Clare Public Schools

Last updated

Clare Public Schools
Address
201 E State Street [1]
Clare
, Clare County , Michigan , 48617
United States
Coordinates 43°49′25″N84°45′51.8″W / 43.82361°N 84.764389°W / 43.82361; -84.764389
District information
TypePublic School District
Motto"A Great Place to Live and Learn" [1]
GradesPre-Kindergarten-12
SuperintendentMatthew Forsberg [2]
School boardLoren Cole – President [3]

John Miller – Vice President
Samantha Sharp – Secretary
Matt Rodenbo – Treasurer
Susan Atwood – Trustee
Ed Hubel – Trustee

Kelly Luplow – Trustee

Contents

Schools4 [4]
Budget$19,480,000 2021-2022 expenditures [4]
NCES District ID 2609750 [4]
Students and staff
Students1,575 (2023-2024) [4]
Teachers97.65 (on an FTE basis) (2023-2024) [4]
Staff200.65 FTE (2023-2024) [4]
Student–teacher ratio16.13 (2023-2024) [4]
District mascot Pioneers [1]
ColorsGreen   and White  
Other information
Website clare.k12.mi.us

Clare Public Schools is a public school district in Central Michigan. In Clare County, it serves Clare, Sheridan Township, and parts of the townships of Arthur, Grant, and Hatton. [5] It also serves parts of Vernon Township and Wise Township in Isabella County. [6]

History

The first class graduated from Clare High School in 1887. [7]

A fire destroyed one of Clare's first school buildings on September 26, 1900. [8] It was rebuilt and opened by early 1901. The new building was described in the Clare Sentinel newspaper: "A nine room, red brick building with a high school seating over 100. The woodwork is oak finish, the walls are tinted green with cream ceilings, the halls being tinted with a soft shade of pink. All rooms are equipped with slate blackboards, wired for electric lights, electric bells for the passing of classes, chipped glass in inside doors, fan furnace heat, lavatories in an annex to the basement." [9]

This school also burned. After a May 15, 1921 fire, the brick walls were all that remained. As in the 1900-1901 school year, classes were held in area churches and meeting halls until Clare Public School opened in fall 1922. [10] [11]

The district's schools share a campus north of downtown Clare. [12] Clare Public School, now Clare Middle School, is the oldest building on the campus still standing. J.D. Butterworth of Lansing was the architect. [11]

A bond issue passed in 1957 funded construction of the current high school. The architect was Clark R. Ackley of Lansing. [13] The building opened on September 21, 1959, one week behind schedule. [14] In 1962, voters approved a bond issue to build additions containing ten classrooms and two music rooms at the high school and make fire safety improvements at the elementary school, which was housed in the 1922 building at the time. [15] [16] The wing currently housing Clare Primary School was built in 1973. [17] [18]

Clare Middle School Murals

The Federal Art Project, part of the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration, funded the painting of four murals in Clare Public School's auditorium in 1938. They illustrate the industries of Clare and the studies of Clare's students. [19]

The 2023 bond issue request including demolition of the building due to its obsolescence. Voters denied the bond issue at the time. [20] Although the district would prefer the murals be saved, they are owned by the Federal Government, and funding for their removal and preservation is beyond the district. [21] [22]

Schools

Schools in Clare Public Schools district [12] [4]
SchoolAddressNotes
Clare Primary School205 E. Wheaton, ClareGrades PreK-4. Built 1973. [18]
Clare Middle School209 E State St., ClareGrades 5-8. Built 1922. [10]
Clare High School 306 Schoolcrest, ClareGrades 9-12. Built 1959. [14]
Pioneer High School670 Ann Arbor Trail, ClareGrades 9-12. Alternative education

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 Clare Public Schools. "Clare Public Schools" . Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  2. ↑ Clare Public Schools. "Administration Office" . Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  3. ↑ Clare Public Schools. "Board Members" . Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Clare Public Schools". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences.
  5. ↑ Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. "Clare County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  6. ↑ Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. "Isabella County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  7. ↑ Editorial staff of Clare High School yearbook. Pioneer Memoirs: The 1987 Pioneer (1987 Clare High School yearbook). p. 2.
  8. ↑ "Michigan news items". Belding Banner (Belding, Mich.). October 4, 1900. p. 2.
  9. ↑ "Clare's new school". Clare Sentinel. May 9, 1901. p. 1.
  10. 1 2 "Clare school burns, to build new one". The Dowagiac Daily News (Dowagiac, Mich.). March 16, 1921. p. 5.
  11. 1 2 "Clare school to be ready for use in fall 1922; Lansing man is architect". Lansing State Journal. February 14, 1922. p. 7.
  12. 1 2 Clare Public Schools. "Schools menu" . Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  13. ↑ "New Clare High School bids due Aug. 26 for a fall start". The Saginaw News. August 14, 1958. p. C4.
  14. 1 2 "Late starters". Saginaw News. September 22, 1959. p. 12.
  15. ↑ "Clare voters to ballot Saturday on $275,000 school expansion". The Bay City Times (Bay City, Mich.). January 21, 1952. p. 13.
  16. ↑ "Bonds, millage OK'd at Clare". The Saginaw News. January 28, 1962. p. D7.
  17. ↑ "Up goes another school". The Saginaw News. September 18, 1972. p. A4.
  18. 1 2 "New Clare business". The Saginaw News. April 26, 1973. p. 5.
  19. ↑ Kathryn Bishop Eckert. "Clare Middle School (Clare Public School)". Society of Architectural Historians Archipedia. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  20. ↑ Michigan Department of Treasury. "STATE QUALIFIED SCHOOL BOND ELECTION RESULTS CLARE COUNTY Clare Public Schools".
  21. ↑ Brewer, Rick (September 13, 2022). "The future of beloved depression-era murals remains uncertain for Clare Public Schools". WCMU Public Media.
  22. ↑ Clare Public Schools. "Community Forum (for November 2023 bond issue proposal)" (PDF). Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Gloria Gaither". The Alexandria Times-Tribune. July 23, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved March 10, 2016– via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Debbie Stabenow".


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.