Josh Hinkle offers a unique insight into TV9’s “Sizing Up Small Schools” series. He is the product of a small high school and sought out this topic because of his experiences there. He graduated from Wynnewood High School in Wynnewood, Okla., in a class of only 57. His series aims to highlight the big challenges small schools face. Read below for his thoughts on the schools we visit.

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Olin aired 05/23/07
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After going to Olin graduation, I went home to look at the year book from my senior year in high school. I tried to remember where each person from my class ended up going directly after graduation. Quite a few went to college, some moved away to pursue something big, but yet to be determined. Others went into the military but very few actually stayed in our small town.

For as long as I could remember, so many of us had the common idea of moving away and breaking out of our rural box. Now, 8 years later, some of us are still away. But many have moved back. They have children and homes there. They are what is keeping my home town alive.

My grandmother sends clippings to me in the mail of what my classmates are up to. Its not that they had to fall back into the idea of our small town, but that they realized it’s what they’ve grown to want. In a few years when I go back there for my 10-year reunion, when people ask, I’ll tell them I moved away to pursue my dream. They’ll tell me they came home to find theirs.

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Dunkerton air date 4/26/07
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My big field trip in high school was actually one of the turning points in my life. Between my junior and senior years, I was part of an international orchestra that traveled through France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Before that trip, I had never really been able to explore a big city. I was very lucky to get to go. My grandmother (Granny) loves to quilt, so she decided to raffle off chances to win one of her quilts to help raise money. That was one person really working to send her grandson somewhere she would probably never go in her own life.

The parents and teachers at Dunkerton School were a lot like Granny. But, to help send an entire high school to Chicago was such an amazing collective effort on their part. These students are very lucky to have such a supportive community behind them. More than $30,000 went into this trip.

The more and more I feature a small school in Iowa, I keep coming back to that same thing. The community is what really builds these schools. From money to job shadowing, everything is very tight knit. And generally, these people want to see their kids succeed, even if it means those kids won’t be staying in their little towns. Sending the entire school to Chicago meant some students would be turned on to big city life. For others, it gave them the realization that small town life was what they really wanted. It’s that decision or understanding that made the difference – a turning point in life.

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HLV air date 3/18/07
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I remember all of the car washes, bakes sales and other pleas for money my high school band made to the community. When you have a program that requires a lot of equipment, chances are you’re going to need a lot of money. Some instruments had to be replaced each year. Some had to be repaired. Plus, the band went on trips for contests. The school board just couldn’t afford to give out as much money as we needed.

Building a house, like the students did in the HLV School story, is a loftier task than sending a band to a contest across the state. But, it’s the same principle that reminded me just how much everyone has to pitch in to give these students an opportunity. The HLV industrial tech class, the administration, the students, the parents, the community – they all had roles.

If all of these characters didn’t do their jobs, schools like HLV might not have the programs they do. One of the students in the story said it best: “Not many students can say they built a house when they graduated from high school.” Many students I graduated with used their musical abilities later in college and in jobs. If the band hadn’t been there, who knows what some of my classmates would be doing with their lives now? Who knows what some of the students from HLV would do in the future if it wasn’t for the unique opportunity they have? Email Josh Hinkle with thoughts on this topic at Josh.Hinkle@KCRG.com.

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Springville aired 2/7/07 Click here for story.
The idea behind a local option sales tax increase (SILO) for Iowa schools started out as something that would appeal greatly to towns with low property values that struggled to raise property taxes for the same reason. Schools wanted a way to improve their buildings without big increases in property taxes. While it was a fine plan for small schools, it came with its share of problems. Years ago, when the first counties enacted the sales tax increase, schools kept all of the money. This meant counties with booming retail brought in a lot more money that rural counties, where we find many small schools. Some rural counties came together and filed a lawsuit.

So in 2003, state lawmakers changed the way the tax increase worked. Under the new system, counties that approved the tax after April 1, 2003, received no more than $575 per student. If the payout from a county is more than that amount, the excess goes into a state pool to be handed out to counties with less retail activity. Counties that had approved the increase before that date could stay on their current route until their 10-year commitments were up. If they renewed after that date, it would be under the new system.

If Linn and Johnson counties pass this local option sales tax increase, it will be in all 99 Iowa counties. Some state leaders believe this uniformity might help ease a permanent state sales tax increase - to the already existing 5 cent statewide sales tax - for the same purpose. Some also believe that move could bring even more money to schools.

Some legislators say such a permanent tax would let schools know the money will always be there. That’s impossible under the current “local option” system because the tax increase must go to voters every 10 years. Some schools want to use that tax for other things besides infrastructure.

If you didn’t grow up in a small school or you’ve never visited one, there is a visible difference from a large school. The money just isn’t there, and it shows. My school was a lot like Springville. Hallways were used for storage. The building was never a constant temperature. For me, it was like stepping back into the less comfortable surroundings of my academic beginnings. The system for this tax increase might have changed in Iowa, but the original idea should still stand as a cry for help. Unlike the other issues in this series, this is a challenge small schools can’t meet alone or with only a few supporters in the community. These schools are falling apart physically, and it will take a lot more support to reinforce them for the future. Email Josh Hinkle with thoughts on this topic at Josh.Hinkle@KCRG.com.

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WACO aired 12/25/06 Click here for story.
My high school band director, Mr. Keith Huitt, wore so many keys on his belt loop that, when he walked, he hobbled somewhat from the weight of responsibility he carried. From driving the bus to announcing during halftime at football games, this man took care of every detail, making sure the band program thrived in our school. But to do this, he had to take on a lot of initiative, even when he didn’t always have the full support or confidence of others.

More people took part in our band than any other program in the school. A great deal of that was because of Mr. Huitt’s passion. He and his wife were there everyday after school to work with students long after other teachers had gone home and at dawn on weekend to take us to contests. He not only nurtured the talent that students had, but treated each person like they were one of his own children. I’m sure teachers like Mr. Huitt are not difficult to find, but he was the person that made an impact on my academic life before graduation.

Mr. Huitt inspired many students to go on to play in college bands and sometimes to even become music directors. I didn’t play trombone much after high school, but I know that experience shaped a side of my life that probably would’ve gone undiscovered. Some of my best memories involve using music in college theater productions or singing in church. I doubt that I would’ve experienced those things if Mr. Huitt had not been so determined to keep our school’s music program alive and strong. Email Josh Hinkle with thoughts on this topic at Josh.Hinkle@KCRG.com.

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Sumner/Fredericksburg aired 11/23/06 Click here for story.
Small schools are frequently what hold a community together. When communities lose their schools, they lose more than a building – they often lose their economic and cultural centerpiece. As the story in Sumner shows, often a community doesn’t want to give up on a school simply because administrators are making cuts.

I felt particularly attached to this story, because the same thing happened at my high school. Because of budget cuts and a staff shortage, the drama program got axed. For a while though, there was no outlet for students. Eventually, by the time I was in high school, a group of residents had formed a community theater… and many students began to participate. It was very interesting to see students in an outlet they’d never had before…a first chance at acting, writing scripts, building sets, making costumes. Students were giving back to their community in a new way and gaining something for themselves for the future.

Some of the student actors from my community theater went on to study theater in college. The community theater group still operates every year and still utilizes students. It draws in hundreds of people to watch the performances each show, something that might not have been possible had the community not wanted to help out. It’s a give-and-take that you don’t see until the opportunity presents itself. For my town and Sumner, only by the elimination of a school activity did students truly get involved in the community in this capacity.

In a way, success breeds success. My town’s confidence grew in this area, and residents saw the school as an investment of sorts. The students were taken under a wing. The school belonged to the community. Email Josh Hinkle with thoughts on this topic at Josh.Hinkle@KCRG.com.

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Janesville aired 11/22/06 Click here for story.
It’s a national trend. Small schools in many places are losing students. As I’ve said before, I graduated with 56 other students. Five years down the road, when my brother graduated from the same small school, there were only 42. With fewer students, the school has no choice but to change.

Sadly, unlike Janesville’s eight-man football program, most activities don’t have a simple and smaller version. A band just can’t have eight members… that’s barely a musical ensemble. A student council with just eight students isn’t a council at all. So, sometimes the only solution is to eliminate a certain program altogether. Eventually, declining enrollment can lead to the school’s closure.

Some try to buy time and see if the situation will rebound or adjust to population loss. However, most school officials will tell you there is no quick fix for declining enrollment. Instead, they try to focus on and enhance the one thing for which students go to school – an education. Email Josh Hinkle with thoughts on this topic at Josh.Hinkle@KCRG.com.

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Riceville aired 11/21/06 Click here for story.
The students at Riceville High School really reminded me of myself seven years ago. I grew up in a small town in southern Oklahoma, graduating from high school with just 56 other students. I was that kid who did everything in school – student council, band, academic team… okay, you get the point. And, if you’re thinking that means I was an over achiever, you’re wrong. If we didn’t do everything we did, the activities we had might not have existed for long. It took almost every student to keep extracurriculars alive.

I agree with the staff in this story about involvement preparing you for something beyond high school. It seems that the people who were most involved in activities at our school have become the most successful. We learned how to juggle those extra responsibilities with our school work, jobs and family life. When I went to college, I believe I understood time management and social networking much better than I would have without my small school experience.

Another thing I recalled after completing this story – some teachers and administrators at small schools are willing to go the extra mile to help students succeed at things outside of their classrooms. My teachers were alongside us hanging up prom decorations, cheering for us at every game and were especially understanding when it came to a student interest outside of school. They were willing to work around busy schedules, as long as our grades didn’t suffer as a result.

Some of you that attended larger schools might be saying, “It sounds the same as my school.” But, I assure you, these details are much more noticeable in a small setting. Try focusing on ten people instead of 100. It makes a difference. I’m glad to see that some things never change. That was Oklahoma seven years ago. This is Iowa now. I’m very happy with how my life and career has turned out thus far, and I believe a great deal of that comes from my small school roots. Email Josh Hinkle with thoughts on this topic at Josh.Hinkle@KCRG.com.


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