ARMSTRONG - In one month, Armstrong-Ringsted and Graettinger-Terril school districts will sit down at the table and talk about whole-grade sharing and/or consolidation.

That's what Rod Foster, A-R board president, told the board at its meeting Monday night. Foster said Graettinger-Terril, which is in the process of consolidation itself, wants to iron out an issue in its district before discussing the merger with A-R.

"The comments I have gotten from the community are that they're in strong support of Graettinger-Terril" as a partner, Foster said.

Sharing talks with North Kossuth and Sentral, something A-R pursued for about three years, stalled several months ago. That prompted A-R to look toward Graettinger-Terril.

Pressure is also coming from the state which wants smaller districts to merge.

As of this date, however, all options are on the table for A-R. Superintendent Randy Collins said he had also spoken with Estherville Lincoln Central and Emmetsburg school districts. He said if the board is going to enter into sharing talks of any sort, it needs to determine what issues are not negotiable.

A key item is building facilities. Both Armstrong and Ringsted want to keep their schools.

Board member Jim Boyer underscored that fact when he said everyone wants to protect their turf and infrastructures.

"We could do some kind of a regional exploration," Collins said. He suggested a facilitator might be a good idea. "If it's no, the high school has to be here, then we need to say that," Collins said.

Boyer noted other schools will likely want to keep their high schools as well. He said the possibility of losing the elementary school was a big reason Ringsted residents opposed consolidation.

"They don't want to lose that school building," Boyer said. "That's the identifier for their community."