Almost everyone who grew up in the RV area has a vague sense of how the district was formed. I always had the general idea that the four main town's High Schools combined, and the country schools were absorbed. While that eventually became the case, the origin of the district is a bit more complicated.
Monday, August 27, 1962 was the first day of school at the brand new River Valley High School. It was the culmination of a years-long process of consolidation. An imperfect arrangement that, even more than 50 years later, is still causing controversy. Below is a brief timeline of the creation of the district, and how the roots of some of the district's current issues can be traced back decades.
1959
After spending 10+ years using a "slow and steady" approach to encourage consolidation; the WI State Legislature invokes the nuclear option. The new law states that all rural school districts must consolidate into a high school district by 1962, or state funding would be cut off. Wisconsin had 5,463 school districts in 1952, the vast majority being rural one-room schoolhouses. By 1964, mass consolidation cut the number to 739.
1960
February
A citizens committee draws up a proposal to the WI Dept. of Education to combine the 23 area school districts.
March
Plain asks to delay the proposal. They are considering aligning with Reedsburg.
April
Wyoming withdraws from the proposal to join Dodgeville; only to re-join the proposal the following week.
Plain votes to officially join Reedsburg. (311-12)
Plain committee vote that would finalize consolidation with Reedsburg ends in a tie. (6-6)
April 26. The remaining 21 area districts vote 20-1 to officially consolidate. Blue Mounds was the lone dissent. (closer to Black Earth)
May
Wyoming committee votes against merging with Dodgeville. (5-1)
Lawyer from Portage is brought in to be the independent tie-breaking vote in the Plain/Reedsburg matter. He votes in favor of Plain joining RV, his basis being that Plain was too far away from Reedsburg.
June
Wyoming agrees to a dispersal: 78% to RV, 22% to Dodgeville.
"River Valley School District" name becomes official. Originally known as RVSD #2. (who RVSD #1 was is currently unknown.)
Original RV School Board formed: Roy Anding, Nordeen Gilbertson, Ken Hottmann, Helen Martin, Myron Moore, Charles Roberts, and Walter Urfer.
August
Two sites proposed for the High School. The Russell / Slauson farm 1.8 miles north of Spring Green. And the Dick Ederer farm just west of Spring Green. (current site)
Current site wins vote. (539-105) Cost of land $30,000.
RVSD officially opens. 1,117 students on first day. Helena and Hogan become first buildings closed by district.
November
District hires Jack Klund to design the High School. Capacity roughly 550.
1961
June
Referendum vote for $950K to build high school pass overwhelmingly. (212-13) Extremely low turnout, over 1,500 ballots were printed.
High School groundbreaking ceremony.
1962
March
Sunnyside area of Plain votes to join RV.
Governor blocks Plain's appeal to remain an independent district.
High School colors and nickname chosen:
Black / White - All three former school's accent color was white
- Arena Purple Knights - Purple & White
- Lone Rock Rockets - Blue & White
- Spring Green Shamrocks - Green & White
Blackhawks nickname chosen as a combination of the bird, and Chief Blackhawk. Logo has always been a bird. (though, depending on the era, it has frequently switched between white and black)
Final 9-12 enrollment totals for the old High Schools:
- Arena - 82
- Lone Rock - 101
- Spring Green - 156
August
First day ever at RV High School. Enrollment 393.
1965
August
RVHS already at overcapacity. (596)
1966
March
Plain agrees to join RV.
May
St. Luke's High School graduates final senior class (23 seniors, 71 total)
August
Addition of Plain / St. Luke's to RV exacerbates already overcrowded buildings.
Referendum to address crowding issues fails. (914-348)
September
West Spring Green school is re-opened to ease crowding.
1967
February
Crowding, and makeshift classrooms, at old High Schools featured in Wisconsin State Journal Article.
- Quonset huts used at Arena
- Community building used at Lone Rock
- Hallways used at Spring Green
- 29 total safety violations in the district.
- All three former high schools deemed partial or complete fire-traps.
March
2nd version of August '66 referendum fails. (1,210-389)
October
Double Building referendum fails
- Junior High (701-460)
- Elementary Schools for Arena and Lone Rock (632-556)
December
Round 2 for Oct. referendum
- Elementary referendum passes (674-655)
- Junior High fails (750-544)
1968
July
RVSD votes to build the Junior High at annual meeting. (126-59)
September
Round 3 for Junior High referendum passes. (1029-706)
1969
August
The Class of '73, still RV's largest ever class, begins 9th grade with 202 students.
They are forced to attend the new Junior High. Had they gone to the High School the 9-12 enrollment would have been roughly 710. The building is not even a decade old, yet is already nearing obsolescence.
Freshmen would not return to the High School until the 2nd north hallway addition was built prior to the 91-92 school year.
The trajectory of RVSD can be traced back to the near-critical error of building a high school that was far to small to meet the needs of the district. In defense of the administration of that time. When the school was designed in 1960, Plain remaining independent was a very real possibility. Yet, even taking out Plain's enrollment in this time period would still put all of the buildings over capacity.
This mistake left the district in a constant state of playing catch-up with its numerous aged buildings; and created a backlash with voters as dozens of building referendums appeared on the ballot in the decades to come. Ironically, today the district faces similar, yet inverted, problems. The High School is now far too large for the district's shrinking enrollment.