Two Rivers School District

Two Rivers School District No. 10 is a public school district in Yell, Perry, and Conway counties, Arkansas, United States. Two Rivers, headquartered in an unincorporated area in Yell County near Ola,[1] consists of two schools including Two Rivers Elementary and Two Rivers High; it previously operated Ola Elementary School/Ola High School, the Fourche Valley School, and Plainview–Rover Elementary School/Plainview–Rover High School.

The service area includes Ola, Plainview, Rover, Casa, and Briggsville. The school district and high school's name was chosen because of proximity to the Petit Jean River and Fourche La Fave River.[2]

History

The district was formed on July 1, 2004 as a result of the consolidation of four former school districts:[3]

By 2004 new laws were passed requiring school districts with enrollments below 350 to consolidate with other school districts. As a result the Perry-Casa and Ola boards agreed to have a consolidation in which Perry-Casa absorbs Ola, and voters of those districts approved the consolidation.[4] Ola and Perry-Casa then notified the Fourche Valley and Plainview-Rover districts that they were merging; the leaderships of these two districts wished to avoid consolidations ordered by the state,[2] so they asked the Arkansas Board of Education if they could voluntarily consolidate with Ola.[4]

In the 2010–11 school year, the district served more than 900 students.

There was a proposed millage to pay for a safe room at Two Rivers Elementary, but it was voted down in 2017 by 59% of the voters. Perry County voters accused the district of attempting to prevent their vote by putting polling locations only in Yell County.[5]

Geography

The service area includes Ola, Plainview, Rover, Casa, and Briggsville.[6][7][8]

Briggsville is the westernmost area in the district, while the easternmost area is Perry. The east-west width of the district is 78 miles (126 km).[2]

Schools

Current:

  • Two Rivers High School – serving grades 7 through 12; based in unincorporated Yell County.
  • Two Rivers Elementary School – serving prekindergarten through grade 6; based in unincorporated Yell County.[9]

Former:[10]

  • Fourche Valley Elementary School/Fourche Valley High School
  • Ola High School
  • Plainview–Rover High School
  • Ola Elementary School – serving prekindergarten through grade 6; based in Ola.
    • Ola Elementary School had four buildings; the main building and gymnasium were made of natural rock and opened in 1941.[11]
  • Plainview–Rover Elementary School (later Plainview Elementary School) – serving prekindergarten through grade 6; based in Plainview.

In 2010 Ola High and Plainview-Rover High closed as Two Rivers High opened.[12] In 2012 Ola Elementary and Plainview Elementary closed as Two Rivers Elementary opened.[13]

The district previously operated the Fourche Valley School, which was K-12.[14] In 2009 the majority of the members of the district board voted to close it.[15] The Arkansas Board of Education and the Arkansas Supreme Court ultimately upheld the closure despite protests from Fourche Valley parents.[15]

Demographics

As of 2004 most district residents believe in Protestantism and are White Americans.[2]

Mascots

The current mascot of Two Rivers is the Gators.

Previously each school has its own mascot that served as its athletic emblem:

  • Ola Elementary = Mustangs
  • Plainview–Rover = Panthers
  • Fourche Valley = Indians

References
  1. "Home." Two Rivers School District Official Facebook page (linked from the official website). Retrieved on October 24, 2017. "17727 E State Highway 28 72853 Ola, Arkansas"
  2. Richard, Alan (2004-11-24). "Arranged Marriage: Newly Merged Districts Work to Make Combination Succeed". Education Week. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  3. "ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls." Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved on October 21, 2017.
  4. Albanese, Elizabeth (2004-04-05). "Arkansas School District Takes Stand Against Consolidation". Bond Buyer. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  5. Price, Victoria (2017-09-09). "Controversial Two Rivers Millage Measure Fails". Arkansas Matters. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  6. "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Yell County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 24, 2017.
  7. "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Perry County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 24, 2017.
  8. "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Conway County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on June 2, 2018.
  9. Home. Two Rivers Elementary School official Facebook. Retrieved on October 24, 2017.. "17721 E. State Hwy 28 72853 Ola, Arkansas"
  10. "District Information." Two Rivers School District. January 1, 2011. Retrieved on October 24, 2017.
  11. "Ola Elementary School." Ola School District. January 24, 2001. Retrieved on May 25, 2018.
  12. Zilk, Caroline (February 7, 2010). "Two become one: Two Rivers High School still set To open in fall". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  13. "State Required Information." Plainview-Rover School District. April 14, 2013. Retrieved on October 24, 2017. See the "ACSIP Plans " section, note the years
  14. "Faculty and Staff." Fourche Valley School. October 10, 2006. Retrieved on October 24, 2017.
  15. "Arkansas Cases Challenge School and District Consolidation". The Rural School and Community Trust. 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
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