History of the Nampa School
District
School days began in Nampa
on October 3, 1887. Twenty children
climbed the wooden outside steps to the second story of a frame building built
by Justice of the Peace Bowman on 12th Avenue between Front and First
Streets. Bowman, described in the
Caldwell Tribune as a “fine gentleman”, not only offered his building but also
served as the teacher, though he was not qualified.
Earlier that year Alexander
Duffes, Nampa's founder, had traveled from Boise to the
Snake River and from the present site of Midway to the site of Kuna, and barely
managed to sign up the necessary nine children to form a school district. Many heads of Nampa families were saloon
keepers and gamblers who didn't care about education and didn't want the
expense of a school.
In April, the first school
board, which included Duffes, opened bids for a
schoolhouse to cost $1,000. It was never
built, so classes started in the Bowman building. When the new District 37 ran out of money, Duffes paid the teacher from his own pocket.
By Christmas, a qualified
teacher, Miss Elizabeth Thatcher, arrived from Minneapolis. Her wages of $55 a
month depended on the district’s financial status; one month she received $10,
another month $82.50.
The following March, an
election on bonding for a $2,500 school failed, 20 to 10 votes. On Sept. 4, the district's balance was $5.41.
In 1889, Miss Lomas was
hired at a wage of $65 a month. In
spring and fall she had 10 to 15 Pupils.
In winter, when there was no farm work, 40 to 50 Pupils came from age
four to nineteen.
In 1890, Duffes built a brick bank building on the corner of 11th
Avenue and lst Street (across from the Nampa Public
Library). The school moved in upstairs
from the crowded Bowman Building and became a two-teacher school.
Later that year (whether or
if bonds were voted on), a building was started on the site of today's Lakeview
School. This was a most unpopular location "way out in the country".
The November 23 Idaho Statesman in "Nampa Notes" stated in part:
"It takes a field
glass to see the new school house from the depot. By some hocus pocus it is being built towards
Boise. Children will have to cross the
railroad tracks, cross Indian Creek, and ascend quite a hill. What's the matter
with the school board?"
While it was being built,
children were warned not to go near it because of rattlesnakes. Then more growing pains: there were so many
unpaid bills the contractor locked up the school and refused to deliver the
keys, and when the brick school finally did open in the fall of 1892, only two
downstairs rooms were finished.
It was first called Nampa
School, later renamed Lakeview because of Lake Ethel, the reservoir formed for
irrigation purposes. Today, Lake Ethel
is the beautifully landscaped bowl of Lakeview Park.
The sagebrush around the
school was so tall that girls builtplayhouses in it
and only the tops of their heads were visible.
In spring, they gathered bouquets of beautiful wild flowers.
Each room had a big pot bellied
stove. When the stoves smoked, school
was dismissed while the stove pipes and chimneys were cleaned.
Before recess, each teacher
sent a pupil out to the pump for a bucket of water. It was passed up and down the aisles so each
child could drink out of the common tin dipper. (Mrs. George Meffan said, "We survived what today would be called
unsanitary practices.”)
A bridge was built across
Indian Creek for the children. Many found it more exciting to use a long ladder
someone laid across the creek, stepping from rung to rung above the swirling
water.
According to a clipping in
an old autograph book, there were 95 children enrolled in November, 1894. By December, 1899, the total was 198: 37 in
Mr. Hull's high school, intermediate rooms with 39 and 50, and 72 in the
primary room! These busy teachers put on
programs to raise money for the school's interior and for a library. Lights from bobbing lanterns flickered at
night along winding paths as families walked to the schoolhouse. Approved salaries in 1899 were $85 per month
for the principal and $60 per month for the teachers.
The earliest records in
possession of the District indicate that a vote was held on May 17, 1898 to
determine the question whether or not said District No 37 be established an
Independent School District. Election
results were 55 “Yes” and 2 “No” votes.
It would be known as Independent School District No. 37, Canyon County,
Idaho. The appointed Board of Trustees
consisted of Lydia P. Griffith and A.K. Stoddard until the next school
election; H.A. Partridge and Julins Steinmeier for two years after such election; and Mrs. Mary
E. McGee and H.J. Wilterding for four years after
such election.
On May 25, 1900, the first
8th grade graduation exercises were held for 5 boys and 7 girls who had passed
the required county exams.
By the turn of the century,
Lakeview was jammed with pupils. In
1900, the trustees purchased for $450 a block west of town. A school was built way out in the sagebrush
(the present 12th Avenue block between 5th and 6th Streets where Home Federal
is located.) This typical frame one room
type country school with windows on both sides was deemed a credit to the
town. In October, there were 54 pupils
in the primary room - the same number as Lakeview's primary, 52 in the
intermediate room, 56 in the grammar grades room, and 38 in Professor Wilson’s
high school.
Mushrooming growth made it
necessary the following March to hold a bond election for a new building; it
passed without a single dissenting vote.
Until red brick Kenwood was completed, the third and fourth grades met
at the Presbyterian Church and others crowded into the already crowded Lakeview. The city made a sidewalk on the west side of
H Street (13th Ave.) so children wouldn't have to wade through dust and
mud. Classes started in the new Kenwood
in November, 1901.
Today's teacher wouldn't
envy the fashions worn by the turn of the century school marm:
long sleeves, waist nipped in with a corset, long skirts over petticoats, high
button shoes, long hair piled high. Girls had long hair in braids and bows and
wore mostly white dresses with long black stockings. Boys wore overalls or dressed up in below the
knee knickers with long stockings. There
were no dilemmas about which pair of shoes to wear. Most children were grateful for their one
pair.
The first Nampa High
graduation was held on May 28, l903, at the beautiful Dewey Palace Hotel. Nine girls graduated, each wearing a white
dress she had made herself of tulle or dotted swiss
with shirred sleeves and a long train.
Each graduate participated - salutatory, valedictory, essay, prophecy, oration. The program was reprinted in the first issue of
Nampa High's Sage in 1910.
In 1905, three courses were
added to the high school curriculum: German, an additional year of history, and
bookkeeping, as well as equipment for science.
Those three teachers had to be versatile! Later a choice of three courses was offered -
English, Classical, Scientific. Graduates from any of these could enter the
state university without exams.
The unrelenting population
boom continued. A desk was squeezed into
every possible space. In 1905, there
were five grade school teachers at Lakeview, and five grade school and three
high school teachers at Kenwood. One of
the high school teachers served as superintendent.¬
After inspections and much
discussion, it was decided that 15-year old Lakeview was out of date and
unsafe. In April, 1906, a bond election
for a new building carried, 132 for and one against.
Legal disagreements and
other problems delayed construction, so classes were held in the old building
while the new one was built in front of it.
When nearly completed in May, it was discovered that there was no place
for the bell! The board authorized $175
for a belfry above the front door. The
new Lakeview was declared the "finest school building in Idaho."
A 1907 bond election for
$20,000, which carried 100 for and none against, made possible a wing on
Kenwood, a Lakeview heating plant, and the purchase of two school sites east
and west of town. Now, Kenwood had 150 hiqh school students in four classes. Each of the 12 grade
classes had 45 pupils. ¬In 1909, a right
wing was added to Kenwood. Substitute
pay was approved at $2 per day – this was taken out of the teacher’s pay.
To keep pace with the
relentless increase, in April, 1910, the board authorized an election to bond
$35,000 to buy a site and build a school.
To their amazement, it failed. So
did a second election. Much controversy
and criticism followed, so the board decided there would be no bond elections
for awhile.
And there were none for
five years. Of course, that didn't stem the tide of growth. The overflow was housed in buildings
downtown, Chamber of Commerce rooms, and wherever space could be rented.
In 1913, the second floor
of the Post Office was equipped for the high schoo1. In spite of the facilities, there was a
19-piece band, a football team, and publication of the annual, The Sage.
The need for expansion was
kept before the public. The Leader
Herald reported that Lakeview and Kenwood were congested, and the high school
needed an auditorium, a gym, study hall, and a drinking fountain. The superintendent reported that because
courses of interest could not be offered, only 99 of the 142 high school
students completed the year. Out of l,023 pupils in the system first semester, failures totaled
127 with 89 conditional promotions. The
cost of instruction per pupil was $23.75 and the salaries of 28 female and two
male teachers was $23,632 - an average of $788 each.
Plans for a high school had
been publicized since 1911. By 1915, the
enrollment was 221, and the townspeople finally realized that a high school was
needed. The State Superintendent said,
"Such vile air, poor light and unsanitary conditions prevail in the
building used. I would recommend the
state board of health close it if any other building were available.”
A bond election for a high
school passed in February, 1916.
Costs had spiraled,
construction steel as much as 200%, so the
$60,500 allotted fell far
short. Plans were trimmed and E.H. Dewey
did the electric work at cost. The
manual training classes made many of the fixtures.
The high school opened
September 24, 1917. In 1920, a six- room
annex was added, and in time a gym, machine shop and agricultural building were
also added.
In December, 1918, the
burgeoning enrollment reached 1,881. The board inaugurated a bungalow system,
one-room structures at Kenwood, Lakeview and at the sites of Eastside and
Roosevelt.
Wilma Patterson, who went
to Kenwood in the 1920's, relates, "There was an open ditch along 6th
street where we could push each other in.
In the vacant lots by the school, woodchucks dug their dens, skunks were
a problem, and at night we could hear coyotes."
The task of providing for
record-breaking enrollments with totally inadequate finances was a staggering
one for the board and the administration.
Many citizens objected to frill courses such as agriculture, athletics,
debate, music and art.
A bond election for a new
high school failed in 1927. Then on May
11, 1928, a bond was approved for a new concept, a junior high. After problems that wound up in the Supreme
Court, Central and an addition to Lakeview were ready by mid September, 1929.
Then the great depression
descended. In September, 1931, teacher
salaries were cut 5%. With later cuts,
the maximum salary with an M.A. was $1,400.
Classroom loads increased. P.E.
and the paper, Growl, were discontinued.
To save utilities, night functions, except the junior-senior prom, were
abolished. One salary per family became
the rule, so all married teachers not dependent on their salaries were dismissed.
Homeroom teachers doubled
as counselors. When 70 senior boys were
assigned to a room with 32 bolted down desks, they sat two to a desk with one
foot in the aisle to keep balance perched on half a seat. Late-comers sat on the teacher's desk. All problems were discussed as a group. Any individual conferences were held at the
door before class or after school.
Then came help from Uncle
Sam - an offspring born of the depression called WPA. In 1936, WPA remodeled the high school
auditorium into eight classrooms. The
following year it built an auditorium for Central. A six-room school with auditorium was built
at Eastside to replace the six bungalows.
A year later the auditorium had to be divided into classrooms. (In 1949 four rooms and a gym were added.)
In 1937, WPA built
Roosevelt, replacing eight bungalows, some in use for over 12 years. President Roosevelt, on a Western trip, drove
by in an open car to see the school.
Total enrollment in the district almost reached 3000 in 1940, but then
enrollments decreased during World War II.
It wasn’t until 1946 that the student enrollment passed 3000. Average class sizes in 1949 were: First grade – 33; Second grade – 33.5; Third
grade – 39; Fourth grade – 35; Fifth grade – 30; Sixth grade – 37; Seventh and
eighth grade teachers meet around 200 pupils daily.
Effective on July 27, 1948,
the Independent School District
#37 became Class A School District #131.
Today, the district is more commonly referred to as Nampa School
District #131.
A bond for Lincoln was
approved in 1949. It opened after Christmas, so modern it was called the show
school of the district.
Now the board concentrated
on plans for a campus type senior high school to be located on 12th Avenue,
despite objections to the location - way out in the farming and sagebrush area
with only a gravel road. The original 39
acres were purchased in 1948 for $35,000.
The new buildings were ready for the 1955 56 school year, the two-story
classroom building, administration building, library, lunchroom - study hall,
little theater. A second classroom
building, a vocational building and a gym were dedicated in 1957. The high school building program represented
a total outlay of $1,271,000.
The old high school became
West Junior High.
In 1963, Parkview was built
as an annex to Lakeview.
During the 80 years that
District 37 mushroomed from 20 pupils in 1887 to 5,551 in 1967, a number of
rural schools had their births, growth and demise. They began as one-room schools and in time,
all consolidated with the Nampa District.
Some primary and intermediate classes continued in these schools for a
time.
No. 47 GREENHURST was built
in the early 1890's. Another room was
added in 1912. The brick building was
built in 1929 for $12,000. Greenhurst joined Nampa in 1961 and was used as a
kindergarten until the building was sold.
No. 49 LONE STAR was built
around the turn of the century. In 1908,
the present brick building was built. It
consolidated with Nampa in 1952. The
building is now Donna Velvick's Hope House for
handicapped children. It is currently
(July, 2001) up for sale since the Hope House is moving to Marsing.
No. 70 HIGHLINE opened in
1900 and joined Greenhurst by 1954.¬
No. 17 SCISM's first school
was moved to its present location in 1909.
In 1918, a new two-room, brick school was built. Lively community spirit has resulted in
improvements and enlargement. In 1954,
another classroom, small office, library, and restrooms were added. After Bennett School consolidated with Scism, the multi-purpose building was built. Voters rejected a 1954 motion to join with
Nampa, but declining enrollments finally led to consolidation with Nampa School
District on August 15, 1988. The building
has been remodeled and expanded and is used for the Teen Parent program of the
Nampa School District.
No. 75 BENNETT School was
built in l9O9 at the intersection of Bennett and Lynwood roads. It had one room and opened with about 20
students. In 1917, a second room was
added since there were now 35 students in grades 1-8. In 1958, it consolidated with Scism. The building
was moved to Camp Stover, a church camp near McCall, to build a dining hall.
No. 60 SUNNY RIDGE started
in 1911 with 12 pupils. Soon children were having to sit around the room on benches. When Albert Lee tried to enroll his boys, Ira
Thompson, with 70 pupils, refused to take them.
Mr. Lee not only found desks for his boys somewhere, he became a member
of the school board. In 1918, the big
red brick building was built. The first
teacher taught only three months because there was no money in the
treasury. The next year Addie Blakeslee
taught until February with no salary. Sunny Ridge joined the Nampa district in
1953. After the new Sunny Ridge was
built in 1969, the old building served as the District Administration building,
then a kindergarten, then housed special education classes until it was sold.
No. 78 SOUTHSIDE BOULEVARD
was carved from Greenhurst, Happy Valley, and Sunny
Ridge in 1919, meeting for its first year in the Southside Boulevard Church
across the road. It joined the Nampa
District in 1961.
Other rural schools joined
either Nampa or other districts.
Among them were Lone Tree,
Orchard Ridge, Midway, and Roosevelt in Ada County.
Back to District 131. The baby boomers of the 40's were on
their way, but school population boomed on. In June, 1968, Superintendent Harry Mills
reported an enrollment increase of 213.
In March of that year,
Leonard Fletcher, Wesley Schober, and Herman Crowther donated 10 acres as a site for the new Sunny Ridge
School. Walter Opp's
bid of $466,675 was accepted, and the beautiful 12-room school with its new
team teaching, open classroom concept, was ready the fall of 1969.
The late 60’s were a
difficult era for the schools and the community. There was a diversity of opinions on how the
schools should be ran and on the leadership or lack of it. Dr. Rex Engelking
became the fourth superintendent in two years.
In February of 1969, four
principals were given a vote of no confidence and notified by the board that
they would begin teaching assignments.
In October of 1970, there was a highly publicized suit involving a
patron's disparaging remarks about a teacher at Sunny Ridge. It was eventually resolved in favor of the
teacher.
Bill Barnard, Director of
Services for the district, says, "The years of 1969 and 1970 were
especially trying ones. Teacher turnover
was high and teacher morale was low. Fifty-nine
teachers resigned at the end of the year and 60 new ones were hired. This was on the elementary level and 33% on
the secondary. Student behavior
reflected this unrest. The board was
besieged with problems of long hair, short dresses, alcohol and drugs. The high school principal resigned. These problems were publicized statewide
until our schools had a very poor image indeed.
The passage of a bond levy, however, seemed to indicate that the
community was ready to ‘heal its wounds’ and start a new era."
In the meantime, the perpetual growth had
continued. Old West was in pathetic
condition. Central was seriously
overcrowded. In December, 1970, two
sites were purchased. After much discussion it was decided to try for two
junior highs and a bond election was scheduled for March. It passed by a vote of 3,013 to 1,335.
Many wanted to name the one
on Midland after Annie Laurie Bird, Nampa historian and long time high school
teacher. Part of this property, acquired
from Wesley Steck, had once belonged to Miss
Bird. In the end, it was named West
Junior High and the one on 12th Avenue became South Junior High. Both were ready August 23, 1972. Old West was later sold to the city. The building was razed and the property
became the site of the new city hall.
The Gym is still used by city recreation.
Other improvements in 1972
were a kitchen at Central and the grading and asphalting of the back lot
parking area at the high school. Central
became a 6th grade unit for the entire district.
In 1973, the Driver
Training building was built at South. At Nampa High, a media center and the
Trade and Industrial shop for classes such as auto mechanics and welding was
built.
In June of 1974, a
$2,400,000 bond levy made possible additional facilities at the high school and
an elementary school to replace Kenwood.
It was named Centennial and was ready in 1975.
Other 1975 and 1976
highlights were: A kindergarten program was authorized on May 13, 1975, a June
override levy failed, and a new one passed in August. Teacher negotiations reached the fact-finding
stage, then deteriorated, so there was a short strike
just before the opening of school.
Old Kenwood was put up for
auction in October with a minimum price of $150,OOO. There were no bids, so the board authorized
the building to be demolished for $12,121 and the property was rezoned. Former students and teachers were saddened
when old Kenwood bit the dust. In 1976,
after spirited competition, the property was sold to Home Federal Savings and
Loan for $228,000. "That,"
said Bill Barnard, “brought smiles to the faces of the school district
officials."
In 1976, the Medical Center
building on South Canyon was donated by the physicians and remodeled for
district offices and the MERC. The MERC
later moved out, but the building still serves as the district office.
Lakeview, built in 1907,
had long since needed remodeling. The condition of the basement rest rooms and
cafeteria was deplorable. Plans for
remodeling went into motion at a cost of $292,157 in the spring of 1977.
During the 70's and 80's
there have been over 15 additional
construction and improvement projects from small ones like
portable classrooms to major ones like the million dollar stadium, Bulldog Bowl
at
A new Greenhurst
Elementary School opened its doors in September of 1989. It added new classrooms to an area of the
city that was growing.
A population boom hit Nampa
during the 1990’s, greatly impacting the Nampa School District. After two failed bond levy elections, the
community finally passed a $24,850,000 bond.
This paid for the construction of four new elementary schools, one new
high school, and remodeling projects at other schools. Sherman, Park Ridge, and Iowa elementary
schools were built using the same prototype plans; they opened in the fall of
1995. Skyview
High School and Snake River Elementary opened in the fall of 1996. East Side Elementary was used one more year –
students from Central were moved to East Side.
This allowed for the total gutting and remodeling of Central. Central opened as a K-6 elementary school in
1996. The East Side property was
exchanged with the City of Nampa for other property and the school was
demolished. The Roosevelt property was
sold and that school was also demolished.
The Lakeview property was sold and is being used by a private
entity. Several buildings at Nampa High
were remodeled and the science wing was added to the campus. Other remodeling was done at other
buildings.
With these new buildings,
it was thought that the district could handle the growth for a few years, but
that was not the case since the growth expanded from 2% to over 6% annually. More portable classrooms were added,
especially at the elementary schools, and four elementary schools went to a
year-round, multi-track schedule in order to accommodate more students.
A 1998 supplemental levy
was passed for $4.4 million dollars. This
levy added eight classrooms to Skyview High School,
six classrooms and a new cafeteria to Sunny Ridge, and four classrooms each at
Park Ridge, Sherman, and Iowa elementary schools.
These additional classrooms
didn’t meet the growing needs for very long.
In May of 2001, district patrons approved a $39,750,000 levy for a new
middle school, three new elementary schools, remodeled professional-technical
facilities at Nampa High, new professional-technical facilities at Skyview High, a new gym at Centennial, and other remodeling
projects.
Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Ronald Reagan, and Owyhee elementary schools opened in the fall of 2002. The new professional-technical facilities
opened in January of 2003 and East Valley Middle School opened in August of 2003.
With the continued growth
of the district, patrons approved a $39,000,000 bond levy in October,
2003. This bond was for a new high
school, two more elementary schools, property acquisition, and renovations. After passing the bond, steel prices and
other construction costs rose dramatically, so only one elementary school was
built along with the high school. Willow
Creek Elementary opened in August, 2005; Columbia High School opened in August,
2006.
Growth continues. Another bond was approved in October,
2005. This bond for $45,000,000 was for
Endeavor Elementary, a new middle school, another elementary school, property
acquisition, maintenance issues and other projects at various schools in the
district. Endeavor Elementary opened in
the fall of 2007 and
Nampa
School District Superintendents
Henry Van Slooten
1887-1909
F.G. Kraeger
1909-1911
V. Meldo Hillis
1911-1915
C.J. Brosnan
1915-1919
A.S.
Erickson
1919-1921
W.F. Weisend
1921-1924
D.A.
Stephenson
1924-1930
John E.
Walsh
1930-1947
Fulton
Gale
1947-1957
Harry C.
Mills
1957-1969
Donald Ogelsby
1969-1970
Darrel Hatfield (acting) 1970-1971
Rex Engelking
1971-1981
Russell Joki
1981-1985
Stephenson Youngerman
1985-1989
Ray Reed (interim)
1989-1990
Steven
Schmitz
1990-1993
Merrill Anderson (interim) 1993-1994
Gary K.
Larsen
1994-
Most of
the information contained in this history was compiled by Mary Henshall. This was published in “A Centennial History
of Schools of The State of Idaho”, 1990, for the Idaho School Boards
Association.
Other
information was provided by residents of the smaller school districts that
combined with Nampa School District. Some information was obtained from
official Board of Trustees minutes for the Nampa School District.
Official
minutes of Nampa School District Board of Trustees meetings held since June,
1898, are on file at the District Office, 619 S. Canyon St., Nampa,
Idaho.
Schools in Nampa School District
Nampa
School
1892
Demolished
Later Lakeview School
Kenwood
School
1901
Demolished 1976
Lakeview
School
1907
Sold in 1996
Nampa High
School
1917
Demolished 1973
Later West Junior High
Central
Junior High
School
1929
Remodeled
Later Central Elementary
Eastside
School
1937
Demolished 1997
Roosevelt
School
1937
Demolished 1996
Lincoln
School
1950
Remodeled
Nampa
Senior High
School
1955
Parkview
School
1963
Sunny
Ridge
Elementary
1969
West
Junior
High
1972
Replaced old West
Later West Middle School
South
Junior
High
1972
Later South Middle School
Centennial
Elementary
1975
Replaced Kenwood
Greenhurst
Elementary
1989
Sherman
Elementary
1995
Replaced Eastside
Park Ridge
Elementary
1995
Iowa
Elementary
1995
Replaced Roosevelt
Snake
River
Elementary
1996
Replaced Lakeview
Skyview
High
School
1996
Owyhee
Elementary
2002
FD
Roosevelt Elementary
2002
Ronald
Reagan
Elementary
2002
East
Valley Middle
School
2003
Willow
Creek
Elementary
2005
Columbia
High
School
2006
Endeavor
Elementary
2007
Lone Star
Middle
School
2008
Lake Ridge
Elementary
2008