When rural districts combine, wins for budgets and students come with identity loss

On a sunny late summer morning, Dave Benz and his daughter, Sabrina Weberg, helped his twin granddaughters, Maya and Lucy, toddle around the playground.

The girls will turn 3 in a few days and are only willing to start climbing around with a little coaxing and a helping hand from Mom or Grandpa.

The playground is next to Hibbing’s Greenhaven Elementary School. Out in front of the school sits a large yellow “For Sale” sign.

“Yeah, it was a sad one,” Benz said.

Facing a $2 million deficit, the Hibbing School Board voted in March to close Greenhaven.

School districts across Minnesota are struggling. Enrollment, which drives funding, is going down and costs are going up.

This isn’t a new problem.

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