Iowa City school board to discuss future of Hills Elementary

IOWA CITY – The Iowa City school board now has the data it requested to help it determine whether to keep Hills Elementary open, and the results don't look good for the small school.

The figures, compiled by administrators, show that Hills has the highest operating expenses per student, $8,926, among the district's 19 elementary schools. That's nearly $1,100 per student more than the next closest school and 35 percent higher than the district average. The expenses include labor, non-labor and transportation costs.

Hills is the smallest school in the district in terms of enrollment with 119 preschool through sixth-grade students, which is 87 fewer than the next closest school. Hills' enrollment is projected to drop to 89 students in 2015.

Hills Elementary is in the town of Hills, which is about 10 miles south of Iowa City and has a population estimated at 760 people.

The school board asked for the data earlier this year. Board members said they were interested in the numbers for all schools, but the focus of their discussion has been whether Hills Elementary should remain open.

The prospect of closing a school is unusual for the growing Iowa City school district, which has opened four new schools since 2005.

The school board will talk about the matter at its facilities committee meeting Monday night, but committee Chair Mike Cooper expects a short discussion and no decision on what to do with the school.

He said Superintendent Stephen Murley has indicated to him that the district would need to figure out where the Hills students would go should the school close before making a decision on whether to shutter the building. Cooper also said Murley wants to first tackle the longstanding enrollment disparity at the high schools.

Murley did not immediately return phone and email messages Thursday.

Cooper agreed that the high school issue should be decided first. He acknowledged the expense data has a “wow” factor but said he also understands closing the school would be significant for the town of Hills.

“It's a really, really difficult decision,” he said.

Board member Toni Cilek said while the board needs to be thoughtful and gather public input, she doesn't believe a drawn out discussion would be good for the community.

She also said it's important that at a time the district is cutting its budget, all of its schools are operating efficiently.

“We also have to look at the significance across all of the schools and not one school,” she said.

Parent Sheri Craft said Hills Elementary School's smaller class sizes are a benefit to students by allowing for more personalized instruction from teachers. She's had four children attend Hills, including a current first-grader, and said the school is an intricate part of the community.

“I'm actually terrified that they're going to close the school,” she said.

Parents and other community members recently met with school board members to stress the school's positives. They've also noted that the district is responsible for some of the enrollment decline by removing a mobile home park from the school's attendance area a few years ago.

At the same time, 12 students chose to transfer from Hills to other schools in the district this school year as allowed under the federal No Child Left Behind law at schools designated “in need of assistance.”