Marion–Florence USD 408

Marion–Florence USD 408 is a public unified school district headquartered in Marion, Kansas, United States.^[1] The district includes the communities of Marion, Florence, Aulne, Canada, Eastshore, Marion County Lake, and nearby rural areas of Marion County.^[3]

Marion–Florence USD 408
Address
101 N. Thorp St.[1] Marion , Kansas, 66861 United States
Coordinates	38°20′56″N 97°0′25″W
District information
Type	Public
Grades	K to 12
Superintendent	Justin Wasmuth[2]
Schools	3
Other information
Website	usd408.com

History

The number of students in rural communities dropped significantly across the 20th century. As farming technology progressed from animal power to small tractors towards large tractors over time, it allowed a farmer to support significantly more farm land. In turn, this led to fewer farm families, which led to fewer rural students. In combination with a loss of young men during foreign wars and rural flight, all of these caused an incremental population shrinkage of rural communities over time.

In 1945 (after World War II), the School Reorganization Act in Kansas caused the consolidation of thousands of rural school districts in Kansas.^[4]

In 1963, the School Unification Act in Kansas caused the further consolidatation of thousands of tiny school districts into hundreds of larger Unified School Districts.^[5]

In 1969, Florence was one of a hand full of school districts that was still non-unified. In April 1969, the state legislature passed a law pushing all remaining non-unified school districts to attach themselves to an adjacent unified school district by July 1, or the state would decide which adjacent district(s) would get their territory.^[6] In June 1969, the Florence school district held a vote choosing between Marion, Peabody, Chase County school districts, the winner was Marion.^[7]

In fall 1971, grade school and high school students from Florence started attending schools in Marion, middle school students from Marion started attending school in Florence, and the Florence High School closed.^[8][9]

Current schools

The school district operates the following schools:^[1]

• Marion High School at 701 East Main Street in Marion
• Marion Middle School at 125 South Lincoln Street in Marion
• Marion Elementary School at 1400 East Lawrence Street in Marion

Closed schools

• Florence High School in Florence. It was closed in 1971.
• Florence Elementary School in Florence. It was closed.

See also

• Kansas State Department of Education
• Kansas State High School Activities Association
• List of high schools in Kansas
• List of unified school districts in Kansas

References

1. "USD 408 Website". Archived from the original on January 30, 2020.
2. Staff; USD 408.
3. "USD 408 District Map" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2019.
4. Your School District: The Report of the National Commission on School District Reorganization; National Education Association; 286 pages; 1948.
5. "Administration of Unified School Districts in Kansas" (PDF). Kansas State Department of Public Instruction. January 1967. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 10, 2020.
6. "Florence Schools Face Changes by July 1". Peabody Gazette-Herald. April 24, 1969.
7. "Florence People Choose Marion". Peabody Gazette-Herald. June 19, 1969.
8. "Change Never Comes Easily (plans to close Florence High School)". Peabody Gazette-Herald. November 19, 1970.
9. "Florence keeps traditions alive". Marion County Record. June 16, 2021. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021.

Further reading

See also: List of books about Marion County, Kansas, including historical information about its schools

External links

• Official website