Jackson Heights, Prairie Hills boards meet

Members of the Jackson Heights USD 335 and Prairie Hills USD 113 school boards held a special Wednesday meeting in Sabetha to open the conversation on how to handle the transfer of land between the two districts in light of the latter’s decision earlier this year to close Wetmore Attendance Center, along with transportation issues for Jackson Heights, which has offered to take in Wetmore students during the 2023-24 school year.

No action resulted from the meeting, which Jackson Heights Superintendent Jim Howard said represented “nothing more than a discussion at this point” on how much land located in the Prairie Hills district would be transferred into the Jackson Heights district — or when that land would be transferred.

“It was a good meeting, but we need more information moving forward,” Howard said of the potential transfer of land and state aid compensation, later adding that Jackson Heights board members are “still waiting” for another meeting with the Prairie Hills board to be scheduled.

Prairie Hills Superintendent Todd Evans said as discussion between the two boards began on Wednesday that if any land was to be transferred from his district to Jackson Heights, there is “no way” that any land could be transferred “for the next fiscal year.” While Evans did not elaborate on why land would not be transferred within that time, he noted that the boundary adjustment between the districts should not be rushed.

“We know that this decision could impact multiple generations for the future,” Evans said. “As we looked at some of the lines that have been drawn over the years, it’s hard to know what the history was behind it and where it came from.”

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