People in Conde are watching legislators closely as they consider a bill that could close their school. It would require schools with less than a hundred students to consolidate, and give board of education authority to take over the consolidation process if the district doesn't have a plan in place within two years.
Tuesday the senate tabled the bill, and teachers and students in the Conde School District hope it doesn't progress from there.
Conde doesn't have a hundred students. The school doesn't even have 50.
"We can see exactly what they're up to. We know when they're putting forth good effort," English and Spanish teacher Kathy Knudsen said.
This year's senior class is the largest with seven students. The smallest is kindergarten, which has one.
Combining the students in the elementary with the high schoolers, you'll find 46 students. None I talked to are looking to consolidate.
"I feel I have been able to learn a lot more, having a lot more one-on-one from all the teachers," Alex Bawek said.
With that the school offers every class needed for a Regent scholarship and thanks to modern technology and the e-learning program, students can sign up for AP classes too.
"I think when we go to college we'll be really prepared and we'll know what's going on when we get there," Bawek said.
He says that's thanks, in part, to a school where some teachers only have a few students at a time.
"If you want to cheat, you're not going to be able to cheat, so at a smaller school, you’ve got to be ready to go when you get there," Bawek said.
"I just think that you can get an excellent education in a small school and we have done that for years and continue to do that this year and we will next year also," Knudsen said.
So they'll just wait and see if that will be the case for years to come as well.



