TOPEKA — Two students are enrolled this year at the Healy Public Schools district in western Kansas, a decrease from 20 students the previous year.
Steadily declining enrollment led area voters in November to favor dissolution, and the Kansas State Board of Education affirmed the vote Tuesday.
“The community understands the situation with the low enrollment with the school that a decision had to be made,” said Jeff Jones, superintendent of Healy Public Schools.
Healy’s neighboring district, Scott County Schools, will absorb its territory and property, and collect taxes that would have typically gone toward the Healy district.
The process to dissolve the Healy Public School district has been in motion for months. A majority of Healy Public Schools students already attend Scott County Public Schools, Jones said.
“Having a choice in where the future of our school district would be was a significant reason for our school district to continue to function this year,” he said.
SCOTT COUNTY Schools accepted the transfer of property Monday, according to Scott Gordon, the Kansas Department of Education’s legal counsel.
He said the final step was the state board’s approval, which came with a 9-1 vote.
Healy Public Schools is the first district to close in Kansas since 2011.
Once a Kansas public school district drops below 10 students, it is no longer eligible for accreditation. Healy’s closing has highlighted concern for rural school closures due to population decline and new open enrollment policies. Ten public school districts in Kansas have just 100 students or fewer. More than 30 districts have fewer than 200 students.
Legislators vowed earlier this year to examine school districts with low enrollment in the 2025 legislative session.
