Mt. Morris trustees reject ownership of DLR

Village board members urge Oregon School District to hold onto building for two- to three years as ‘safety net’

David L. Rahn Junior High School in Mt. Morris

MT. MORRIS — Mt. Morris Village Board trustees declined the Oregon School District Board’s offer to take ownership of the David L. Rahn Junior High School building.

“We strongly recommend that the Oregon School Board reconsider pursuing any disposition of the DLR building for a period of 2-3 years,” Village President Phil Labash read from a prepared statement at the village board’s June 14 meeting. “This includes the potential transfer of DLR to the Village of Mt. Morris.”

Oregon School District Superintendent Tom Mahoney went before the Mt. Morris Village Board on May 24 at the behest of school board members to ask if village officials were interested in the property. Discussion or consideration of the transfer was not on the agenda for that village board meeting, so trustees were unable to talk about, or take action on, the matter at that time.

On Tuesday, village trustees unanimously voted to decline the offer of ownership following a closed session. The closed session lasted less than 10 minutes.

School board members on Feb. 22 voted 4-2 to close DLR at the end of the 2021-22 school year, despite pleas from Mt. Morris officials and residents to keep the school open. Seventh grade and eighth grade students will attend Oregon High School, which is 5 miles to the east in Oregon.

DLR was the last remaining school in Mt. Morris. The Mt. Morris School District merged with the Oregon School District in 1994 because of financial reasons.

Mahoney first proposed closing DLR in May 2021, citing decreasing enrollment throughout the district and increasing maintenance costs at DLR as reasons to do so.

“We continue to believe this decision is wrong, shortsighted and not in the best interest of students, staff and district families,” Labash said. “Immediate disposition of the building through sale, transfer or demolition will eliminate a critical safety net, should serious issues arise as a result of this decision.”

Alexa Zoellner

Alexa Zoellner

Alexa Zoellner reports on Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties for Shaw Media out of the Dixon office. Previously, she worked for the Record-Eagle in Traverse City, Michigan, and the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.