This isn't the first time the school has been in jeopardy. Some years ago, Marquette came up with a unique idea to draw people to their town; give away free land.
"The next thing we know the phones are off the hook and we get an interview with Dan Rather. It's worked out real well," said Steve Piper Marquette's former Mayor.
City officials bought 50 acres of farm ground and developed it into building lots and have been giving them away ever since. Giving their town some much needed attention.
"It worked, we got families to move here and filled up the classrooms and kept our school open," Piper said.
The program started in 2003 and since then Marquette has added 30 homes that have been built on free land. That may not seem like a lot, but for a town with less than 650 people in it, those numbers mean a lot.
"It's actually a great deal," said Colleen Barry.
Barry jumped at the offer when it started. She moved here with her family from Garden City and says the free land is just as good as it sounds.
"I'm glad we did it. This is a great small town that is safe for kids and it's a really close knit community," Barry said.
But since the initial launch of the program, things have died down and with the recent housing slump and education cuts; their school is once again in danger of closing. So they are re-launching the program, this time with an industrial twist.
"Someone just donated 20 acres and we're going to give that land away for industrial purposes. So if someone wants to come and start a business here, they can have that land," Piper said.
Marquette isn't the only town in Kansas to offer free-land programs. Among other, Minneapolis also offers a similar program designed to draw people into the community.
For more information on Free Land programs, go to: http://kansasfreeland.com/
