Election Day approaches and another school funding referendum is on the ballot, this time in the Glenville-Emmons School District. As is traditional with school referendums these days, the district’s residents have divided themselves into those opposed and those in favor.

In the case of this referendum, however, there is a somewhat unique geographic division of support and opposition. The community of Glenville seems mostly supportive, with many who opposed the previous levy (which was defeated last year) now wanting people to vote &uot;Yes&uot;. Residents of Emmons, on the other hand, seem pretty set against the levy referendum, and are urging district residents to vote &uot;No.&uot;

Why is this? Oh, gosh . . . where should I start? Today’s issue of the Tribune doesn’t have enough pages to cover all the grievances between these two communities. The most recent controversy (and perhaps the most important in the minds of those voting next Tuesday) is the closing of the school in Emmons and the relocation of all district students to the buildings in Glenville.

During the debate about how to save money and realign the district’s programs, it was quite clear that the people of Glenville were only interested in solutions that involved closing the school in Emmons. Residents of that community, who saw the issue as one involving community survival, were interested in keeping the facility in Emmons open &045; whatever the cost to the district.

A referendum was held to raise money to keep schools open in both communities, at least for a few more years &045; a recommendation made to the district by outside experts, who saw the enmity between the two communities as a serious problem. They thought that any sign that the school district was favoring one community over the other would cause problems. But with anger in charge, the referendum failed. Once the board voted to close the Emmons building, many families in the western half of the district chose to send their kids &045; and the money that comes with them from the state &045; to schools in Lake Mills and Alden.

Now that the district is again coming to its residents with a request for more money, the response of the residents of Emmons appears to be governed by an unfortunate mindset: revenge. On the other side, the community of Glenville seems governed by an equally unfortunate mindset: we won, you lost, get used to it!

Nowadays, the passage of any school referendum is hard to predict, whether it’s an operating funds levy or a bond issue for construction. The economy has been in the tank for many months, and even with signs of recovery showing up in some places, rural Minnesota still faces an uncertain economic future. So many variables are in play that passage or defeat, especially if any controversy is involved, isn’t considered certain by anybody until the polls are closed and the results have been posted.

The Glenville-Emmons referendum would be a hard sell whether residents in the district were getting along with each other or not. The anger in Emmons creates an additional hurdle that will be very difficult to get over. Why should families who send their kids elsewhere because they feel they’ve been treated shabbily by the leaders of Glenville vote to raise their taxes to pay for better schools for people who live in Glenville?

Would it help if the district made a bigger effort to use the Emmons building for something, like a community preschool or joint recreation programs with the county or the Family Y in Albert Lea? Would the school board even try? I don’t know. Attitudes on both sides seem pretty hardened.The end result may be no schools in either community, while kids travel to Northwood, Lake Mills, Alden, Albert Lea or elsewhere.

This referendum isn’t just about the communities of Emmons and Glenville, however; it’s also about the kids who go to school there. In the end, if the referendum doesn’t pass, all of the students in the district will suffer. Is that what people in both communities really want? It’s a difficult call. I’m glad I don’t live in that district, because as much as I care about what happens to our schools, selfish people on either side will be able to claim &uot;victory&uot; whichever way the majority of residents end up voting.

(David Rask Behling is a rural Albert Lea resident. His column appears Tuesdays in the Tribune.)