One of the hardest things to dissolve in South Dakota is apparently the Oldham-Ramona-Rutland school district. On Tuesday, district residents rejected a second petition to dissolve the district on an even bigger margin than the first:
According to the Oldham-Ramona-Rutland School District, the unofficial results that came in for the polls were:
- 393 against dissolution
- 352 for dissolution
This vote means the dissolution plan fails and the school district will stay [Michael Doorn, “2nd School District Dissolution Vote Fails in Oldham Ramona Rutland,” KELO-TV, 2026.11.11].
The first dissolution vote in December 2025 drew just four more nays than yeas. The nay margin eleven months later as more than ten-tupled.
Superintendent Dan Baldwin begs his constituents to finally knock it off and get along:
“If we want to move forward, we need public support. When I look at how schools generate revenue, they need the public to back it, and that’s how it becomes successful,” Baldwin said. “We’ve had a division here for a long time, and it’s time to heal and let’s move forward. We want to be here to stay for a long time, and it needs the public to agree on a few things, along with a, a unified admin team and a school board.”
Baldwin said the new school the district started to build is currently at a standstill.
“There is no new school, there was some construction that was halted in Ramona. It’s at a standstill right now,” Baldwin said. “We’ve been kind of held hostage throughout the last two votes and lawsuits that have been pending, and so it’s time to be able to utilize our resources” [Michael Doorn, “Oldham-Ramona-Rutland Superintendent Calls for Unity After Election,” KELO-TV, 2026.11.11].
An October 1 brief from the school district said ORR has 176 students and 38 employees.