Megargel Independent School District was a

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

located in Megargel,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

(

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

) from 1910 until 2006. The district had one school called the Megargel School. The district served portions of

Archer County Archer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,560. Its county seat is Archer City. It is part of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area. History In 1858, the Texas Legislat ...

, including the town of Megargel. The district also served portions of

Baylor County Baylor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,465. Its county seat is Seymour. History In 1858, the Texas Legislature established Baylor County, naming it for Henry Weidner Baylor, ...

, Throckmorton County, and Young County.

History

What became Megargel ISD was established in the spring and summer of 1910. The first school received an addition of two rooms circa 1914. In 1924 the school district acquired three school buses and an additional four rooms were added to the school in the wake of an oil boom in the area. The school district had at its peak two schools: Megargel School, which served Pre-School through 6th Grade; and Megargel High School, which served 7th Grade to 12th Grade, and occupied a two-story structure. The high school building first opened in 1927. The high school had the first-ever school band established in the state. The last Megargel school building opened in 1927. The campus, compared to other schools, was outdated by 2006. The gymnasium did not have air conditioning. The classrooms were heated with

propane Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...

space heater A space heater is a device used to heat a single, small to medium sized area. Operation Electric space heaters fall into four main categories: fan heaters, ceramic, infrared, and oil-filled. * Fan heaters are the cheapest, but are often the ...

s. The building contained coal chutes. The wood floors in the building were creaky. In the 2000s, when the school was still open, it attracted troubled teenagers from nearby school districts because of its small class sizes.

Closure

The April 11, 2006 issue of the ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'' featured the Megargel School in a front-page article. The school (along with the town) had declined for years, and was running out of funds. After looking at what consolidation options were available with neighboring districts, the school board voted to consolidate with

Olney Independent School District Olney Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Olney, Texas (USA). The district serves portions of Young County (including the city of Olney), Archer County (including the town of Megargel), Baylor County, and Throck ...

Olney, Texas Olney is a city in Young County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,007 in 2020. History On May 18, 1951, the city was devastated by a violent F4 tornado. Thomas P. Grazulis noted this tornado was possible F5 on the Fujita scale. Geograph ...

(about southeast), subject to voter approval on May 13, 2006. Proponents argued that the school (which had 63 students, including only one in the seventh grade) simply could not continue to function, and consolidation with the neighboring district (which has nearly 800 students) will provide more opportunities for educational achievement. Opponents feared that closure of the school would cause the town to disappear. The vote (which required approval of the voters in both districts) was 89% in favor of consolidation. The school and district closed after the school year ended. Olney ISD announced plans to hire former Megargel ISD employees. In 2009 Debbie Wells, a resident of Megargel and a former resident of Grapevine, Texas, bought the Megargel High school property. In 2014 she put it on sale for $289,000.

References

External links

* *

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

maps: ** PDF: Parts i
Archer
(majority)
BaylorThrockmorton
an
Young
counties ** Web: Parts i

(majority)

an

counties {{coord missing, Texas Former school districts in Texas School districts in Archer County, Texas School districts in Baylor County, Texas School districts in Throckmorton County, Texas School districts in Young County, Texas School districts established in 1910 1910 establishments in Texas School districts disestablished in 2006 2006 disestablishments in Texas Public K–12 schools in Texas