The Naytahwaush (Minn.) Elementary School will close by the end of the month.
The school's four pupils and four full- and two part-time teachers will transfer to the Mahnomen Elementary School, said Jerry Nesland, interim superintendent of the Mahnomen School District, which operates both elementary schools.
The Mahnomen School Board on Monday night decided to close the Naytahwaush school, Nesland said.
Details, such as when the teachers and pupils will transfer to Mahnomen, haven't been decided.
The Naytahwaush school has seven employees besides its teachers. Five of the seven will transfer to Mahnomen, at least for the time being, Nesland said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Naytahwaush school, which had about 70 pupils last year, opened Sept. 2 with two. Two more pupils came later.
Ten of the former Naytahwaush pupils began this school year in Mahnomen Elementary, Nesland said.
The Naytahwaush K-6 charter school, new this fall and the first of its kind in western Minnesota, opened Sept. 2 with 79 pupils.
Most of the charter school pupils attended Naytahwaush Elementary last year. The rest come from neighboring school districts.
The charter school operates in a 7,200-square-foot portable building next to the Naytahwaush Sports Complex.
John Eggers, charter school director, said Monday that it's too early to say whether the charter school might be interested in moving to the Naytahwaush Elementary building.
Nesland said the district could decide to close the school permanently, lease the building to another agency or organization, or wait a year and reopen the school next fall.
"We're in a shakedown period of determining what's best for the district," he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Naytahwaush, a town of 600, is part of the White Earth Indian Reservation.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jonathan Knutson at (701) 241-5530
