On narrow second vote, voters approve reorganization of Colome Consolidated School District

Apr. 10—COLOME, S.D. — Voters with the Colome Consolidated School District Tuesday approved a district reorganization plan that will see the communities of Wood and Witten split from the district.

Voters approved the reorganization plan by a vote of 188-178, or 51.4% to 48.6% with a 39.2% voter turnout. A simple majority was needed to pass the ballot item. It was the second time the district had a vote on the issue, with the measure originally failing 52.2% to 47.8% in June of 2023.

The plan is expected to split off the Wood and Witten areas of the district between Mellette County and Tripp County and to the White River and Winner school districts, respectively. White River is about 17 miles from Wood, while Colome is about 50 miles from Wood.

Karla Ryno, a former member of the Wood Board of Education and the organizer of the effort to break from the district, said the idea to change district boundaries came about from residents in the Wood and Witten areas of the district. Both communities joined the Colome district in 2010 when there were still school buildings in those towns.

At the time, Colome district leaders said they intended to keep those schools open in the case of consolidation, while the districts in White River and Todd County did not. With enrollment trending downward and staffing becoming difficult, the Witten school building was closed in 2021 and the Wood building closed in 2021-22.

With no school buildings in either community and most of the affected students attending other districts like White River, Ryno said residents preferred to realign with another district to ensure their tax dollars were put toward a district where their students were actually attending.

"It's a shame it happened. But how much sense does it make if someone does not provide teachers, does not provide education to students in a different community, should your tax dollars be going to the community that is educating your children or the community that is not?" Ryno said.

Voters in Witten and Wood strongly supported the reorganization plan Tuesday, with Witten voters approving it 38-5 and Wood voters supporting it 111-4. Colome voters leaned heavily the other way, casting 39 votes in favor and 169 against.

Ryno said she and a group of supporters worked this year toward flipping the results of the previous vote.

"We hit it hard. Door to door, phone calls, mailings. Everything we could do to get the word out," Ryno said.

Ryno said she and reorganization supporters harbor no ill will toward the Colome district and hopes it can remain healthy enough to serve its own students, but the split from the district made sense.

"We sympathize with Colome. We know what it's like to close up your school, and none of us want to see it happen," Ryno said.

With the approval of the measure, the Colome district is expected to lose about half of its geographic size and about 33% of its assessed taxable value.

Betsy Rohde, CEO of the Colome Consolidated School District, said the many factors going into the vote made it a complicated issue. But she understands the viewpoint of those favoring reorganization.

"Enrollment dropped at Wood enough that we were unable financially to keep that open. So I can understand when they no longer have their school open, they were looking to put their tax dollars where their students are attending," Rohde said.

The Colome district had 156 students for the 2023-24 school year for grades pre-K to 12th grade, down from 170 students in 2022-23, according to South Dakota Department of Education data.

What comes next in the relatively uncommon process is not entirely clear. Rohde said the Colome district will consult with the South Dakota Department of Education on how to proceed in order to make the voters' wishes a reality.

That may take some time, she said. For now, the voters have spoken and she and other school leaders will focus on keeping the Colome district as healthy as possible.

"I will be working with the department of education to make sure we get everything switched over. It is a process, and I'm sure it will take a little time, but it is something we were prepared to take some time on," Rohde said. "We're working on what we can do to make Colome be Colome and we want to stay open as long as we can. We realize we're a small school but we're very excited for the opportunities we have to grow now."

In addition to the district reorganization plan, races for the Colome Consolidated School Board were also on the ballot Tuesday.

In a four-way race for three at-large bid seats, voters selected Matt Vandenbark, Pam Haukaas and Kevin Kingsley with vote totals of 207, 191 and 184, respectively. Brian Jorgensen also received 136 votes. Haukaas, Jorgensen and Vandenbark were incumbents in the race.

Each seat is a three-year term.

Several other school districts and municipalities also held elections Tuesday night. Results are unofficial until they are canvassed.

The city of Freeman saw its race for mayor come down to a margin of two votes Tuesday.

Mike Walter held on to his seat by a slim margin of 190-188 over challenger Cody Fransen in the race for mayor.

In the race for Ward 1 on the Freeman City Council, Erin Lachman received 89 votes to take the seat over incumbent Charles Gering, who received 43 votes.

In the race for Ward 3, incumbent Terry Jacobsen received 76 votes to 45 for Shelly A. Wanninger.

Seats on the council and the position of mayor are two-year terms.

In the race for two seats on the Freeman Board of Education, voters selected Emily Anderson and Christopher Sayler for three-year terms on the board with vote totals of 296 and 277, respectively. Doug McCune also received 234 votes in the race.

Anderson and McCune were incumbents on the board.

In the race for the Canistota Board of Education, incumbents Timothy Buseman and Jerry Bertelson were selected by voters to retain their seats. Buseman and Bertelson took in 121 and 120 votes respectively.

Also receiving votes were Jeff Merrill with 65 and Kaitlyn Killoran with 29.

Seats on that board carry three-year terms.

In the race for Canistota City Council, voters chose Matt Anderson over Brad Jensen by a vote of 42-19 for the open seat in Ward 2, which had previously been held by Jessica Kerher. That seat carries a three-year term.

Two seats for the Oacoma Town Board were decided on Tuesday.

Angela M. Zeman and Gary Dominiack were elected to the board, receiving votes of 62 and 51, respectively. Also receiving votes in the election were Holly Reis with 32, Kyle Fuchs with 21 and Kimberly M. Thomas with 20. Seats on the board are at-large bids.

Seats on the board are for three years.

Voters chose Dave Vavruska for the Ward 1 seat on the Tyndall City Council.

Vavruska, the challenger, brought in 50 votes to 13 for incumbent Rodney Skorpik. Seats on the council are for two years.

In the race for Ward 1 on the Scotland City Council, voters selected Dennis Bietz, the incumbent, over challenger Kelli King by a vote of 57-16. The position is a two-year term.

Two incumbent city council candidates are projected to be defeated. Three seats on the Wagner City Council were on the ballot during Tuesday's election.

Unofficial results from Tuesday's election have Gene Niehus projected to defeat incumbent William "Rich" Dufur in Ward 2. Niehus tallied 28 votes to Dufur's 10.

Brenda Jaton is projected to win the Ward 3 seat that's currently held by incumbent Colby Kirwan. Jaton had 38 votes, while Kirwan tallied 11.

Incumbent Dan Cimpl is projected to reclaim the Ward 1 seat he currently holds. Cimpl edged Langdeaux by receiving 36 votes to Langdeaux's 24.

The Wagner City Council is expected to canvas the election April 15.