Central Montcalm Public Schools

Last updated
Central Montcalm Public Schools
Address
1480 South Sheridan Road [1]
Stanton
, Montcalm County , Michigan , 48888
United States
District information
GradesPre-Kindergarten-12
SuperintendentAmanda McLaughlin [2]
Schools3 [1]
Budget$18,852,000 2021-2022 expenditures [3]
NCES District ID 2608640 [3]
Students and staff
Students1,323 (2023-2024) [3]
Teachers74.71 (on an FTE basis) (2023-2024) [3]
Staff182.77 FTE (2023-2024) [3]
Student–teacher ratio17.71 (2023-2024) [3]
Other information
Website central-montcalm.org

Central Montcalm Public Schools is a public school district in West Michigan. In Montcalm County, it serves Sheridan, Stanton, and parts of the townships of Bushnell, Crystal, Day, Douglass, Evergreen, Fairplain, Ferris, Montcalm, Pine, and Sidney. It also serves part of Ronald Township in Ionia County. [4]

Contents

History

Prior to consolidation, Stanton and Sheridan were in separate districts with their own high schools. Stanton High School moved to a new building around 1961. [5] The merged Stanton/Sheridan school district adopted the name Central Montcalm Public Schools [6] and Stanton's new high school became Central Montcalm High School. Sheridan High School closed at the end of the 1962–1963 school year. [7] Its students began attending the merged high school in fall 1963. The athletic director at the time, Jake Helms, copied the school colors of Michigan State University and chose the mascot, the Green Hornets. [5]

A middle school addition was added to the high school in 1975, and an athletic complex was built around 1987. [5] In 1999, a $22.6 million bond issue (about $43.7 million in 2025 dollars) passed to build an upper elementary school and additions at other district buildings. [8]

Caboose

In 1972, high school art teacher Dave Kemler and his class were so impressed with the Michigan Art Train, a project by the Michigan Council of Arts, that they requested that they donate a caboose to beautify the school grounds. They explained in their request that a caboose would be fitting for the school because it had been built over a former railroad bed. The Council of Arts agreed, but the caboose was abandoned in Kentucky. As the Future Farmers of America club were doing a landscaping project at the front of the school, members of the Michigan National Guard volunteered to bring the caboose to Michigan and install it in a prominent place amongst the landscaping. [9] The caboose became a popular site for photographs and an icon of the school. [5] [10]

In 2010, a fundraising effort to strip and paint the caboose gained local media attention. [9] In 2020, the caboose was moved to a different location on the high school grounds because the ground had settled under it. [11]

Schools

Schools in Central Montcalm Public Schools district [1] [3]
SchoolAddressNotes
Central Montcalm Middle/High School1480 S. Sheridan Road, StantonGrades 6–12. Built 1961. [5]
Central Montcalm Upper Elementary1488 S. Sheridan Road SW, StantonGrades 3–5
Central Montcalm Elementary289 St. Clair Street, SheridanGrades PreK-2
CM Learning Center/Great Start Readiness Program710 N State Street, StantonPreschool

References

  1. 1 2 3 Central Montcalm Public Schools. "Central Montcalm Public Schools" . Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  2. ↑ Central Montcalm Public Schools. "Central Office" . Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Central Montcalm Public Schools". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences.
  4. ↑ Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. "Montcalm County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Editorial staff of Central Montcalm High School yearbook. The Sting 1988 (1988 Central Montcalm High School yearbook). p. 1.
  6. ↑ "Stanton-Sheridan school district has new board". Lansing State Journal. June 3, 1963. p. 31.
  7. ↑ Editorial staff of Sheridan High School yearbook. 1963 Chieftain (1962 Sheridan High School yearbook). p. 2.
  8. ↑ Michigan Department of Treasury. "STATE QUALIFIED SCHOOL BOND ELECTION RESULTS MONTCALM COUNTY Central Montcalm Public Schools".
  9. 1 2 Waldon, Elizabeth (November 21, 2010). "Funds raised to renovate school's caboose". The Muskegon Chronicle (Muskegon, Mich.). p. A13.
  10. ↑ Editorial staff of Central Montcalm High School yearbook. The Sting 2009-2010 (Central Montcalm High School yearbook 2010). p. 9.
  11. ↑ Betsy A Houghton Klingensmith (June 4, 2020). "So before the rumor mill..." Facebook.
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