History of DR-M

By ANDREA FURLONG

Members of the 1991 Deep River-Millersburg marching band pose for a photo. DR-M's marching band acquired many awards throughout the 60s and 70s.

Editor’s note: Information used in this account of DR-M history was compiled from the Millersburg sesquicentennial book; articles from The Deep River Record; and The Deep River High School/DR-M High School class album, chronicling the years from 1892 to 1992.

Fifty-three years ago, two school districts defined as rivals in Deep River-Millersburg (DR-M) history books, shared the same problem: declining enrollment. Under the direction of Millersburg Superintendent Robert Harvey, a proposal arose to join the two districts together, since the towns of Deep River and Millersburg were located only about 14 miles from each other.

One year later, on Oct. 31, 1957, residents of the Deep River and Millersburg school districts, along with those in 14 outlying rural districts, approved the proposal in a community vote and the DR-M School District was formed, with 94 percent of the voters in support of it.

The first class of DR-M high schoolers selected the falcon as the school’s mascot, shortly after school opened in the fall of 1958. The school colors, black and white, were derived from the black and orange Deep River Tigers and the blue and white Millersburg Blue Jays.

During that first year, Deep River and Millersburg students continued to attend elementary schools in their respective towns, while all junior high students attended school in Deep River. Deep River students in grades 9-12 were shuffled into the Millersburg High School — a move that was unpopular with Deep River residents.

The year following the reorganization, Deep River residents expressed outrage over the closure of Deep River High School. More than 200 Deep River residents signed a petition in protest of the formation of the DR-M School District. While the first DR-M seniors (23 total) were graduating, Deep River landowners were joining forces with two attorneys on the Montezuma School Board to propose a new reorganization to the Poweshiek County School Board: cut Poweshiek County land out of the DR-M union and attach it to Montezuma.

At a public hearing held in mid-May of 1959, Deep River residents explained they were upset over the loss of their high school, particularly because they were promised prior to the merger each town would keep its own high school. One month later, Deep River residents reluctantly accepted the Deep River-Millersburg reorganization, after the Deep River-Monte School District proposal was defeated at the polls. Seventy-five percent of the 688 votes cast by DR-M district residents opposed the proposal.

One year after the reorganization, according to The Deep River Record, grades K-4 were moved to Deep River. Millersburg continued to serve high school students, adding elementary students in grades 5-7.

Three years after the reorganization, in 1962, state education officials inspected the schools of the DR-M district and returned with a less-than-desirable critique. Among their criticisms was the size of the elementary classrooms, which they said crowded the students; a budget balance that was “too small”; a lack of foreign languages and vocational classes; and teachers who were overworked, with some teaching outside their field. State officials said all these problems could be resolved by joining with another school district. DR-M Superintendent H.P. Main took a different approach, though, and set on his mind on improving the school district, rather than reorganizing it again. Main vowed he would hire a few additional teachers and would set to work on a proposal to construct school additions.

It took four special elections in three years before a bond issue to build additions to the schools could be passed. Even after the bond issue passed narrowly by 63 percent (the minimum needed was 60 percent in favor) in 1969, the goal to build onto DR-M’s schools remained out of reach. Five farmers from Deep River, the section of the district that had heavily upset three of the four special elections, filed a lawsuit to block the sale of DR-M construction bonds. Their case made it all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court and then the State Appeal Board, who “could find no reason to overrule the (DR-M) School Board” and its decision to build additions, despite the objection of 25 district residents, “largely from the Deep River end of the district,” according to the Deep River Record.

In 1973, 11 years after Superintendent Main first declared his intent to build onto the schools, new additions worth a total of $198,000 were added to the Deep River and Millersburg centers. A multi-purpose gym was built at the Deep River school, while a northwest wing was added to the Millersburg school. The wing housed band and chorus classrooms, a drafting room, a girls locker room and administrative and janitorial offices.

While the school made little progress toward securing additions in the 60s, its music program blossomed. The Deep River-Millersburg marching band won many awards throughout the 60s and 70s, including a first place trophy at the Eastern Iowa Band Festival in 1963 and 1965. Under the direction of band instructor Karen Bartachek, the marching band continued to impress, as it was invited to play at the Rose Bowl in 1967 and 1974. Unfortunately, the band never made it to the Rose Bowl, as the DR-M School Board would not approve the trip.

DR-M also boasted some fine athletic teams in its time. Among those teams was the 1976 baseball team, which placed first in its conference and advanced to the state championship to play against Granville-Spalding. Another notable team was the 1991 basketball team, which advanced to the semifinals in the Iowa Conference basketball tournament after an amazing play by 1992 DR-M grad Chris Montross. DR-M was playing Walnut Ridge and was down by one point in the fourth quarter with four seconds left on the clock. Montross scored a three-point shot right before the buzzer, propelling DR-M to the semifinals.

Since DR-M did not have football, basketball was its homecoming sport. The traditional homecoming week at DR-M consisted of a week of themed dress-up days; a bonfire pep rally; elections for the homecoming queen, king and court; capped off with a home basketball game and dance in the school gym.

While the high schoolers enjoyed sports, music and other extracurricular activities in the mid 70s, elementary principal Corrine Tandy started “mini-courses” at the elementary. Classes varied from year to year and generally were based on topics of vocational or recreational interest. Some of the classes offered were gun safety, macramé, chess, good grooming, cake decorating and skiing, among others.

Another unique feature of DR-M was its graduation ceremonies for eighth graders. It was believed that DR-M was one of the few schools in the state with a  long-standing tradition of recognizing junior high graduates with a ceremony.

HARD TIMES

In the mid to late 80s, district residents recognized the need for DR-M to adapt to the ever-declining enrollment, complicated by a new law allowing students within the district to open-enroll to other school districts. After a year and a half of studying DR-M’s situation, a study committee of district residents recommended to the school board for DR-M to transition to a K-6 district. In the fall of 1992, the Millersburg school became a K-6 school (also serving preschool students, which started two years prior)  and the Deep River school building was sold to the city of Deep River. Since 1992, DR-M sixth graders have had the option to continue their education at one of two high schools: English Valleys or Montezuma.

As student enrollment dropped during the 80s, DR-M began to share some of its teachers, classes and sports with neighboring schools.

In 2007, the DR-M School Board embarked on a study yet again on the future of the school district. After meetings with an attorney specializing in school restructuring and a financial expert from the Iowa Association of School Boards, the DR-M School Board concluded the district could not survive if its enrollment continued to decline, as it had been doing for at least the past decade.

The district’s proposal to reorganize all the Iowa County DR-M property and a corridor of Poweshiek County land with the English Valleys School District passed in a special election held Sept. 16, 2008. Poweshiek County land not included in the reorganization will be attached to the Montezuma School District when the DR-M and English Valleys districts reorganize July 1.

The final year of its operation,  2008-2009, the DR-M district’s sole school was DR-M Elementary in Millersburg. The school served 49 students during its last year.

UPDATED June 5, 2009 9:49 AM