Russell Community School District was a school district headquartered in
Russell, Iowa
Russell is a city in Lucas County, Iowa, Lucas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 472 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline from the 559 population in 2000 United States Census, 2000.
History
Russell was Municipa ...
. It operated two schools: Russell Elementary School and Russell Jr./Sr. High School.
History
In the 1950s the bluebirds were the school mascot, but it was changed to the trojans because opposing teams had mocked the bluebirds.
[ ]
Clipping of first
an
of second page at
Newspapers.com
Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...
.
In April 2008 the district had about 154 students in all grade levels, including 12 in the 12th grade, making it Iowa's 19th-smallest school district.
That year, over 40% of the pupils living in the Russell district boundaries attended other public school districts, with the
Chariton Community School District
The Chariton Community School District is a rural public school district headquartered in Chariton, Iowa, USA. The district is mostly within Lucas County; a small portion is in Marion County. Its service area includes Chariton, Lucas
Lucas o ...
taking the majority of students in that group.
[
In May 2008 all members of the Iowa Board of Education voted to permanently close the Russell district. The state voted so because of financial issues in the Russell district; the district spent funds on general expenses and salaries that were supposed to be used for facilities only. The state gained the authority to force districts to close for financial reasons because of a law passed in 2007. Russell was the second district ever forced to close by the Iowa state board.]The Des Moines Register
''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States.
History Early period
The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cab ...
'' stated that because the school closed, the Russell community had its identity damaged.[ In July 2008 the Chariton district, desiring to sell the Russell building, decided to remove material from the Russell School.
The city of Russell is now in the Chariton district.Chariton]
" Iowa Department of Education
The Iowa Department of Education sets the standards for all public institutions of education in Iowa and accredits private as well as public schools. It is headquartered in Des Moines.
Organization
As of 2020, the Iowa Department of Education c ...
. Retrieved on June 18, 2018. In addition to the Chariton district, Russell district students were also reassigned to the Albia Community School District and the Wayne Community School District
Wayne Community School District or Wayne Community Schools (WCS) is a rural public school district headquartered in Corydon, Iowa. It operates Wayne Elementary School and Wayne Junior/Senior High School.
The district is mostly in Wayne Count ...
.[
]
See also
School districts forced by the Iowa Board of Education to merge
* Farragut Community School District
* Hedrick Community School District
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Special report on the Former Russell Community School District for the period July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008
- State of Iowa
*
Defunct school districts in Iowa
Education in Lucas County, Iowa
2008 disestablishments in Iowa
School districts disestablished in 2008
{{Iowa-school-stub