DATE: September 12, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Kelley Landano, County Librarian
Penny Raven, Chair, Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission
SUBJECT: Centennial Schools - Kingsburg High School and Washington Elementary
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve designation and placement of Kingsburg High School and Washington Elementary on the County’s Register of Centennial Schools; and
2. Authorize the Chairman to execute the certificate for these Centennial Schools.
REPORT
Approval of these actions will allow Kingsburg High School and Washington Elementary School to be placed on the County’s Register of Centennial Schools. The Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission recommend schools that qualify for placement on the Fresno County’s Register of Centennial Schools. Approval by the Board of Supervisors encourages preservation of the County’s history.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could choose to not approve these actions, which would result in these schools not being placed on the County’s Register of Centennial Schools at this time.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions.
DISCUSSION:
The Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission, with support from Randy R. Morris, Superintendent of Kingsburg Joint Union High School District and Wesley Sever, Superintendent of Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District recommend your Board approve the applications to add Kingsburg High School and Washington Elementary School to the Centennial Schools Register.
Kingsburg High School
Kingsburg High School was organized on July 22, 1905 to serve Kingsburg, Harrison, Clay and Riverbend Elementary School Districts. Kingsburg High School is unique in the State of California as it is a single school within a joint high school district serving three counties: Fresno, Kings, and Tulare Counties.
Like most early high schools, it did not have its own building so students met in classrooms on the second floor of Washington Grammar School in Kingsburg. The first permanent building of Kingsburg High School was built in 1907 with the first class, consisting of four students, graduating in 1908.
The number of students grew rapidly facilitating the need for a new building by 1915. A new building was built in 1916 and expanded over the years. This building remained in use until demolished in 1972 for a major campus renovation.
The Kingsburg Joint Union High School District currently serves four elementary districts: Clay, Kings River, Kingsburg, and Traver School Districts. The high school campus currently provides four different programs - regular high school classes, the Adult School, Independent Study, and Oasis High School, a community day school.
Washington Elementary School
Washington Elementary School is in Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District. It was erected in 1888 to serve students grades first through eighth and became the third school for Kingsburg Elementary School District. The school campus is still located at the original address, 1501 Ellis Street, which was considered out in the country at the time it was first built. By 1903 the students outgrew the original building and a new two-story brick building was erected. The second story was originally used by Kingsburg High School.
The school district evolved into Kingsburg Joint Union School District as it merged with three rural elementary districts in the area. The 1903 building was abandoned in 1934 and eventually demolished due to structural defects. The new school building was built in 1938 on the same site under the depression era Works Progress Administration program and was expanded over the years.
The District changed to a Charter District in 1996 with Washington Elementary serving pre-school, transitional kindergarten, and kindergarten students in Kingsburg. Students in first through eighth grade attend other schools in the district as follows: first grade, Roosevelt Elementary; second and third grades, Lincoln Elementary; fourth through sixth grades, Reagan Elementary; and seventh and eighth grades, Rafer Johnson Junior High School.
The Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission reviewed the applications for these two schools during its May 11, 2017 meeting and unanimously voted to recommend that they both be listed on the Fresno County’s Register of Centennial Schools.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Centennial Schools Certificates
CAO ANALYST:
Samantha Buck