USD 113 board studying future options for Wetmore school

Members of the USD 113 Prairie Hills Board of Education are looking into the viability of keeping the Wetmore Academic Center open, it has been reported.

Prairie Hills includes school campuses at Sabetha, Wetmore and Axtell, and board members have recently been discussing concerns with the Axtell and Wetmore campuses as they look towards the future.

Members of the board of education include Leslie Scoby (board president), Kathy Lippert, Anissa Bloom, Phillip Buessing, Stan Keim, Kent Saylor and Jim Scoby.

During a special board meeting on Nov. 21 at Sabetha Middle School, several members of the public spoke for an hour in favor of keeping the K-12 school open at Wetmore.  

Superintendent Todd Evans and board members then took the next two hours to discuss data on all the schools in the district and possible scenarios if Wetmore or Axtell schools were closed. 

Evans said he believes that Wetmore students are getting a good education and that the teachers are doing a “good job.”

“They are having a tremendous impact on the students,” Evans said. 

Evans said that the district is currently in “good financial shape” and is not in a financial crisis. 

“I do think our conversation is looking to the future and thinking about sustainability,” he said. “I think that we’re faced with two different challenges when it comes to Wetmore and Axtell. In my opinion, at Axtell we’re faced with an expenditure challenge at this point. And in my opinion, Wetmore is faced with an enrollment challenge.”

Wetmore’s enrollment is currently 125 students and has been declining slightly through the years, it was reported during the meeting.

For more on this story, please log in to your holtonrecorder.net account and select “Dec. 7, 2022” under “E-Editions.”

The Holton Recorder

109 W. Fourth St.
Holton, KS 66436
Phone: 785-364-3141
 

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