Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette The boards of Baraga Area Schools and L’Anse Public Schools are tentatively looking at consolidating the districts into one entity.

Baraga Area Schools and L’Anse Public Schools are looking into the idea, which would result in a combined school district.

“It’s very initial… we’re exploring if it would be feasible, and seeking more information,” said L’Anse Superintendent Susan Tollefson.

The idea came after L’Anse’s school board sent a letter to Baraga’s proposing the districts begin preliminary investigations into whether consolidation would benefit the districts.

“We’ve both had some declining enrollment,” Tollefson said.

Aidan Reilly/Daily Mining Gazette The boards of Baraga Area Schools and L’Anse Public Schools are tentatively looking at consolidating the districts into one entity.

Baraga’s student count was at 317 last year, down from 502 in 2012-13, according to the state website MI School Data. Over the same span, L’Anse went from 687 to 513.

Baraga Superintendent Lori Wisniewski reported a slight increase over the previous year during her administrative report at Monday’s school board meeting.

If the district boards show interest, one of the first steps would be a survey asking for public input on the proposed new district, the superintendents said.

Wisniewski said the Baraga board accepted the invitation to meet and discuss enrollment trends and the possible challenges and advantages of consolidating.

“In the end, it’s the opportunities that we can provide our students,” Wisniewski said. “That’s the upfront of what we should be considering when we’re looking at consolidating.”

Consolidation is something that’s been “rumbling in the community for many, many years,” Wisniewski said. She’s heard feedback from employees, who expressed concerns about how staffing and other things would work.

“There’s lots of questions we don’t have the answers to yet, and that’s what we’re looking at, to find the answers to these questions,” she said.

The Baraga and L’Anse school boards will have a joint public meeting 5 p.m. Sept. 25 in the Baraga High School library to further discuss the issue.