Sharing agreements between O-M and Nodaway Valley approved by both boards

FONTANELLE — Orient-Macksburg high school students are one step closer to attending some classes and participating in some activities at Nodaway Valley next school year after the Nodaway Valley school board passed three different agreements relating to the topic at their regular January meeting held Thursday night in the middle school media center. Orient-Macksburg approved its part of the measure Jan. 11.

The measures allow a tuition-in sharing agreement for academics Orient-Macksburg students need, an activities agreement to share football, wrestling, bowling and golf; and the sharing of transportation director Derrick Shaull between the two districts. Unless appropriately terminated by either side at an earlier time, the tuition-in agreement does not have an expressed length, the activities agreement is to last five years and the personnel agreement one year.

From the beginning, Nodaway Valley Superintendent Paul Croghan said he has seen this as a very good arrangement for both schools to enter into.

“One thing is that rural schools always need to be open to conversations about sharing resources. We do things to help educate our kids and keep ourselves stable and viable,” Croghan said. “If you can be on the giving or the receiving end of a conversation that helps kids then it’s always positive, and that’s where we’re at.”

In late October, after discussing the matter among themselves and with their communities, the Orient-Macksburg school board chose to discontinue their shared services agreement with Creston and enter into negotiations with Nodaway Valley for the same. A joint meeting between the OMCSD board and the NVS board took place and the conversation began.

According to Croghan, next steps in the process for the two districts will be formulating class schedules for students and to make sure the “system is working.”

“That’s what’s next, is to work all the little bugs out but to make it positive for the kids,” Croghan said.