The following appeared in the Rock County Star Herald on February 25, 1954.
Board Sets Mar. 26 To Vote On School Bonds
To Cost about $22.30 For Each $1,000 Assessed Valuation
Continued from last week.
New School, Two Stories High
The new building will be two stories high with the shops housed in one story units. Besides the regular classrooms, there will be special departments such as science, laboratories, economics rooms, FFA, etc.
The present high school building will be remodeled into an elementary building and will include two kindergarten units each consisting of two rooms, changing of several walls to increase the size of the rooms to adapt them to elementary needs, hot lunch facilities and remodeling of heating and ventilating.
The kindergarten rooms will have their own lavatories.
The elementary grades will include kindergarten, and grades one through six while the new building will include grades seven through 12. The new building will be approximately 554 feet long and 340 feet wide at its widest portion. It will be constructed of glass blocks with three foot aluminum windows at the base.
Calling for the bond election capped many months of research and fact finding on the parts of many persons, both in the rural districts and the city of Luverne.
The architects feel that this is the best possible school that the Luverne board can have built. State department officials were most enthusiastic in their approval of the preliminary plans for the new school and the remodeled elementary school.
It was on the suggestion of the state department of education that the Luverne school board consider converting the present high school to an elementary unit and constructing a new junior-senior high school.
Interested Groups Work
Throughout the fact finding and laying of preliminary plans, many interested persons voiced their opinions on the school set-up. Many questions and suggestions have been presented at countless school board, consolidation and other meetings.
Even after the bond issue is approved by the voters, the state department of education will have to okay and study each of the final plans with specifications.
During the time of construction a building inspector will be at the site on a full-time basis.
Next step following the okay of the bond issue would be for the architects to complete the final school plans with specifications and secure the approval from the state department of education.
The Luverne school board would then have to approve the final plans and then call for bids on the actual construction.
If construction were to start in September 1954, the new school would be ready for occupation sometime in the fall of 1955, school officials said.
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.