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Fate of Walnut school building unknown with district merger

News

April 18th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

WALNUT, Iowa (AP) — The city of Walnut is debating how to best preserve a historic school building as it prepares to launch a new school district this summer. The Daily Nonpareil reports that it’s unknown what will happen to the building when the Walnut Community School District merges with the Avoca-based AHST district July 1st.

The reorganization was prompted when Walnut saw the second largest enrollment decline in the state. It became unfeasible to operate the more than 100-year-old school. The Walnut school board would like to give the building to the city, which could then decide how to best use the space.

If a decision isn’t made by the time the Walnut district ceases to exist independently on June 30, the school board of the new district, called the AHSTW Community School District, would be responsible for the building.