Students pictured working in the mid-1960s at the new, 14-classroom elementary building in Traer which was part of the reorganized North Tama County Community School District. PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAER HISTORICAL MUSEUM

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of articles documenting the history of the school buildings in North Tama County Community School District courtesy of the Traer Historical Museum.

TRAER – School building programs in the early 1960s were tied to increased enrollment and school district reorganization. The Traer-Clutier High School building in Traer was crowded and improvements were needed to improve the educational program.

Residents of the Dinsdale Consolidated School District voted on December 4, 1962, to continue to operate their school despite having been warned by the Iowa State Department of Public Instruction that Dinsdale must reorganize before the 1962-63 school year or operate without financial aid or high school accreditation.

Traer-Clutier proceeded with building plans. The growing elementary enrollment created the need for more space, regardless of whether Dinsdale joined the district or not. Proposed plans called for the construction of a 14-classroom elementary building along with remodeling in the high school and an addition for the industrial arts department. The $500,000 bond issue passed in February 1962.

Petitions asking for reorganization of a North Tama County Community school district were circulated in the Traer-Clutier and Dinsdale school districts in June 1963. The petitions needed to be signed by 20% of the voters of each district. The proposed district included all of the Traer-Clutier district and most of the Dinsdale district.

IMAGE COURTESY OF TRAER HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The plan called for pupils from kindergarten through third grade from the Dinsdale and Buckingham areas to attend school in Buckingham, while those in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades at Dinsdale, and all 7th and 8th graders from Traer, Dinsdale and Buckingham to attend Dinsdale.

The Tama County Board of Education held a public hearing on Friday, August 2, 1963, to review the proposed plan and hear arguments for and against the plan. After the hearing, the county board voted to delete about one-third of the Dinsdale district from the plan. An appeal to the ruling was filed in the district court.

A major concern was whether there were enough students left adjacent to the Dinsdale school to economically justify the elementary attendance center that had been planned. The school boards met on October 14 in an attempt to settle the differences and drop the appeal, but no agreement could be reached.

In December 1963, the appeal was dropped to allow the reorganization to proceed. An election was held on January 8, 1964. The measure passed overwhelmingly in the Traer-Clutier district while also passing in the Dinsdale district by a 103 “yes” to 47 “no” margin. The vote allowed the formation of the North Tama County Community School District effective July 1, 1964.

When school began on August 31, the junior high was moved to Dinsdale, and the Buckingham building was closed. The Clutier attendance center continued to operate as an elementary and junior high school. The high school was in Traer.

North Tama’s glass hallway pictured in the 1960s from the south. The hallway was built following the 1962 bond referendum to link the new elementary building with the 1917 three-story brick high school building (right side of photo). PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAER HISTORICAL MUSEUM

An elementary school at Dinsdale was not feasible, with one-third of the Dinsdale district going to either Reinbeck or Gladbrook. All Buckingham, Dinsdale and Traer pupils attended elementary school in the new elementary building in Traer. The elementary classes in Traer were large for several years, typically 20 to 30 pupils per teacher. Larger classes were split into three sections for first and second grade. The Clutier class size was typically 15 to 20 students per teacher.

A public open house was held in October 1964 to showcase the changes in the school building in Traer. The new 14-room elementary building allowed all of the elementary classes to move out of the three-story building. The two buildings were joined by a glass hallway.

High school teachers now had dedicated classrooms and no longer had to lug materials from room to room. A dedicated audio-visual room with proper lighting was available for use by all teachers. Offices for the principal, the guidance counselor, a small conference room and school records were placed together on the third floor. Previously, they were housed at opposite ends of the building. The main office and Superintendent’s office were placed on the ground floor.

The prior year, 191 students used one science lab. There were now two large, modern, well-equipped science laboratories. One was dedicated to biology and earth sciences, the other to chemistry and physics. Some classrooms were enlarged to accommodate more students. The home economics department was updated with modern appliances and equipment, improvements were made in the library, the commercial department and even study hall areas.

A spacious new industrial arts department and classroom allowed for an expanded program. The old shop was converted to a band room, and the former band room became the vocal music room. The high school addition included spacious boys and girls locker rooms, a wrestling room and coaches’ offices.

IMAGE COURTESY OF TRAER HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The impact of additional space and remodeling on the new North Tama High School was much greater than the public realized. High school students had been jammed together on the third floor for most of their classes. Eliminating crowded classrooms, congested hallways and providing adequate equipment for classes and laboratories provided a better learning environment.

IMAGE COURTESY OF TRAER HISTORICAL MUSEUM

IMAGE COURTESY OF TRAER HISTORICAL MUSEUM