CWL to look at whole-grade sharing

A public hearing to determine the future of the Corwith-Wesley and LuVerne school districts has been scheduled for Jan. 31, 7 p.m. in the Corwith school gymnasium. During a joint meeting of the LuVerne and Corwith-Wesley School Boards on Jan. 9 in Corwith, the boards agreed to hold the public meeting to gain input on their plan to explore whole grade sharing with a neighboring school district. Faced with declining enrollment and the corresponding loss in state aid, the two districts, which have been sharing for 30 years, are exploring whole grade sharing for grades 7-12 with the neighboring Algona or West Hancock (Britt/Kanawha) school districts. CWL would maintain an elementary school in LuVerne. Students in grades 7-12 are currently housed in the Corwith building. Preliminary plans are to begin sharing activities in the next two school years, with a whole grade plan starting in the fall of 2015. “We want this meeting to be as informative as possible,” Keith Hauswirth, president of the Corwith-Wesley board, said. “With this community meeting, we’ll present information on why we feel this is our best route out of the options we have available,” LuVerne board member Kevin McPeak said. To read the full account of the joint board meeting and to hear how one instructor believes the transition can be turned into a positive, see this week's Humboldt Independent.