Sarah Kearns
Columnist
In November 1958, residents in the Nankin, Polk, Ruggles-Troy and Savannah school districts voted on the proposed consolidation of the four northern Ashland County schools.
A small majority approved, but the issue did not pass because state law at that moment held that if any district voted no, the issue would fail. Although the voters in the other three districts approved, those in Savannah did not.
In the spring of 1959, County Superintendent Virgil Moffett resigned, and Earl Weikel, who was then superintendent at Jeromesville, was hired to replace him. The Times-Gazette editor described Weikel as “a man who tells you point blank exactly what he thinks.” After the turmoil of the past year, that was needed.
n 1959, the county board floated a new merger between Nankin, Polk and Ruggles-Troy, while leaving the door open for Savannah if the voters there changed their minds.
State law regarding education was in constant flux, and a change that year allowed the county board to order consolidation without a vote. In August, the board, fairly confident of the peoples' wishes, consolidated Nankin, Polk and Ruggles-Troy. It would go into effect in 30 days, if no opposing petition were filed. This would allow just enough time to appoint a board for the new district and if that board hustled, it could get an operating levy on the fall ballot.
The new district — as yet unnamed — was created on Sept. 14. By December, students in the district submitted suggestions and voted for a name. They chose Mapleton over Fieldcrest and Norwood.
Things were ducky for the district for roughly a week. Then the county board decided to try once again to include Savannah in the district.
There were petitions and lawsuits.
Meanwhile, the Mapleton school board moved forward with tentative plans. A committee investigated sites for a new high school, including one at the intersection of state Route 511 and County Road 620. It was near the center of the district, if Savannah was included.
However, Savannah residents were hesitant to consolidate if the high school was not in Savannah, and they objected to not having a representative on the already-formed Mapleton board.
The spring and summer of 1960 featured controversy between local residents. They had a multiplicity of opinions and petitions, and the lawyers argued over which proposals to put on the ballot.
Mapleton’s board president voiced frustration with Savannah’s “delay, delay, delay,” and the board moved forward with building plans, regardless of how the vote turned out.
Ultimately, Savannah voters rejected the Mapleton option, which left their future up in the air, while they started talking with Richland County’s Union School District.
At a special election in 1961, Savannah voters decided to leave the Ashland County system and join with Union. In October, they chose a site for what would become Crestview.
Mapleton purchased 128 acres that was a bit further east of the originally proposed site, at the intersection of County Roads 620 and 801, and started construction.
Mapleton graduated its first class from the new high school in May 1963. That same month, Crestview broke ground for its new high school, which would open in the fall of 1964.