08/11/2015
The following was sent to our Prescott and Creston staff by our Superintendent Mr. McDermott.
Prescott & Creston Schools - The Transition Continues
Saturday was a somber occasion for the Prescott School District and all Prescott Eagles. A school auction was held to offer the public an opportunity to purchase items remaining in the school buildings. Of course the school’s inventory had already been sorted through prior to the auction. Many pieces of equipment, nice furniture, shelving, learning tools and materials, etc. were loaded and moved to the school facilities in Creston. Thanks to the help of a dozen football boys and several adults, the move was managed. At one point one of our Prescott patrons made a comment about this to Prescott Board President, Randy Cooper. That person grumbled, “Creston took all of our good stuff.” Randy’s reply was respectful, accurate, and direct. Randy said, “No, the best ‘stuff’ was taken to the new combined school district and the kids will still get to use it.” Yes, this transition and time of processing is difficult, but a new school district has been created to serve our area youngsters for a long time into the future.
As I mentioned, the sale represented a weird mix of emotions. The crowd was outstanding, the Kretzinger Auction Company ran a smooth and efficient sale, and many people left with mementos from the school. There was a reunion feel to the day as well, with many former Prescott students returning to see family, friends, and former teachers and to spend one more day in the school. On the other hand, there was a certain level of sadness surrounding the whole situation. This was one more step in the district’s transition forward and one more goodbye to the good old days.
The Prescott Board still has a few decisions to make, the largest being what to do with the school buildings. Should the 1914 structure be demolished? Should items of salvage value be sold including all the old hard-wood flooring, car-siding, the signature knotty pine in the gym, and iron from the large fire escapes? Is demolition the most responsible thing to do, thus protecting the old building from becoming one more abandoned school building carcass, home to pigeons, sparrows, rats, and raccoons? Should the building be sold and creatively repurposed? What about the “new building” that was constructed in 1962? What about the gym? What is the real estate and property really worth? These and other questions will be answered. The Board will also hold a public hearing at 6:00 p.m. on August 19th at the Prescott School to receive input from patrons about all of this before decisions are made in the months to come.
As I’ve mentioned before, the original 1914 building must have been an absolute castle in its day! The architecture was first class and the site on the hill overlooking the Nodaway River and the railroad line was truly a scene from a story-book. Though the building shows its age and will no longer house students, with all due respect to its iconic image, it has been and is a building. Of course it’s a long-standing symbol of pride and dignity for a community, but it is a building. Saturday at the sale I heard many stories, some new ones and others I’d heard many times before. But other than the occasional fire-escape chute story or talk of the old underground bomb-shelter shaft, the vast majority of the stories involved classmates, teachers, staff members, and parents. It really struck me that the experiences, learning, memories, and educations delivered and received over 100 years in that main building were all generated by people that cared for each other. The building housed all these activities, but people interacting with people made all this happen over the years.
When I started my career as an educator in Prescott in 1981, I was hoping to quickly learn how to teach school. What I learned from a handful of very special co-workers was that I was there to teach kids, not to “teach school”. That was an extremely valuable lesson I have used every single day since. The best schools are about people, relationships, and learning.
Through the Farm Crisis of the 80’s, many of us had to face the harsh reality that farm ground, machinery, livestock, and farmsteads were not truly members of our families even though it sure felt like they were. Those hard days forced us to remember that people, families, and relationships should be prioritized above material things. I love the old quote from Buck Ramsey, “We are what we do and not the stuff we lay claim to.” This applies to our circumstances now with our area school districts. The Prescott Community School District will no longer operate independently and the property and school facilities will never be the same, but the experiences, the learning, the educations, the friendships, and the lifetime memories will remain strong and will be cherished for many years to come. Most importantly, learning will continue for our local youngsters in the new Creston Community School District with a renewed emphasis on “community”.
