“Funding is a problem, and we can’t provide all the services that larger schools can,” said Skelly School Elementary Superintendent Paul Thompson.

After eight years at Skelly, Mr. Thompson knows the small school, located just outside Cherokee County in Adair County, faces obstacles larger schools may never have. But a quick look at the blessings of his campus makes the superintendent very proud of his students and staff.

Skelly School - home of the Road Runners - sets just east of State Highway 10 on Chewey Road, its district boundaries running into Cherokee County just enough to count. And, for area families, the school’s location is extremely important - the nearest “big” schools are Kansas, about 10 miles north and west, and Westville, about 18 miles south and east.

“Funding is a problem as the number of kids fluctuates,” said Thompson. “Staff is 80 to 85 percent of the cost to run a school, so when funding is lower, naturally you have to trim staff. Fortunately, we [the state] have a number of people retiring earlier. They don’t want to work full-time, but we can put them to work part-time.”

In this way, rural schools are able to keep fantastic educators in the classrooms, even if it is just a few days a week, according to Thompson.

“Little schools like this can benefit from people that are available from retirement,” he said. “Two or three little schools can share.”

Skelly currently boasts a student population of 106 - two- to three-times less than most Cherokee County rural schools - ranging from pre-kindergarten up to eighth grade. That is, however, a jump in enrollment from the previous school year.

Students also face slightly different arrangements than they would at a larger school: fifth- and sixth-grade students share one teacher the majority of a school day, as do seventh- and eighth-grade students. Third- and fourth-grade students have also been combined at one point.

“But with 21 students combined in fifth and sixth grade, and 12 students combined for seventh and eighth grade, it wouldn’t be feasible to separate them,” said Thompson.

Such arrangements do allow for several positives outlooks.

“The kids are getting better one-on-one attention with teachers,” he said. “The kids are happy. We haven’t had one fist-fight in eight years. The kids take great care of things.”

Other rural school around the nation aren’t faring as well as Skelly is. Once part of thousands of smaller schools, many are dipping so low in student numbers, they are being forced to close the doors, sending students and parents to neighboring school districts.

In Nebraska and Montana rural schools are a major part of the education system’s foundation, according to the Associated Press. But that hasn’t stopped a number of them from shutting down.

According to the AP, approximately 100 such schools have closed in Montana during the past 10 years, and it’s not getting any better for schools.

“The rate of decrease has accelerated,” Montana Small Schools Alliance Director Claudette Morton told AP.