VENTURA, IA- Schools across the area are facing some tough times.
There are budget cuts and low student enrollment.
Now Governor Terry Branstad is suggesting freezing state aid to schools at current levels for two years.
The future of the Ventura district is really uncertain at this time.
Small schools especially are facing hard times. Declining enrollment and funding sources are not making things easy.
The school board now needs to look at more options to keep the school going.
Dave Callison is one of many parents at this informational meeting considering the future of the Ventura Vikings.
Parent Dave Callison said,"we really like having the small school, the interaction with the teachers even the administration and to see that go away that would be very frustrating."
It seems these days, schools all over are having to look at some cuts, but this school board wants the public to understand what's going on has nothing to do with them.
Ventura Elementary Principal Brian Rodemeyer said, "we have very little control over what's happening to school budgets today, it's quite frankly being done to us."
The thing is, enrollment is going down and so is the budget they work with, and every year it seems to be getting worse.
Rodemeyer said, "legislation that's going to give us zero percent allowable growth means less money for what we need to do and have to do."
Those utilizing the school system for their children are not happy with the outcomes.
Callison said, "it does look like the state is trying to close small school districts and that is very annoying for us, we don't want to go to a large school."
Now schools like Ventura are facing some tough decisions, like what they can do to keep their school running.
Right now their next step is looking at more ways to share.
Rodemeyer said, "we have to look at what we can do with our neighbors and what we can do to share more students staff and programs."
The community is not really happy with any of these options. Many say that any path they choose will eventually end at the closing of the school.
Callison said there's really only one solution.
Callison said, "it's gonna take the state changing some of it's policies and it's philosophy of us to be able to stay and do what we want to do."
Brian Rodemeyer said the board will be looking at ways to reduce expenditures. He says unfortunately that may include cutting staff and programs.
The board is not really looking at whole grade sharing at this point, they say it would take at least an additional year or more to plan that.
