Anthon-Oto Community School District


Anthon-Oto Community School District was a school district headquartered in Anthon, Iowa. The district, in Woodbury County, served Anthon and Oto.

History

The Anthon and Oto school districts consolidated in 1959 to form the Anthon-Oto district. Each city had one campus; both cities had elementary grades, Oto had grades 7-8 for junior high school, and Anthon had grades 9-12 for senior high school. A fire destroyed the Anton campus on Wednesday, December 29, 1965. A new secondary school in Anton was dedicated on September 29, 1968. The elementary grades were consolidated to Oto in 1974. A new elementary school replacing the Oto school was built in Anthon from fall 1980 until the opening on August 27, 1981; it was connected to the secondary building.
Circa 1993 the district began whole grade-sharing with the Maple Valley Community School District; the two districts sent their own children to each other's schools, with each operating its own elementary school, Anthon-Oto operating the middle school, and Maple Valley operating the high school. The two districts also shared superintendents, teachers, and athletic facilities. In 2010 Anthon-Oto had about 250 students while Maple Valley had about 505 students.
The first merger election between the two districts came in 2005. Maple Valley voters favored the deal but Anthon-Oto voters turned it down, partly due to fear of being politically dominated by the larger Maple Valley and also because they were unwilling to pay for a new high school in the Maple Valley area. The second merger was scheduled for February 1, 2011. On July 1, 2012 Anthon-Oto merged with Maple Valley to form the Maple Valley Anthon-Oto Community School District.