EMMONS &045; It has become clear that by the end of March, the school board will decide to close one of two school buildings in the Glenville-Emmons school district. Now parents and children are anxiously awaiting the decision, which will likely spark controversy no matter which school is chosen.

The 150 to 200 people at Monday night’s special school board meeting heard Superintendent Todd Chessmore’s recommendations on how the district should move forward, including the option of closing the Glenville Elementary School.

&uot;Ultimately, however, what is best for the district is what the patrons of the district are willing to work for and what is important for them,&uot; Chessmore said, reading from a prepared document of his recommendations for the district.

With projected deficit spending and decreases in funding adding up to $402,937, Chessmore recommended the board decrease spending by at least $450,000 next year in order to start rebuilding the reserve fund.

He said the cuts would need to come mostly from staffing. He recommended cutting 5.8 certified teachers, 2.5 custodians, two cooks, two aides, two secretaries and an assistant coach in every sport. This would leave more than $90,000 more to cut. The next suggestion he made would be to close the Glenville Elementary school, saving the district $102,800 in operational costs.

The strongest recommendation Chessmore made was to settle on a long-term plan. Such a plan would give the district an idea of how it would grow, shrink, combine or dissolve.

He gave two suggestions for the district’s future.

The first would be to close the Glenville Elementary School and introduce three new committees &045; building, curriculum, and referendum and budget committees &045; to help plan the long range goals. Though Chessmore said that a centralized, K-12 school building, as recommended by architects, might be a good plan in the future, he said that the district would need to work out the details.

The students from the Glenville Elementary school would move to the Emmons school, which is now a middle school.

The second option would be to combine, or build an alliance, with other area schools. Chessmore has talked to superintendents in the Albert Lea, Northwood-Kensett, and Lake Mills districts, all of whom said &uot;something could be worked out.&uot;

Chessmore said he recommended closing the Glenville school because it is the smallest of the schools and it has the least &uot;flexibility in creating quality educational environment.&uot; Emmons residents would like to have their only school remain open, and the schools’ operating costs and athletic facilities even out, Chessmore said.

The reaction from the crowd to these recommendations was mixed. After Chessmore spoke, others were allowed to make presentations.

Bernice Madson of Glenville, Dennis Honsey of Emmons and Todd Brackey of Albert Lea spoke on the importance of the community working together on whatever plan is chosen and supporting the school board’s decision.

&uot;We believe it is time for the community to come together and roll up their sleeves,&uot; Brackey said. &uot;If we don’t work together … the district will die.&uot;

Dean Adams of rural Glenville passed out a five-year plan &uot;presented by Glenville people who live here, work here and will be here to support Glenville.&uot;

Adams addressed the board, saying he thought it was important for them to work hard on passing an operating referendum, and making a decision on closing a building.

His handout had 13 reasons for keeping the Glenville Elementary School open, which included its newness, location, elimination of transportation problems, and the school’s kitchen and kitchen appliances.

Adams listed three reasons for keeping the Emmons Elementary School, saying that the citizens of Emmons would like to have a school, it would keep Emmons children in that town, and &uot;(the) building has a nice gym.&uot;

He said he could not find other reasons that gave the Emmons location an advantage over Glenville’s.

Questions were asked and comments were heard after the presentations.

Della Simmons, who lives in Albert Lea, but has a son open enrolled in the Glenville-Emmons district, said she felt the controversy over a school closing had lost its focus on the strengths of the G-E district. She said that the any decision by the board should be supported.

&uot;Personally I don’t care where the school goes,&uot; she said. &uot;As an outsider coming in, I see a lot of animosity. There board members have a very tough job ahead of them. Don’t black ball them for the decision they have to make.&uot;

Simmons explained that she chose the G-E district because of its small-school atmosphere and that maintaining that is the most important thing for the district to do.

&uot;I’m not sure you realize what you have here,&uot; she said.

Chessmore, after the meeting, said he is hoping a preliminary decision to close one of the schools will come next Monday, so those who open enroll will have time to make their decisions.

He said he hopes that by March 24, the final decision will be made.

School board members aren’t looking forward to voting on the issue, but know they have to.

&uot;With the state budget and our declining enrollment it is pretty clear that we will need to close one building,&uot; board member Cayla Bremer said. &uot;But I know it will be a tough decision.&uot;