HILLS

Hills hosted their regular scheduled city council meeting on Monday, March 11. A lively crowd prepared for a lengthy public comment about the town’s elementary school.

Many expressed concerns with how fast the Iowa City Community School District – ICCSD – moved to close the elementary school; less than two years ago, Hills was promised a new elementary. Now, they’re less than two weeks away from a vote to stay open or to close. And for some community members, the news came out of the blue.

“As a community member of Hills, I just want to say how disappointed I am with the real possibility that our neighborhood school will be closing. This decision will impact our children, our family and our town,” one concerned parent said. “Why should [the children] be uprooted from the stability and structure they’ve come to know from being here?”

No decision has been finalized yet. The ICCSD will vote at their meeting on Tuesday, March 26.

This did not stop concerns from bubbling to the surface.

Many were worried about the community impact, believing that a version of Hills void of an elementary school would stall positive growth.

“Someone owes us an explanation. We do not know at this time what the full impact of this is going to be to this community,” one person said.

“I think it’s going to impact [our] community worse than it impacts the Iowa City School District. That’s what I see,” another person added.

Some spoke about community interest to leave the ICCSD if they vote to close the elementary.

“Highland and Lone Tree would appreciate the tax dollars, and I feel like they would probably appreciate us as another small community. They understand. They have that connection with us versus going to a school district that clearly does not,” one person stated.

Others were worried ICCSD was deciding solely based on economics.

“They admitted that Hills pays .7% of the school tax last year. This year, we will pay 1%. You say we’re costing too much money? We are the best bargain in the whole district,” one person said.

“When [people] say [the ICCSD] asked all of these people for land, I don’t know anybody but one that they asked,” he continued. “It just seems so wrong they handled it the way they did without explaining to us. They think we’re just a bunch of hillbillies.”

Some in attendance had daycare jobs, voicing a real concern that their livelihood could be impacted by the closing of Hills Elementary.

“[This will] financially affect me. I have a longtime daycare family that has three small kids. They went and bought a house outside of Hills now. It’s going to affect other businesses [too],” she said.

Some wished the ICCSD school board would come to Hills before their final vote to hear directly from the community.

  “I know we’ve reached out to the school board, but have we asked them to come down? Have we brought them and made them face [us]? Because if you send me an email or call me, it’s easy for me to delete that email, it’s easy for me to [end] that phone call. What about facing the people they are impacting?” she asked.

Some stated they would go the full mile to defend Hills Elementary from closing: knocking on doors, signing petitions, voicing concerns to the ICCSD school board, and attending their Tuesday, March 26 school board meeting.

“I come from generations of family with roots in the Hills area. I’m a homeowner here, I’m still a parent here. I care about the families that will be affected by this decision. I think it’s going to not only hurt families and children, but it’s also going to hurt the community’s growth and development and housing and the tax base. And I think that we’ve made huge strides in that department in the last 10 to 15 years and it’s been good for the town,” she said.

“What I feel like the people of Hills need is leadership, and I want to know what we can do to help. We can write letters, we can write emails to the school board, we can show up and voice our opinions. It feels to me like their minds are already made up,” she added.

The Hills City Council could not take official action but appeared sympathetic to the comments being made, advocating that community members reach out to the Iowa City School Board.

The Hills City Council will meet again on Monday, March 25 at 7 p.m. in the Hills Community Center.