ALTURA, Minn. – Amid disappointment, a consensus seemed to emerge at a public hearing that the Altura Intermediate School is unsustainable. Enrollment is declining in the three-school Lewiston-Altura District, and there is financial advantage to downsizing to two schools in Lewiston. A task force had concluded that closing the Altura school would save $175,000 a year. Former Altura Mayor Bob Schell lamented the proposed loss. “The part that’s tough to swallow is that $175,000 is the deciding point,” he said. It’s not a major component of the district’s $11 million budget, he said. Altura students would be bused 10 miles to Lewiston.
