The news that Ankeny could possibly annex Alleman is such a hot topic that it was even on the local nightly news. 

While Alleman has not been officially annexed, and the town is fighting it, Ankeny’s shadow seems to loom closer. 

Historically rural, North Polk has been seeing an influx of students transferring from Ankeny schools to get the small-town feel, but the school is not so rural anymore. 

While the view from the school is mostly corn fields and grain bins, there is a chance that soon, the view will be suburbia. 

Having an increasing school population definitely has its ups and downs. 

More students mean: more funding, diversity, a larger pool for activities and making friendships. 

Many argue that having a larger population decreases the sense of belonging at a school. More students could lead to having less personal relationships with teachers, as well as having a harder time climbing the academic and extracurricular ladder.

Long time Spanish teacher Renee Connolly agrees, “I think that one of the bigger things that has made a difference here is, because we have more numbers, now we have a lot more teachers. I used to teach Spanish two, three and four so I would have kids for three years, so you could have some pretty impressive connections with kids. I am about the only teacher now that has kids for two years in a row.” 

Connolly also agrees that the increase in student population has created a more solid divide between students interested in sports, and students who are more interested in the arts. 

“I would say that maybe the cliques are a little more noticeable just because when you had 40, 50 kids in a class they were a clique themselves because there wasn’t a lot of options, and so many kids did so many different things,” explained Connolly. 

Teagan Wiseman voiced that she prefers a smaller school, “I think that it’s really bad [annexing Alleman]. Alleman has been small for a very long time and I don’t think it should get big because North Polk would get bigger.” 

While student Sydney Ware would not necessarily be opposed to going to an Ankeny school, she is morally opposed to North Polk being labeled so. 

“I think that it’s not fair because it’s Alleman, people’s home, not Ankeny,” explained Ware. 

Former Ankeny student, Annika Kramer, declared that North Polk is not comparable to Ankeny schools in any way. “The people here are so different,” explained Kramer. 

Connolly also agrees that the annexation would be bad for North Polk, “The problem is if they do that, is the money going to the schools, is it going to the roads, is it going to places to maintain this, because we’re growing so fast. Central Elementary is bursting at the seams, our middle school is going to be at capacity and every room in this building [high school] is being used right now. I think the best thing to do is keep our class sizes down for students.” 

Small or large, North Polk is close to many people’s hearts, and the community will continue to fight for its integrity.