Voters in the Colome Consolidated School District approved a district reorganization plan that will see the communities ofWood and Witten split from the district.
Voters approved the plan 188 to 178 with a 39.2 percent voter turnout. A simple majority was needed to pass the ballot measure which was combined with the school board election.
This is the second time the school district has voted on this issue with the measure failing 52.2 percent to 47.8 percent in June 2023.
The plan is to split off the Wood and Witten areas between Mellette County and Tripp County to the White River and Winner school districts.
Voters in Witten and Wood strongly supported the reorganization plan with Witten voters approving it 38 to 5 and Wood voters 111-4.
Colome voters leaned the opposite way with 169 against the plan and 39 for it.
With approval of the plan, Colome district is expected to loose about half of its geographic size and about 33 percent of its assessed taxable value.
Betsy Rohde, CEO of the Colome Consolidated School District, said there were many factors going into the vote. Enrollment dropped at Wood enough that the district was financially unable to keep it open. The Witten school had closed years earlier.
Rohde said she will be working with S.D. Department of Education to make sure everything is switched over. Before they can do that, Colome has to wait for the official canvass of the vote which was at the April 15 school board meeting.
Until the time the switch is made the district will remain called the Colome Consolidated School District. Rohde did not know how long the process will take.
Wood and Witten joined the Colome district in 2010. At that time, Wood and Witten had schools that were open.
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