Southern Illinois school defies odds to open again

LOGAN, Ill. -- As this town's elementary students report to school for another year, parents are thankful that their small town in Franklin County still has a school at all.

Budget and enrollment problems forced the school board to vote to close Logan Elementary School at the end of last school year.

But today its halls are filled with its 62 pupils, and its future -- at least for the next two years -- is ensured.

Logan's problems began in 1999, when the State Board of Education told local districts to enforce residency requirements, something that several districts across the state, including Logan, were not in the habit of doing.

The town, once bustling with activity from nearby coal mines, had seen its population decline to fewer than 500 people in the last two decades as families moved away and businesses followed.

Though older students attended high school in Benton a few miles away, Logan residents wanted their youngest children to go to their local school.

Lost $100,000 a year

It wasn't long after the state asked for residency requirements to be enforced that Logan officials announced that 25 of the school's 85 students lived outside of the district.

And since the school received $4,200 from the state for each student enrolled, the district lost more than $100,000 in annual funding when it lost those outside students.

Worried about the financial problems, the school board voted to close the school at the end of the 2000-2001 school year.

But the community was determined not to give up without a fight.

"The problems this school district has faced have unified and united this community," superintendent J.D. Ventress said. "It's remarkable how this community has pulled together."

Some 200 of the town's 360 registered voters signed a petition to save the school. It persuaded the board to reverse its decision, which gave officials time to research their problem.

They found that state aid for the next two years would be based on average attendance for the past four years, giving the school at least two more years of life.

And though this year's enrollment is up seven students from last year, Ventress said enrollment is expected to decline over the longer term.

Still, he cautions anyone ready to write off Logan Elementary.

"It's a sure bet that the people in this community are not going to go quietly without a fight," he said.