Cossatot River hosting board meeting to determine the future of Umpire campuses

The Cossatot River School Board will meet this Thursday to decide the future of its Umpire K-12 campus.

The meeting will take place Thursday, Oct. 12 at the Cossatot River Primary School cafeteria. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.

Superintendent Tyler Broyles said the recommendation to close the campus is due to enrollment that has consistently dropped over the past few years, making the campus unable to financially sustain itself.

The decline in enrollment, Broyles said, has meant less revenue for the campus. In addition, he said higher expenses are forcing the district to subsidize the negative operating balance at the Umpire campus.

Broyles also addressed concerns from the community that funds that could prop up the Umpire campus were instead being allocated to the district’s new football and volleyball programs. That, said Broyles, is not the case.

Broyles said no loss of jobs or teaching positions are expected if the recommendation is in favor of closing the campus. All staff members at Umpire would be offered positions throughout the rest of the district. Any overage in staff would be addressed by attrition.

In addition, Umpire territory would remain a part of the Cossatot River School District. Umpire students who wish to attend another district would go through school choice or a legal board transfer. A Cossatot River school bus would continue to pick up students in the Umpire area.

The district is welcoming community members to attend the board meeting to make their voices heard before the school board votes on the recommendation.

District officials stress there are rules that must be followed to have your name placed on the agenda to speak. Details can be found by visiting the website at www.cossatot.us and clicking on the “More” tab. Community members can also call 870-385-7101 for assistance.