Scandia School District #22 (Pierce County, N.D.) Records

Collection

Identifier: Mss 65

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Scandia School District 22 records were discovered in the abandoned school building in Silva. Ravished by the weather and wildlife, they are often incomplete. This collection gives a good example of the increasing amount of paperwork involved with running a state and locally funded public school system and is especially interesting as a study of how a school district managed during the depression years of the 1930s, as seen in the financial records, minutes and the file on garnishments. The collection has been organized into five series: school board minutes, correspondence, financial records, clerk's records and subject files. The School Board Minutes Series are most complete. Initially recorded in the School District Clerk's Records from 1913 to 1931, they continue as School Board Minutes through 1933. They include both regular and special meeting minutes. The Correspondence Series is arranged chronologically, covering a period from 1922 to 1954; however, the quantity and the scope of the correspondence is limited. It consists mostly of correspondence received by the school board concerning financial matters with local banks and businesses. The Financial Records Series, covering the period 1912 to 1955, are most complete for the 1930s. These records include both receipt and expenditure records and many examples of the paperwork undertaken by the school with regard to bond issues, insurance, equalization apportionments and other financial undertakings of the school district. Included in these papers are Assessments of Teacher’s Salaries, giving information about teacher qualifications in addition to their salaries. The Subject Files Series contains a variety of papers on such sundry topics as the hot lunch program of the 1950s, election returns, teacher contracts and insurance policies. Most interesting are the school censuses which, although incomplete and partially undated, provide information not only about number of students, but also age, sex, residence (farm v. town) and parent’s names. These records, plus the Teacher’s Final Report, actually give the most information about the students and along with school inspection reports, about the school itself. Included in the subject files is a paper A Study of Education Differences in a German-Russian – Norwegian Community, by Walden Duchscher, who analyzed the data from the Scandia records for his statistics. Also there is a 1931 handbook on general school laws. The School District Clerk’s Record Series includes bound volumes covering from 1913 to 1931, which contain not only the above mentioned school board minutes, but also financial records for those years.

Dates

1912-1956.

Creator

Duchscher, Walden. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection remain with the State of North Dakota.

History

Pierce County, N.D. was organized in 1889 and the first act of the newly elected County Commission was to organize the county into nine school districts. Elverum Township was organized with two school districts and built three schools. The school board consisted of a member from each district plus a clerk. In 1913 the three schools consolidated to form a single school district. School #1 was moved into Silva and became Scandia School District #22. The construction costs came about through a bond issue. The school included grades 1-8, plus a four year high school program. The Silva school, being a public school, was funded through local and state government appropriations. Ten to twelve per cent of the students were from neighboring counties and a non-resident tuition was assessed against their home counties.

The ethnic background of the student population was approximately half German-Russian and half Norwegian. The high school program was moved into Rugby during the school reorganization of 1956. Ultimately, the entire school was closed down and absorbed into the Rugby school system in 1970. After being abandoned for years, the actual school building of Scandia School District 22 was moved to the Geographical Center of North America Museum in Rugby, where the classroom has been reconstructed.

Extent

1.6 Linear Feet (1.6 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Small, rural school in Pierce County composed of German-Russian and Norwegian-American students that was eventually absorbed into the Rugby School System in 1970.