Perham School Board representatives and administrators are planning to meet with the Dent City Council in October.
Future uses of the Dent Elementary School will be the focal point of the discussions.
The present school year will be the final year for kindergarten to grade 4 classes in Dent. Possibilities for the facilities include a day care center, early childhood programs, and an Alternative Learning Center.
The meeting is tentatively scheduled at the regular Dent City Council meeting on Oct. 9. The Dent council meets the second Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m. Dent Lions representatives and other town leaders are expected to attend.
This year's enrollment in Dent averages nine to 11 students in four of the grades, but there are only three students in the second grade classroom, reported Dent and Heart of the Lakes school principal Kari Yates at the Sept. 17 Perham-Dent School Board meeting.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Dent school building and staff are prepared to offer alternative ed programs, noted Fred Sailer, ALC director, but so far there have been no enrollments.
Meanwhile, this is the final year that Dent will serve as an elementary school. The board voted last spring to close the elementary, and absorb Dent students into the Perham Heart of the Lakes Elementary.
An "Activity Day" was scheduled Sept. 24, with Dent students visiting Heart of the Lakes. Principal Yates planned to give the Dent students a tour of the Perham school. The Dent youngsters also planned to eat lunch in the Perham cafeteria and go to the computer lab.
A series of activities is being planned monthly, all aimed at providing students a smooth transition next year from Dent to Perham.
