Ryder area residents react School closing doesn’t sit well
Ryder area residents react School closing doesn’t sit well
By STU MERRY
Residents of Ryder are fighting mad. Fighting mad that their elementary school will be closed at the end of the school year.
At a Sept. 21 Lewis and Clark School Board meeting in Plaza, members voted to close the Ryder Elementary School.
There has been some talk of a middle school being located in Plaza. Some discussion has apparently taken place that Berthold, the largest school in the district, was running out of room with the possibility suggested of adding six rooms at a cost of $1.4 million. Yes, closing of the aging Ryder school has been discussed, but it was thought by patrons that step would not come for a few years. But the Sept. 21 vote caught residents of the community completely by surprise.
With the impending school closing all Ryder elementary school students will be bused to Plaza. The motion even included an administrative option to relocate Grades 7 and 8 from Makoti to Plaza.
Already there is talk that a majority of parents are strongly considering sending their students to neighboring schools such as South Prairie, Max and Garrison. Patrons say they are seeking some semblance of stability in their students’ education process, which is something they are not seeing now at Lewis and Clark. Nonetheless, patrons are left with more questions than answers. And the answers are not forthcoming.
Deb Hansen, Ryder, who has a daughter, Carly, in eighth grade at Lewis and Clark, said she is stymied at the quick turn of events. Looking to the future, she said her family is unsure where Carly will go next year. She added that Carly is fearful that she won’t even graduate from Lewis and Clark North Shore High School.
