RC Superintendent Tidbits
By: Mark Otten
Recently, Rock County Public Schools Board of Education took no action on a very important topic, the North Central Knights sports cooperative agreement with Keya Paha. This has been an eye-opening experience for many people, including myself. Let me be clear, this does not mean the NC coop is not continuing, it simply means the decision was put off for a couple weeks to get input from students and parents.
Within the decision as to whether or not to continue the coop, there are many factors. Enrollment numbers, participation numbers, and projections of these two data sets come to the top of the priorities when school decide whether or not to coop with another school. As superintendent, I am working on providing as accurate data as I can provide to the school board to give them a chance to make the most informed decision they can make. I will provide them with our enrollment and participation numbers as well as the most accurate enrollment and participation numbers I can acquire for Keya Paha schools. This information will be used to help guide the decision.
Another important data set is the feelings of our constituents. We have surveyed our 7-12 grade students and parents to get their opinions on the coop. This survey is still open, but results will be shared at our board meeting which will take place Monday, October 23 at 12:00 noon in the Rock County High School gymnasium. Within this survey, the question is asked as to whether or not Rock County should continue the coop and also what changes our patrons would like to see if we do continue the coop. I believe this is important information to have to make informed decisions.
Rock County Board of Education has to make a decision as to whether or not the coop is meeting the needs of our students, district, and community in 2023. The decision to coop was made many years ago because of the needs we had at that time. As with anything, needs change over time and what we bring to the table also changes. This is not an easy decision, and it is not being taken lightly.