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Okay, here's a pop quiz.

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How many rural schools

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in Wisconsin do you think have

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closed over the last 20 years?

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Is it 30?

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Is it more than that?

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Do you think 60 rural schools

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have closed forever?

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Is it 100?

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Nope.

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It's a lot more than that.

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Over the last two decades

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more than 250 schools

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in small and rural counties

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across Wisconsin have

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closed their doors permanently.

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I'm Steven Potter, a reporter

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with PBS Wisconsin News.

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So why are these

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rural schools closing?

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Well, school boards and school

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district administrators say

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they have no choice

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and that it's

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purely for budgetary reasons

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and that is

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something that's going on

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all over the state.

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But when it does happen

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when a school in a rural part

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of the state does have

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to shut down

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it hurts nearly everyone

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in the community.

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A rural school is the heart

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and soul and the identity

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of a community.

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Experts say that declining

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enrollment leads to a

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decrease in state funding

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and that's what leads to

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these schools closing.

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On the political side of this

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state lawmakers say

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they're willing to look at the

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school funding formula

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to find a fix.

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But given that compromise

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isn't easy to

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come by in the capitol

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we may just see more

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and more schools in small and

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rural counties around the state

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closing in years to come.

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For more on this

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and to see my story about it

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make your way to

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pbswisconsin.org

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and click on the news tab.