FREEMAN — Depending on this month’s vote, the 125-year-old Freeman Academy could cease to exist after the current school year.
Should the Mennonite-affiliated school remain open, its corporation members could choose to close grades 7-12 and open next fall with only grades 1-6.
A task force presented those recommendations at Monday’s special meeting of the school’s board of directors and corporation members. The meeting was held at Salem Mennonite (South) Church of rural Freeman.
Currently, Freeman Academy enrolls 53 students in grades 1-12. In recent years, the school has experienced declining enrollment, along with financial deficits despite continued donor and alumni support.
The Press & Dakotan tried to attend Monday’s meeting but was asked to leave as the gathering was intended for members only.
The P&D sought an interview Tuesday with board chair Brian Paff and head of school Brice Kauffman. Both men indicated they were willing to talk with the newspaper but had run into scheduling conflicts.
However, Paff confirmed Tuesday that the task force presented the two recommendations.
“Either scenario would apply to the 2026-27 school year,” he said, adding he had nothing further to release at this time.
The Freeman Academy board was scheduled to meet Tuesday night. Kaufmann said.
However, the board can’t act on the task force’s recommendations, Paff said.
“The board will discuss (the situation), but the decision ultimately lies with the corporation membership,” he said.
Those members are expected to vote on the recommendations when they convene for a second meeting on Jan. 31 at the South Church.
Each recommendation contains an accompanying part, according to the Freeman Courier.
“The first is to close the entire school operation at the end of the 2025-26 school year ‘with care and intention’ while keeping in place its status as a non-profit entity ‘to allow for a renewing and refreshing of vision,’” the weekly newspaper reported.
“The second is to close the 7-12 operation at the conclusion of the 2025-26 year while maintaining an elementary curriculum, with the understanding that grades 1-6 might need to close in the future if it cannot meet ‘recommended benchmarks for sustainability.’”
The combination of the financial and enrollment challenges prompted the board and corporation to hold town hall meetings in November 2024 and February 2025. The meetings provided a time for presenting information and for the corporation members to provide feedback.
A task force was formed during early 2025 and met several times over a roughly six-month period. The task force was scheduled last fall to present its recommendations, which could have ranged from restructuring to closure.
However, Kauffman began his work as the new head of school (similar to a principal) last October, and the board waited until this month to give Kauffman time to become acclimated with the campus and community.
In addition, Kauffman held a reputation as a problem solver, and the board waited for him to present his own perspective and solutions.
“I have worked with schools that have survived and thrived, and I have worked with closing schools,” he told the Press & Dakotan.
Freeman Academy has seen changes through the years while remaining true to its Christian foundation, particularly its Anabaptist roots.
“When I came here (last October), people were talking about all the changes the school has seen during its history,” Kauffman said. “But I have been at schools that have seen many more changes and have been open for a much shorter time.”
The school, founded in 1901 as the South Dakota Mennonite College, began serving students in 1903. The school operated as the Freeman Junior College and Academy for decades, with the two-year junior college and grades 9-12 located on the same campus.
However, the junior college was closed after the 1985-86 school year to devote more resources to the high school. In subsequent years, the school has added junior high, middle school, elementary school and kindergarten.
The kindergarten has since been discontinued, with the school now operating grades 1-12. The academy continues operating on the former junior college campus, with a dorm for boarding students.
The school’s neighbors include Freeman Heritage Hall and Museum, a prairie arboretum, historical buildings and an amphitheater area.
At this month’s meeting, the corporation members may be making the biggest decision since the FJC closure four decades ago.
Should either task force recommendation be accepted, Freeman Academy will mark a new beginning — or an end — for its history.
The current journey has been challenging, but it has reinforced the commitment that its supporters have shown toward the school, Paff told the Press & Dakotan in a statement.
“One thing that has been abundantly clear throughout this process is how much care our supporters — both here in Freeman and in surrounding communities — hold in their hearts for Freeman Academy,” he said.
“As we continue to discern a path forward, our prayer is that this care and commitment will remain steadfast.”
Should Freeman Academy close its campus or grades 7-12, its students could continue their activities at a new school, according to Dan Swartos, executive director of the South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA).
“When a school closes, the students attending that school are eligible to transfer to a new school at the end of the year when the school closes,” he told the Press & Dakotan.
The Freeman Academy decision could present a new scenario for Swartos.
“We don’t deal with school closures very often. I’m in my ninth year here, and I haven’t had the situation yet,” he said. “What I’ve had are memorandums of understanding between school districts for high school students to attend a neighboring district because the high school attendance center in a district has closed.”
The closure process, whether an entire campus or grades 7-12, would likely look different for Freeman Academy than a public school, Swartos said.
“I would venture to guess that this process would not be the same for a private school,” he said. “It is more complicated with public school districts because there is land involved and, when the district dissolves, the land goes into other school districts. Private schools do not have land areas”
Freeman Academy’s decision could create a ripple effect felt beyond the school, its students and supporters.
The school has formed athletic co-op partnerships with surrounding public schools, Swartos said, sharing the following arrangements.
• Currently, Freeman Public and Freeman Academy are together for basketball, volleyball, cross country, track and field, and golf.
• Freeman Public, Freeman Academy, and Marion are together for wrestling and football.
• Freeman Academy, Freeman Public, Marion, and Parker are together in soccer.
• Next year, Freeman and Freeman Academy will be together for football, basketball, volleyball, cross country, track and field, wrestling, golf and softball.
“The soccer cooperative with all four schools will stay in place,” he said. “The rest of the cooperatives split into Freeman/Freeman Academy and Parker/Marion. Some sports made the move to that (arrangement) this year, some waited until next year.”
The SDHSAA maintains deadlines for cooperative applications or the dissolution of one, Swartos said.
The region may see changes regardless of Freeman Academy’s decision.
The Freeman Public school board held its regular monthly meeting Monday night. During its meeting, the board heard from two people encouraging the district to pursue a wrestling cooperative with Parker.
One of the speakers noted the low roster numbers in coming years that would make it nearly impossible for Freeman Public to sustain its own wrestling program.
The classification of schools is based upon school enrollment in grades 9-11. For football, the SDHSAA uses a mail-only count. The association also uses a free and reduced lunch factor.
The current enrollment numbers will reset after this year, Swartos said.
“We are in an alignment year, which means that we took enrollments the last Friday in September this last fall and will use those numbers for classifications for the next two years,” he said.
“We will approve those numbers at our Jan. 21, 2026, board meeting.”
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