Caro Community Schools

Last updated
Caro Community Schools
Address
301 North Hooper Street [1]
Caro
, Tuscola County , Michigan , 48723
United States
District information
MottoCultivate Excellence [1]
GradesPre-Kindergarten-12
SuperintendentGeorge Rierson [2]
Schools5 [1]
Budget$19,974,000 2021-2022 expenditures [3]
NCES District ID 2608040 [3]
Students and staff
Students1,398 (2023-2024) [3]
Teachers85.18 (on an FTE basis) (2023-2024) [3]
Staff275.97 FTE (2023-2024) [3]
Student–teacher ratio16.41 (2023-2024) [3]
Other information
Website www.carok12.org

Caro Community Schools is a public school district in the Thumb region of Michigan. It serves Caro, Indianfields Township, and parts of the townships of Almer, Columbia, Fairgrove, Fremont, Juniata, and Wells. [4]

Contents

History

The first school in Caro (then called Centerville) was built by pioneer Peter D. Bush in 1857. The public school district was organized the next year. [5] Bush would go on to build other schools in Caro during the 1800s. On the site of the current Schall Elementary, a Union School was built in 1868, and a high school was added to the site in 1887. When Schall Elementary was built in 1924, it replaced the 1868 building and was connected to the 1887 building. Schall Elementary was named after a long-serving superintendent. [6] In 1948, a one-story elementary school was built on the same site. [7]

The current Caro High School began as an elementary school building known as Kern Hall in 1955. [8] Around this time, Caro's school district was attempting to consolidate with the small, independent school districts in its outlying townships to expand its tax base so it could build a modern high school. Caro was growing and would one day no longer be able to guarantee a high school education to those districts' students, who attended Caro High on a tuition basis. [9]

Contributing to this need was the closure of the 1887 school. It had became a grade school when the Schall building opened in 1924. The old school was closed in March 1954 because it was a safety hazard, [10] and that May the school board deemed it uneconomical to repair. [11] The 1887 school was then torn down. [12]

In 1956, a bond issue passed to substantially expand Kern Hall to become a middle/high school, [13] reopening in fall 1958. [14] It was dedicated on January 25, 1959. [15] Additions were built in 1964 and 1978. [6]

McComb Elementary was dedicated on January 29, 1967. It was named after Ben H. McComb, a county school commissioner. [5]

Most of the wing housing Caro Middle School, the former Kern Hall wing, was rebuilt around 2006. [16] [17] [18] [note 1]

Schools

Schools in Caro Community Schools district [1] [3]
SchoolAddressNotes
Caro High School301 North Hooper St., CaroGrades 9–12. Built 1958. [6] [14]
Caro Middle School299 North Hooper St., CaroGrades 6–8
Schall Elementary325 East Frank St., CaroGrades 3–5. Built 1924. [6]
McComb Elementary303 North Hooper St., CaroGrades PreK-2
Caro Alternative High School217 N State St., CaroAlternative high school

Notes

  1. ↑ Comparing the high school floor plan in the 1959 yearbook with current satellite images shows the wing labelled "Kern Hall" was torn down and a building with the address of the middle school was built to the east of the 1958 high school building.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Caro Community Schools. "Caro Community Schools" . Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  2. ↑ Caro Community Schools. "Central Office" . Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Caro Community Schools". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences.
  4. ↑ Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. "Tuscola County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "New school opening at Caro". Bay City Times (Bay City, Mich.). January 26, 1967. p. 28.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Caro Community Schools. "The History of Caro Community Schools" . Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  7. ↑ Editorial staff of Caro High School yearbook. The 1950 Echo (Caro High School 1950 yearbook). p. 18.
  8. ↑ "Caro opens new school on Monday". Saginaw News. May 5, 1955. p. 36.
  9. ↑ "Caro school district faces necessity for hard decision". Saginaw News. March 11, 1954. p. 14.
  10. ↑ "Caro school must remain closed as safety precaution". Bay City Times (Bay City, Mich.). March 21, 1954. p. 14.
  11. ↑ "Won't repair old Caro school". Bay City Times (Bay City, Mich.). May 2, 1954. p. 18.
  12. ↑ Editorial staff of Caro High School yearbook. The Caroscope 1955 (1955 Caro High School yearbook). pp. 2–3.
  13. ↑ "Caro school bonds are sold". Bay City Times (Bay City, Mich.). January 9, 1957. p. 22.
  14. 1 2 "Work on new Caro High School was completed last weekend". Bay City Times (Bay City, Mich.). August 4, 1958. p. 10.
  15. ↑ "To dedicate new Caro High School". The Times Herald (Port Huron, Mich.). December 24, 1958. p. 11.
  16. ↑ Gilchrist, Tom (August 27, 2005). "Building better schools". Bay City Times (Bay City, Mich.). p. A1.
  17. ↑ Editorial staff of Caro High School yearbook. '59 Caroscope (1959 Caro High School yearbook). p. 4.
  18. ↑ Caro High School (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
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