Iowa City school board says Hills Elementary too costly, something must be done

A majority of Iowa City school board members made clear Monday night they believe Hills Elementary School is too inefficient financially. Whether that means the school will be closed was less apparent.

Last week, the school district revealed that Hills Elementary has by far the highest operating expenses per student among the district's 19 elementary schools – 35 percent higher than the district average.

Hills also has the by far lowest enrollment in the district with 119 preschool through sixth-grade students, and it's projected to continue to lose students.

“The situation as it exists is not acceptable to me,” board member Gayle Klouda said. “It needs to change.”

The future of the school, located in the small town of the same name south of Iowa City, has been the source of speculation since the board started discussing its “viability” earlier this year.

“You can't ignore the economics,” board member Tuyet Dorau said.

The most obvious way to address the high cost of operating the school is closing it, something the board is considering.

Board members also asked administrators to study cost-efficient alternatives. Adding more students to Hills Elementary is one option, although that received almost no discussion.

Another idea thrown out was closing other smaller, high-cost schools – Twain Elementary was mentioned – and building one or more new schools. “Newer and fewer” was a phrase used several times.

Board member Sarah Swisher, who argued most strenuously in defense of Hills Elementary, suggested the school could be used to establish a magnet school. Magnet schools typically pull students from across district boundaries for a specialized curriculum.

“In my mind, Hills is an opportunity,” Swisher said.

Superintendent Stephen Murley said he'd look into all the ideas but said getting answers for the board will take a while.

Hills parents and members of the community have voiced their strong desire for keeping the school open, saying that students benefit from the small class sizes and that the school is important to the town.