It was fight night for about 150 concerned students, parents and residents of both Youngsville and Sheffield who packed the Sheffield Volunteer Fire Department this weekend to save their respective school from closure.

The town hall meeting was led by Sheffield resident and former Warren County School District board member Nate Lindberg, who was clear from the start that both communities face an uphill battle over the district’s potential reconfiguration.

“Right now, we are not represented on this school board,” Lindberg said. “There are three board members who live in Warren attendance area representing this town (Sheffield). That needs to change. The only way we will ever fight back against this, is to change this board.”

The gathering was a result of what those in attendance felt has been a lack of transparency regarding the possibility one or both of the high schools closing.

One resident asked Lindberg what she and others are to tell their children when asked where they will be attending school next year.

“You tell them to fight,” Lindberg said. “If anybody is sitting here right now and doesn’t think that it’s time to fight, that means going to school board meetings, that’s making them feel uncomfortable. If you didn’t think the time was now, it’s now.”

Sheffield’ high school track coach, Jason Snell, has said he has more than 100 students signed up for the spring season. He noted that things are just now getting back to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic, and now they face another life changing event.

“Why five months away from the summer do we not know what’s going on with our children?” Snell asked. “These children have been through more trauma the last two years, than most people in three lifetimes. The fight part yes, start showing up. We need to be factual. We need put out their facts that are going to make them think twice about these decisions they’re making and not including us in. Because ultimately our concern is these kids. They are dramatically affecting these kids.”

In the over an hour-long meeting, Lindberg’s message began and ended with members of Regions’ II and III volunteering for the upcoming five open seats. Lindberg stressed that not unseating current members who do not represent the communities that will be negatively affected by reconfiguration means it’s over for both schools.

Lindberg describes the WCSD as a political quagmire and a machine that, in his opinion, has never worked well in its over 60 years of existence. He said that it will continue to be a machine until something is done about it.

“It’s one of the most political organizations I’ve ever been involved in, and it’s a powerhouse,” Lindberg said. “In order to do anything at all, we need to change the makeup of the board.”

Lindberg added, “If you changed the makeup of the board, it most certainly stalls everything for another four years. It gives a whole bunch of opportunities for that board then to say, maybe how we’ve done education in Warren County isn’t how we should be doing it in 2023. But you can’t get there until you have a friendly board. If you don’t get a friendly board, we won’t even have a chance to talk about it.”

David Bauer, another former Warren school board member who also fought a similar battle decades prior, gave an emotional directive to those in attendance.

“I did it 31 years ago, and I wasn’t the only one,” Bauer said. “There were others. We stood in front of the locomotive coming down the tracks. It’s your turn. Do it. Do it for these kids. Please, it has to be done. It will cost you. It cost me. It cost my family. It cost that man (Nate Lindberg). It cost Roger Dunham (former WCSD member). It costs everyone that gets involved.”

Several residents from both communities addressed the public, sharing both facts and opinions, but one common theme was staying united. In Lindberg’s final statements, the former Sheffield graduate shed light on how much power the public has when they are as united in their position.

“For the folks in Youngsville, this is a united front,” Lindberg said. “We are here, not just for Sheffield, but we’re here for the folks in Youngsville. We don’t want to see you lose anything more than you’ve already lost. Whoever you can get, has to show up. I’m telling you right now, there’s nothing that makes a school board member more uncomfortable than when three, four, five hundred people start showing up at meetings.”

There will be public engagement meetings at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 8; Tuesday, April 18; and Tuesday, May 9, at the Warren County School District Central Office. A community engagement meeting will be with business leaders, government representatives, non-profit leadership, and others at 6 p.m. Friday, March 24.

There will school board committee meetings starting at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, and a board meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 13, both at the central office.