By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The 2023 Primary Election may not have garnered much interest across much of Kansas, but an important matter was decided in Central Kansas as voters decided for or against disorganizing the USD 112 Central Plains district. The matter was settled in Tuesday's primary. Sixty-seven percent of patrons voted against disorganization in a 1,179 to 587 tally. Results are unofficial until an Aug. 7 canvass.
'No' votes were cast by district residents who wished to keep the district intact, as is with local representation, with Wilson High School closed as of Jan. 9, 2023, when the board officially voted to close the school at the close of the 2023 year. 'Yes' votes were cast by residents wishing to disorganize the district, taking control away from local elected officials and putting the fate of the district into the hands of the Kansas Board of Education.
Last October, the Wilson High School Future Committee was formed in an effort to keep Wilson High School open. On May 9, the official petition to disorganize the district was filed in Ellsworth County after the USD 112 Board of Education declined a request to keep Wilson High School open for another year.
Opponents of the vote said disorganization could result in the loss of 107 district jobs. Proponents believed disorganization left a possibility of keeping WHS open. Had a majority of patrons voted to disorganize the district, the effective date would have been July 1, 2024.
Ellsworth County will conduct a post-election audit for the Aug. 1 election at 4 p.m. on Aug. 4, in the Commissioner's Room.