Superintendent Matt Berninghaus’ report at the meeting of the Webster City Community Schools Board of Education Monday was all about the numbers.

Berninghaus summarized the complicated graphs, which compared enrollment figures over the past 25 years. Appropriately he pulled out the statistics from 2020 for his comparisons for the past five to 10 years. He also identified the years of reorganization, when both the Stratford and Northeast Hamilton schools combined with the Webster City school system.

Open enrollment out of Webster City High School has averaged about 10 students per year, or 102 students over the past five years, as opposed to an average of 40 open enrolling into the Webster City schools. The majority of the students are high school students.

South Hamilton was the largest recipient of students who reside in the Webster City Community School District, with Eagle Grove, Fort Dodge, CAM/Clayton and Iowa Falls.

A survey was recently sent out by the schools to the families who had open enrolled out of the school district. To date, only 35 responses had been received, and that response sampling is too small for Berninghaus. Thus, an additional survey will be sent out hoping for more responses.

“If there are some improvements we can do to improve our system, we want to know it,” he said.

Despite the low numbers, of those 35 responses that were received 42% had made the decision based on geographic location (home or job closer to the school) or the social environment (a smaller school).

Berninghaus said he feels these responses were justified; he is more concerned about the other 58%.

In other business Monday, the superintendent presented a Facilities Roadmap, which predominantly targets the preschool classes with decisions primarily based on room size, student balance and the ability for teachers to collaborate.

Most of the locations will remain the same, however, there is a plan to add one classroom to Asbury United Methodist Church, for a total of two preschool classrooms, and eliminating the preschool at St. Paul’s Lutheran church.

The Career Ag Academy update included discussion on the lease agreement between the Hamilton County Fair Board and the Webster City Board of Education. This would entail a five-year commitment to start, changing to a yearly commitment.

There were some questions on operations and maintenance, but the current plan is to break ground on the new building at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds by March 1, 2025, and be ready for fall of 2025.

The schools will use the facility for 49 weeks of the year; the fair board will use it for the three weeks surrounding the annual Hamilton County Fair.

A donation of $2,000 was also accepted from Bob and Debbie Wirtz to the Webster City Athletic Department.