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History of the Raymond Central Public School District

The History of Raymond Central Public Schools District #161, more commonly referred to as Raymond Central Public Schools, was founded in 1966. On August 2, 1966 District #19 in Raymond, voted to merge with Ceresco and Valparaiso into the new district, #161. An abandoned Nike Missile site was given to District 161 by the federal government as a 21-acre site for the Junior-Senior High School. At the time, many buildings were already at the site, but a considerable number of improvements were needed to make the site into a suitable learning environment. During the first year, the 385 secondary students met in Ceresco for their classes, and the elementary students attended school in each of the three towns. On February 17, 1968, a $995,000 bond issue for construction at the Junior-Senior High School site was passed. A year later, in 1969, the Davey School District joined District 161. The junior class of 1966-67 suggested the name, Central Public Schools, as the new name for the district. They chose the Mustang as the school mascot and blue and gold as the school's colors. On January 5, 1970, 325 7th-12th grade students moved into their completed school. On March 1, 1970, the formal dedication of the new Junior-Senior High School took place. In 1976, the Central School Board voted to add Raymond to the name, Central Public Schools to avoid the confusion between other schools in the state. This made the name, Raymond Central Public Schools. In March of 1980, voters rejected a $3 million bond issue that would add a new K-8 building near the Junior-Senior High School. This would have meant closing the elementary schools in Ceresco and Valparaiso and placing all district students in the middle of the Raymond Central school district. Numerous school bonds were rejected over the years. In 2001, a $5 million dollar bond was approved by voters which remodeled the elementary school in Valparaiso and built a new school in Ceresco. Starting in early 2007 the district began the process of getting a bond issue placed on a ballot that would be voted on in the fall of 2007. The funds from the bond issue would be used to replace part of the original Jr./Sr. High School building and renovate other areas within the current structure. Today, the school district continues having. . . . . Visions for Success!! Last updated 4/5/07 (This information was copied from the schools website) ====================

aerial view of the high school campus The towns of Ceresco, Valparaiso, Agnew, Davey, and Raymond are included in the 165+ square mile area that makes up the school district. There may have been a few rural school districts that were affiliated with the towns before the consolidation. If you have any info on that please let me know. Here are some links to the historical background of the towns and the history of education in each town:

Here's the old Ceresco building that we all loved so much ;) Ceresco Historical Background
Ceresco Education

Here is the Davey school in 1923 Davey Historical Background
Davey Education

Raymond high school circa 1910 Raymond Historical Background
Raymond Education

Valparaiso school building Valparaiso Historical Background
Valparaiso Education Something I found really odd was the report of a flash flood in 1963 that washed the school onto the road?? Surely that is an error. I suspect the date is much earlier. Can anyone confirm this? If it is accurate it would be around the time the west wing was added. Credit for the historical background for the towns goes to RC FBLA. Read about it
here