Leepertown is history

BUREAU — The meeting started at 5:15 p.m., and by 5:16 p.m., it was finished.

Leepertown School Board members unanimously approved a petition to dissolve their school district, citing difficulties in providing a high quality educational program due to “serious financial hardship due to the limited financial resources available to the district.”

It was the last step in a 30-month process to deal with the district’s fatal financial situation, and board members were somber during the brief proceedings.

Superintendent Amber Harper said it was an emotional evening because she and four of the board members were graduates of Leepertown, and she had taught there for her first two years.

“It’s hard, but on the other hand, you have to look at we now have three grades in a classroom,” she said. “We knew when we went to that, that our time line was short.”

The evening began with a public meeting at 5 p.m. There were no members of the public present, as the resolution to authorize the petition for dissolution was read. The resolution included the board’s preference that most of the district be annexed into the Ladd Grade School District, which also serves as a feeder district for Hall High School.

Three members of the public came in at 5:04 p.m. They were silent during the meeting except to express their thanks to the Leepertown board for also including a request that the small piece of Leepertown territory that feeds into the Princeton High School District be annexed into the Princeton Elementary District.

“With this statement, that is our wishes,” said Leepertown Board President Keith Burkman. “It’s still up to the Regional Board (of School Trustees) as far as what they do.”

After the hearing, the issue was turned over to the Regional Board of School Trustees. There is no certainty as to where the trustees will chose to send the Leepertown students. Ladd and Princeton Elementary are possibilities, but so is Spring Valley Elementary.

The public meeting was adjourned at 5:14 p.m., and the board immediately called to order the special meeting to dissolve the district. The vote was unanimous, with board members Peggy Shipp and Karen Podobinski absent from the meeting.