|
Des Moines Register
Des Moines, Iowa
September 21, 1997
Principal Camille Jackson, front, and her staff and 40 students are all who remain of the Grand Valley school district.
School district awaits final bell
By Mark Siebert, Register Staff Writer
With the Grand Valley school district's end near
a vote Tuesday will decide if
residents or the state will close it down.
Kellerton, Ia. - The good folks here in Kellerton and near-by Grand River will go to the polls Tuesday to decide how
their school district should die. There are a few who still think the tiny Grand Valley district, enrollment 40, can hang
on. But most reluctantly admit it's time -- time to close the neat, three-story brick elementary building in Kellerton; time
to turn the sportsmanship trophies over to history buffs; time to give in to the economic and demographic forces reshaping
rural Iowa. "This is one of the saddest things I've ever watched in education because it means the death of an institution,"
said Phil Burmeister, who splits his time as superintendent at Grand Valley and Mount Ayr. "It's just like watching a parent
die of cancer. It's sad." The vote Tuesday is over whether to dissolve the district and divvy up the land, assets and
students among surrounding districts. Rare and Not Easy
While many Iowa school districts have
merged and consolidated [continued on page 8B which is missing]
NOTE: The last Grand Valley graduating class was the Class of 1992. After the highschool closed, Grand Valley continued as Elementary for only a few more years. Final disposition of Grand Valley Community school district was in the fall of 1998.
Submission by Theola Weeda
Transcription & note by Sharon R. Becker, June of 2013
| 
