Photo by Jim Muchlinski Milroy third and fourth graders worked on a bead project Thursday afternoon. Picture front to back are Hayden Larson, Gage Determan, Huxton Determan, Bailee Sanow and Freddy Sulllivan. They are taught by Bailey Malicek.

MILROY – At most schools it’s time to say goodbye for the summer, but in Milroy everyone is simply saying goodbye.

The K-6 Milroy school had its final day of classes on Friday, which included a graduation ceremony. The Milroy School District will send its students to Tracy as of next fall.

Milroy Principal and Superintendent John Willey, who has served since 2021, said Milroy (population 259) continued to have a school longer than other towns its size because of careful planning by school officials.

Milroy closed its high school in the 1980s, when it entered into tuition agreements with Tracy and Marshall. A later decision to charter some of its grades helped to continue a K-8 facility.

More recently it downsized to a K-6 school and put grades together into combined classes. It finished the 2025-26 school year with 27 students, with some grades having only two or three children.

“Families on the average are not nearly as large as they were in the past,” Willey said. “It’s left small schools with lower enrollment. The numbers just aren’t there anymore.”

He has spent 37 years in education, first as a business teacher then as an administrator. He plans to retire from school based work, but will continue to operate a driving school in Jackson.

He said the decision to close Milroy’s school was based on a combination of lower enrollment and building related needs such as a new roof and a boiler replacement.

He added that open enrollment out of the district wasn’t a significant factor. Families who open enrolled out were counterbalanced by those from outside the district who chose Milroy.

“We had loyalty from local families,” he said. “In many cases the parents and grandparents went to school here. It helped to keep us going. There were a few who felt we were too small, but for other people it was exactly what they wanted.”

Milroy school officials talked in the past several years about the possibility of a referendum for building upgrades. They decided not to pursue it because it would have meant a substantial cost to taxpayers.

He added that the district would have still been left with unmet needs. As an example, he noted that Milroy hasn’t been able to offer fifth and sixth grade band because of an inability to find a part time instructor.

He said the final school year ran smoothly with the help of several teachers who stayed with the district knowing that a school closing was likely.

“They could have left,” Willey said. “I don’t know what we would have done. They saw this coming but still stayed with us. I applaud them for it.”

Milroy teacher Jenny Wagner of Seaforth has taught at Milroy for 10 years. She will teach kindergarten next year at Redwood Valley school in Redwood Falls.

“I’ll miss Milroy,” Wagner said. “I’ll miss all of my students. I enjoyed having small class sizes and I worked in a great community.”

Third and fourth grade teacher Bailey Malacek has six years of experience in Milroy after graduating from Southwest Minnesota State University. She lives in Marshall and will teach fourth grade next year at Holy Redeemer School.

She said her students and community support are two reasons why she’ll look back favorably on her first teaching experience.

“I took the job right out of college and loved it,” Malacek said. “It’s been great. It’s been like being part of a family.”

Milroy students said they’re looking forward to next fall but that they’ll miss many things about their school.

“I liked my teachers,” said fourth grader Gage Determan. “They’re kind to us. They let us get drinks when we were thirsty.”

“I really like our school,” said third grader Bailee Sanow. “I like everyone and everything. I especially like music class.”