# Last Country School in Scottsbluff County Closes After 137 Years **Published:** 2026-06-03T10:00:00.000Z **Source:** [Flatwater Free Press](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-shuts-its-doors/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-county-closes-after-137-years SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. — Lake Minatare Elementary School, a 137-year-old institution that served as the last remaining country school in Scotts Bluff County, held its final graduation ceremony this week as [the Flatwater Free Press reported](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-shuts-its-doors/). The school that opened in 1889 officially closed at the end of the 2025-26 academic year after [the Scottsbluff Board of Education voted 5-1 in January to shutter the facility](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/scottsbluff-school-district-closing-elementary-school-due-to-budget-constraints/). The closure marks the end of an era for western Nebraska's rural communities. ["We really are the last of the Mohicans," one parent said at the school's closing barbecue.](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-shuts-its-doors/) Only five Class I schools — elementary-only districts — remain in Nebraska as of this fall, down from 194 in 2005. [The school served 65 students and was the smallest elementary in the Scottsbluff district.](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/scottsbluff-school-district-closing-elementary-school-due-to-budget-constraints/) District officials cited recent state budget caps as the primary driver behind the closure. [Superintendent Andrew Dick said the district cut $1.3 million last year and $1.8 million the year before, with plans to cut another $950,000 for the next school year.](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/scottsbluff-school-district-closing-elementary-school-due-to-budget-constraints/) [The closure was projected to save around $750,000 annually.](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/scottsbluff-school-district-closing-elementary-school-due-to-budget-constraints/) [The financial constraints stem from a 2023 law that capped how much revenue school districts could collect, a measure championed by Gov. Jim Pillen as part of his property tax relief efforts.](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/scottsbluff-school-district-closing-elementary-school-due-to-budget-constraints/) Parents, however, questioned whether the budget cuts were truly necessary, citing what they described as questionable financial decisions by the district. The closure continues a decades-long trend of consolidation in Nebraska's school system. [A 2005 state law required every school district to offer every grade, forcing Class 1 districts — those with only elementary schools — to merge with larger districts. More than 100 elementary schools closed statewide by 2007.](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-shuts-its-doors/) For families like the Prestons, Lake Minatare represented more than an educational institution. [Morgan Preston was set to be a fourth-generation graduate, following in the footsteps of her teacher mother Katey, her maternal grandmother and two great-grandfathers.](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-shuts-its-doors/) The school was [located 6 miles east of Scottsbluff and held a soup supper fundraiser every winter in its gymnasium.](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-shuts-its-doors/) The community's loss is tangible. [One family name, the Schanemans, had more than 30 members attend the school over the years, with a Mark Schaneman starting in second grade when the building opened in 1965 and his grandson being part of the final graduating class.](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/lake-minatare-elementary-community-reminisces-as-final-year-comes-to-an-end/) Students currently enrolled at Lake Minatare have been assigned to Longfellow Elementary in Scottsbluff for the upcoming school year. [Items from the school's display case will be moved to the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering for preservation.](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-shuts-its-doors/) ## Sources - [Flatwater Free Press](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-shuts-its-doors/) - [Nebraska Public Media - "Scottsbluff school district closing elementary school due to budget constraints"](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/scottsbluff-school-district-closing-elementary-school-due-to-budget-constraints/) - [Nebraska Public Media - "Lake Minatare Elementary community reminisces as final year comes to an end"](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/lake-minatare-elementary-community-reminisces-as-final-year-comes-to-an-end/) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Flatwater Free Press, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-last-country-school-in-scottsbluff-shuts-its-doors/.