Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Community School District


The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Community School District is a public school district headquartered in Hartley, Iowa. The district is located in portions of O'Brien and Osceola counties, with a small section in Dickinson County. It serves the cities of Hartley, Melvin, Sanborn andMay City.
It is a 1A Iowa school in athletics.

History

The district formed on July 1, 1991, with the merger of the Hartley-Melvin Community School District and the Sanborn Community School District.
In April 2014 there was a first attempt at a school bond that was voted down with only 40% of voters approving, and in September 2016 a second attempt, with $16.2 million for the bond, failed with 56% support. The margin of failure that time was 47 votes.
The district attempted to pass a $16.5 million bond in April 2017 and stated it would close Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School in Hartley if it did not pass. The bond needed a 60% threshold to pass, but the count was 904-615, with only 59.5% approving. On December 11, 2017, the district said the school would close after Spring 2019. Initial plans were to move elementary students to the middle school building.
In 2018 another bond, for $18.9 million, was voted on and passed. The new bond will add a new elementary school to the high school and renovated and expanded the existing middle school. This project is estimated to be completed in the fall of 2020.

Schools