Almost 50 years ago, the Middle Creek subdivision was nothing but farmland. Today, it is a booming subdivision. Nestled to the side are Monforton Middle School and Elementary School, each of which sees more and more students enroll each year. And they’re constantly having to come up with new ways to make room.
“When my kids started, they went to kindergarten through 2nd grade in the little old schoolhouse,” said Nancy Flikkema.
In 1974, what is now the Middle Creek subdivision was farmland, owned by Flikkema and her husband.
“We moved here in 1981, but the farm started in 1974,” said Flikkema. “The red house at the end of the cul de sac was our farmhouse. We lived there for 33 years.”
In 2006, Nancy and her husband made the decision to transition their farm:
“The Middle Creek parklands,” said Flikkema.
Today there are 262 homes and 42 condos in the subdivision.
“And Monforton is the connection to so much of it,” said Flikkema.
In the process of building the Middle Creek subdivision, Nancy realized the pressure they were going to be putting on the school.
“So we donated 10 acres where the middle school now stands and the football field,” said Flikkema. “From there it’s just kind of exploded. The classrooms are just overflowing.”
Superintendent Darren Strauch has been working at Monforton Schools for 11 years and over the course of that time, there have been many changes.
“Our student population has gone from 250 students to 683,” said Strauch.
Averaging 10 percent growth each year and going through 4 different building projects in the last 12 years.
Now, it’s time to expand once again.
“Over the summer, the board decided to look internally to see if we could utilize the campus we already have and hired some architects to do kind of a new campus master plan reboot,” said Strauch.
A $14.8 million bond proposal to create more space for their growing student population.
“That project will entail building a new elementary school on the lower football field, safety upgrades, and traffic flow improvements,” said Strauch.
The school has gathered some feedback from students and teachers to find out what they want to see at Monforton.
“I think we have a really unique community here where so many kids like to get out in all 4 seasons,” said Erin Rosemeyer who teaches 2nd grade at Monforton Elementary.
Rosemeyer is looking forward to seeing some outdoor terraced seating in the future.
“Outdoor classrooms or just hands-on learning experiences would be great,” said Rosemeyer. “Students are really curious about the outdoors.”
Ballots will be mailed to all eligible voters in the Monforton district on April 14, and they must be returned by no later than May 2.
“I’m in full support and I encourage everyone to vote for this addition so Monforton can continue to be the best school in the valley,” said Flikkema.
