“If you’re going to even ….

“If you’re going to even look at it, it’s going to be a ton of time, it’s going to be hours and hours of work, and it’ll be incredibly labor intensive,” Kolden said. “It’s going to cost money.”

Once a thorough study is completed, though, a majority of voters would still need to officially sign off on a consolidation at another referendum.

“I think it’s essential for people to know that there’s going to be a second vote,” Kolden said. “If you look at the statutes, we cannot consolidate without a specific referendum question that passes in both districts.”

A timeline for a feasibility study won’t be developed until after the referendum, but Baker said it’s safe to say that the research wouldn’t get started until this fall.

One of the first steps would be to identify issues that will need to be addressed as part of a consolidation, Kolden said. This would involve surveying the community to see what issues school administrators may not be aware of.

At this point, Kolden and Baker said it’s difficult for them to answer all of the questions that come to them about the impacts of consolidation.

“If I answer one question, I’ll get three more,” he said. “Everything is kind of open for discussion.”

Ultimately, the superintendents say it will be up to the residents of the two districts to answer tough questions — such as what sports mascot to use or how best to utilize the school buildings.

Right now, one of the more unique aspects of the two districts is the boundaries, with students living in the Dorchester area traveling through Abbotsford to attend school in Colby.

“We have kids that drive right past Abbotsford Elementary, who live within a block, that we’re bringing through Dorchester down Hiline Avenue,” Kolden said.

If the boundaries between the two districts were to disappear, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the existing school buildings would have to reconfigured.

“Even with a district consolidation, you could leave everything the way it is,” Kolden said.

All of Abbotsford’s schools are contained within one connected K-12 campus, which includes the older middle and high school and the newer elementary school built in 2009.

Colby Middle and High School share a connected building, with the elementary school just across the parking lot.

Abbotsford schools continue to see a steady increase in enrollment. Baker noted that the district has added almost 100 students in the five years she has been superintendent, which is driving a need for more classroom space.

“In reality, you still need X amount of square feet for all these classrooms,” she said. “We still have the class sizes we do. Ours are blowing up right now.”

One question that is sure to be asked by local taxpayers is how the potential merger would impact the cost of local public education.

Baker said it’ll be interesting to be see what the projections say, but she doesn’t anticipate a major reduction in costs.

“I think, fiscally, there’s not going to be a ton of savings there,” she said.

If a consolidated district were formed, it may qualify for an additional $150 perstudent in state aid for its first five years of existence, an amount that would be reduced after that.

Kolden said 80 to 85 percent of any school district’s budget is related to employees, and aside from eliminating a superintendent and maybe another central office person, the size of the staff is not likely to shrink much. In fact, he and Baker said assistant principals may need to be added depending on school sizes.

A consolidated district would also take on the existing debt of the two districts. Abbotsford will be done paying of its 2008 referendum debt — which was used to pay for the new elementary and the K-12 campus — by 2026, Baker said.

“When that one falls off, we’re practically debt-free at that point,” she said.

Colby is four years into paying off a 10year debt approved by a 2016 referendum to do various projects, including a new high school parking lot, middle school roof and HVAC upgrades.

When it comes to Abbotsford and Colby schools, it’s hard not to talk about the history of previous consolidation attempts that have failed. Baker, who grew up in the area, was in elementary school when the short-lived Dor-Abby district ended up creating a wedge between Dorchester residents and those in Abbotsford over where to build a new high school in early 1960s.

The break-up of that district resulted in the Dorchester area attaching itself to the Colby School District, a situation that still stands to this day.

Baker said the biggest concern she continues to hear from residents is the idea of “giving up our identity” as separate districts and communities.

Dorchester has already lost all of its schools, starting with its high school and eventually including its elementary and St. Louis Catholic School.

The state of rural school districts continues to change, with populations growing up around major employers like Abbyland Foods while the number of farm families declines.

“You used to see the 120-acre or 160acre dairy farm with five kids,” Kolden said. “Now your dairy farms are 300 or 400 acres with two kids.”

Projecting future population growth, along with student enrollment, will be one of the more important aspects of considering a consolidation. Kolden said that’s why it will be essential to seek outside help before any final decisions are made.

“I don’t have the skill set to do that,” he said. “That’s a cost. You’re going to have to hire somebody to do that.”