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Riverdale School District 89

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Riverdale Grade and High School, 1988

Riverdale School District 89[1] was a school district headquartered in Riverdale, North Dakota.

The Riverdale School District had portions in Mercer County and in McLean County. The Associated Press described the district as "divided equally" between the counties.[2]

History

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Elementary school addition

In March 1952 the district was established taking the third section of the former North Dakota Victoria School District Number 7, which had been created in 1906.[3] The Riverdale Grade and High School,[4] then a part of the North Dakota Victoria School District, and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, opened in 1948. The federal government of the United States owned that school building though it did not provide educational services there.[3] The first principal of the Riverdale School was A. G. Pritchet.[5] The high school had not yet been established in 1948, and so the district contracted with Garrison, North Dakota's school system for high school services.[6] In 1948 there was overcrowding as a number of students who had not yet signed up to go to school began attending classes.[7]

The first graduation ceremony occurred in 1950.[8]

At one point the Pick City Sitka school consolidated into the Riverdale School.[8]

In 1953, the North Dakota State Department of Public Instruction began to recognize the school district.[3]

In 1963, a boiler room was added to the building. In 1971, a separate building was established for elementary school classes.[9]

In 1986, the federal government gave the school facility to the city government, so the city government now owned it.[3]

The high school had an interactive television (ITV) studio.[10]

The high school closed in 1992,[11] with students east of the Missouri River transferring to the high school in Underwood, North Dakota and the students west of the Missouri River transferring to the high school in Stanton, North Dakota.[citation needed] The Riverdale school district had a tuition agreement with the Underwood school district.[11] Students south of Highway 1806 had a choice between Stanton High School and Hazen High School.[12] In 1992 area residents criticized the federal government's move to ask for money back that the federal government believed had not supposed to have been given to the school.[13] Only three students graduated in 1992.[14] The ITV studio was to be moved to Bismarck State College.[10] After 1992, there was an elementary school remaining in Riverdale.[11]

By 1993 the district shared a superintendent with the Underwood School District 8. That year, Wade Faul filled that position.[15]

Closure

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In 1993 members of the Riverdale School District school board voted to abolish their school district, with the Underwood and Hazen districts to obtain pieces of it.[2] Circa 1993 there was a campaign to move portions of the Riverdale school district into the Hazen school district, which would have resulted in the elementary school closing. Four members of the North Dakota Annexation Board voted against the petition to have the transfer occur, while three voted in favor.[16] The petition was later refiled.[17]

Circa 1994 a decision was made to abolish Riverdale Elementary School. In 1994 the leadership of the Hazen district wanted to modify the proposed border between the Hazen and Underwood districts.[2] By March 1994 there was a conflict between the Hazen, Underwood, and Stanton districts over which district would take which pieces of the former Riverdale school district.[18] There were separate school reorganizing committees for each county, and each made a different decision, which meant that the state government had to decide how the district would be divided.[19] In April 1994, three state board members voted for a plan to give 78% of the district's taxable valuation to Underwood, while two voted against it.[20]

The last day of school was May 23, 1994.[8]

Post-closure

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The former high school became a hotel and resort.[21]

Athletics

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The high school athletic teams of the former school were named the Knights and the school colors were red and white. The school fielded a nine-man football team. The team played local nine-man teams including Stanton, Goodrich, White Shield, Halliday, McClusky and Bowdon.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ CIC's School Directory. Vol. 35. 1989. p. unstated, Google search results show "Riverdale School District 89".
  2. ^ a b c "School officials want new line dividing districts". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. Associated Press. 1994-01-13. p. A9 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d Water Resources Corps of Engineers' Transfer of Three Townsites : Briefing Report to the Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S. Senate. United States General Accounting Office. 1988. p. 16. - PDF (on PDF p. 21/39) - Alternate scan with lower photo quality
  4. ^ Water Resources Corps of Engineers' Transfer of Three Townsites : Briefing Report to the Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S. Senate. United States General Accounting Office. 1988. p. 18. - PDF (on PDF p. 23/39) - Alternate scan with lower photo quality
  5. ^ "Name First Principal at Riverdale School". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. United Press International. 1948-08-01. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Riverdale School is Overcrowded". Morning Pioneer. Mandan, North Dakota. Associated Press. 1948-09-08. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Riverdale School Schedule Upset By New Student Influx". The Forum. Associated Press. 1948-09-09. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c Wolfe, Holly (1994-05-15). "Riverdale school closing leaves silent tears". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Water Resources Corps of Engineers' Transfer of Three Townsites : Briefing Report to the Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S. Senate. United States General Accounting Office. 1988. p. 17. - PDF (on PDF p. 22/39) - Alternate scan with lower photo quality
  10. ^ a b Jones, Rene'e Beasley (1992-12-09). "BSC to beam classes to high schools". Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c Stockdill, Patricia (1992-05-30). "Riverdale works out new system". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 8A – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Jones, Rene'e Beasley (1992-07-21). "Riverdale fighting agreements". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 2B – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Riverdale rallies again to save school". Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. 1992-04-15. p. 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Riverdale". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. 1992-05-14. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Jones, Rene'e Beasley (1993-01-29). "Riverdale weighs options for school". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "N.D. panel halts school closure". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. Associated Press. 1993-04-15. p. B9 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Board to discuss district division". The Forum. Fargo, North Dakota. Associated Press. 1994-03-21. p. A5 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Jones, Rene'e Beasley (1994-03-23). "Board delays Riverdale split". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Jones, Rene'e Beasley (1994-02-04). "State gets Riverdale dispute". The Bismarck Tribune. Bismarck, North Dakota. p. 8A – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Briefly around the region". Grand Forks Herald. Associated Press. 1994-04-13. p. 8A – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Brown, Kyara (2022-04-18). "Riverdale High School completely transformed into unique vacation experience". KX News North Dakota. Retrieved 2024-11-28.