Superintendent Paul Croghan told the paper that the district plans to ask voters to approve an expanded physical plant and equipment levy in September as well as a school bond sometime next year. The board will confirm placing the levy request on the ballot at its July meeting. The state allows the district to ask voters for a levy of $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. Such a levy would bring in nearly $4 million for the district over 10 years, which could be used to repay a revenue bond.

Having students in one elementary building is projected to create savings by reducing staff positions, utility bills and transportation costs. An analysis by Iowa Schoolhouse Construction & Planning Services projected $80,000 in savings for the 2014-15 school year resulting from closing the school.

Chantry’s doors may reopen however, as the district moves toward creating an all-grades campus at the site of East Mills High School in Malvern. Croghan said that would require an $11.5 million school bond. The district’s overarching goal, he said, is to use its financial resources as efficiently as possible.

The East Mills Community School District was created in 2011 when the Malvern and Nishna Valley school districts reorganized. The original districts began whole-grade sharing in 2007, with high-schoolers in Malvern, middle-schoolers in Hastings and elementary students staying in their respective districts.