42°51′08″N 94°51′03″W / 42.852318°N 94.850786°W / 42.852318; -94.850786

Laurens–Marathon Community School District
Location
Laurens, Iowa
Buena Vista, Clay, Palo Alto, and Pocahontas counties
United States
Coordinates42.852318, -94.850786
District information
TypeLocal school district
GradesK–8
Established1976
SuperintendentKevin Wood
Budget$4,732,000 (2015–16)[1]
NCES District ID1916420[1]
Students and staff
Students147 (2018–19)[1]
Teachers14.23 FTE[1]
Staff22.16 FTE[1]
Student–teacher ratio10.33[1]
District mascotChargers
Other information
Websitewww.laurens-marathon.k12.ia.us

Laurens–Marathon Community School District is a rural public school district headquartered in Laurens, Iowa,[2] also serving Marathon. The district occupies sections of Buena Vista, Clay, Palo Alto, and Pocahontas counties.[3]

History

It formed on July 1, 1976, by the merger of the Laurens Community School District and the Marathon Community School District.[4]

On July 1, 2010, the South Clay Community School District was dissolved, and Laurens–Marathon received portions of the district.[4]

In 2014, the South Central Calhoun Community School District, a district not contiguous with Laurens–Marathon,[5] entered a superintendent-sharing agreement. The shared superintendent was Jeff Kruse.[6]

The district began partial-day sharing, in which students from one district went to another district for some classes, with the Pocahontas Community School District around 2015.[7]

Kruse was scheduled to leave at the end of the 2016–17 school year.[8] Scott Williamson became the new superintendent in July 2017.[9] That year, the L-M and Pocahontas districts began whole grade-sharing, in which one district sent its children to another district for certain grade levels.[7] L-M had multiple classes it was required to have in order to maintain high school grades, but insufficient numbers of students were enrolled in them. As a result, Laurens–Marathon sent its high school students to Pocahontas high school. Around that time period, Laurens–Marathon elementary school students had, as part of a preliminary indication, increased test scores.[10]

Laurens–Marathon is notable for its severe mismanagement of funds, particularly pertaining to the fine arts. Additionally, Laurens–Marathon middle school students were once given textbooks so old that they had to write in the 27th Amendment to the Constitution.

Schools

The district operates two schools in a single facility in Laurens:[1]

  • Laurens–Marathon Elementary School
  • Laurens–Marathon Middle School

The current 84-foot (26 m) by 50-foot (15 m) gymnasium opened in September 1998. The previous 76-foot (23 m) by 48-foot (15 m) gymnasium, built in the early 1940s, was called "The Barn".[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Laurens-Marathon Comm School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  2. ↑ Home. Laurens–Marathon Community School District. Retrieved on June 20, 2018. "Laurens-Marathon CSD, 300 W Garfield St, Laurens, IA 50554".
  3. ↑ "Laurens-Marathon." Iowa Department of Education. Retrieved on July 20, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Reorganization & Dissolution Actions Since 1965-66." Iowa Department of Education. Retrieved on July 20, 2018.
  5. ↑ "East Sac, South Central will not share superintendent". Carroll Daily Times Herald. May 14, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  6. ↑ Schafer, Mark (August 26, 2014). "Laurens-Marathon to share superintendent with South Central Calhoun". Storm Lake Pilot Tribune. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  7. 1 2 Kaspari, Peter (February 19, 2017). "Laurens-Marathon: Sharing". The Messenger. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  8. ↑ "South Central Calhoun: Facility improvements". The Messenger. February 19, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  9. ↑ Kaspari, Peter (July 28, 2017). "Williamson is new shared superintendent at L-M". The Messenger. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Laurens-Marathon: Whole-grade sharing, The agreement is working". The Messenger. January 28, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  11. ↑ ""The Barn"." Laurens–Marathon Community School District. November 4, 1999. Retrieved on July 21, 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.