORGANIZATION & DISSOLUTION ACTIONS SINCE 1965-66"
  10. "Interim Board approves reciprocity agreement with Mabel-Canton for five years". Decorah Newspapers. 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  11. "Mabel-Canton, Decorah sign enrollment agreement for students on the border". Bluff Country Newspaper Group. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  12. "Home". North Winneshiek Community School District. 2019-09-19. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  13. "Decorah School Board discusses costs of North Winneshiek's school building". Decorah News. 2020-02-10. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
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