In 1966, Iola High School was stuffed to the gills because almost half of its 868 students were enrolled at Allen County Community Junior College.
Classes were more than just crowded. As many as 80 Juco students were enrolled in a single psychology class that was held in the school cafeteria. Not only were there not enough classrooms, but in 50 years’ time they also had become outdated to meet the changing needs of education.
Necessary resources were too few. The student-teacher ratio was above the recommended level simply because, again, not enough classrooms were available to accommodate the students.
Enrollment for the upcoming semester would hardly begin before many of the classes had to be closed because they had reached the maximum number of students they could handle.
And the future looked bleak. Not only was the community college enrollment expected to grow, but that of Iola schools as well because of district unification. By 1967, the junior high schools of LaHarpe, Gas, Carlyle, Horville, West Neosho and Prairie Dell would be moving their 300 students to Iola’s junior high.
An admonition commonly heard at the school was “Don’t get caught in the halls when the classes change.”
FOR MANY years, the partnership between the two schools worked well.
Designed to accommodate 400 students, the 1916 high school could easily handle ACCJC’s needs when it opened in 1923.
But after World War II, the path to a higher education became easier and the college’s enrollment swelled. From 1950 to 1965, ACCJC’s enrollment more than doubled.
A push to build a stand-alone college began.
The Register jumped on board, writing articles about the crowded conditions and even ran (shamelessly, I’m sure) thinly veiled advertisements in which students urged citizens to vote for a $1.5 million bond issue.
On Feb. 15, 1966 Allen County voters gave their resounding support for the new school. The vote was 3,119 for the bonds, 1,015 against.
And the rest is history.
Today we have a beautiful, self-contained campus situated on the north end of town.
Which in itself presents something of a challenge in that the college is no longer as vibrant a part of the community now that its students and faculty aren’t part of the downtown mix.
The college is just one example of how any concern can become isolated.
The hospital, churches, our K-12 schools and organizations run similar risks.
