The Union County–College Corner Joint State School District (abbreviated UC/CC) is an interstate

unified school district A unified school district (in the states of Arizona, California, Kansas and Oregon) or unit school district (in Illinois), in the United States of America, is a school district that generally includes and operates both primary schools (kindergarten ...

that serves Union County and northeastern Franklin County in Indiana, as well as portions of Preble and Butler counties near the village of College Corner in Ohio. It is the only remaining joint state school district in Indiana and Ohio. The district, which operates under Indiana law, is governed by a nine-person board of trustees with representatives from both states. Under , the State of Ohio reimburses the State of Indiana for the cost of educating Ohio students, who "transfer" into the district from the College Corner Local School District under an open enrollment policy.

Schools

The school district operates four schools: *College Corner Union Elementary School, College Corner, Ohio, and

West College Corner, Indiana West College Corner (also known as just College Corner) is a town in Union Township, Union County, Indiana, United States. The population was 545 at the 2020 census. The town is bordered on the east by the state line with Ohio, directly bordering ...

— *Liberty Elementary School,

Liberty, Indiana Liberty is a town in Center Township, Union County, Indiana, United States of America. The population was 2,000 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Union County. History The Liberty post office has been in operation since 1824. The L ...

*Union County Middle School, Liberty, Indiana * Union County High School, Liberty, Indiana

History

Originally,

, and College Corner, Ohio, operated separate schools. Upon the advice of the Indiana and Ohio Attorneys General, the two towns' school boards organized a shared College Corner Union School in September 1893. Unlike later interstate school districts, which were formed under

interstate compact The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

s with Congressional approval, no legislative approval was initially sought for the new school district. Instead, concurrent (but not joint) school boards of three members each oversaw the school and state funding was apportioned by enrollment. For the first school year, higher grades were held in Indiana while lower grades were held in Ohio. The new school building, which cost $12,000 and straddled the Indiana–Ohio state line, opened the fall of 1894. Union Township School later merged with College Corner Union School. In 1921, the College Corner Joint School District was formed to administer the school with funding from both states. Though the two sides shared a common superintendent, each board continued to meet separately, to satisfy an Indiana open meeting law. The school building was rebuilt in 1926, with the state line running through the flagpole, between the two entrances, and down the middle of the gymnasium's basketball court. In 1972, the Union County School Corporation was formed from school boards in Union County townships,

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, and West College Corner, as part of a statewide school district consolidation program. College Corner high school classes were moved to Union County High School in Liberty. In April 1988, the

Ohio State Auditor The Ohio State Auditor (formally known as the Auditor of State) is responsible for auditing all the public offices of the state of Ohio. The auditor is elected to a four-year term. The current Auditor is Keith Faber. References External lin ...

and Board of Education threatened to withhold state funding for the College Corner district because it no longer offered high school instruction, but the Franklin County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court ruled in favor of the district, citing exemptions passed by the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and Ohio General Assemblies in 1912. In 1995, a federal magistrate merged the College Corner Joint School District and Union County School Corporation into the Union County–College Corner Joint School District.

Athletics

Union County–College Corner's athletic teams are known as the Patriots. College Corner High School's athletic teams were known as the Trojans. They competed in the Preble County League in Ohio from 1907 to 1974. From 1940 to 1968, they additionally competed in the Whitewater Valley Conference in Indiana. The school's 1926 football team was its last despite a 30–2 record because players had been brought in from nearby

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

. The Ohio High School Athletic Association banned the team for 100 years when the deception was discovered.

Notable people

Notable alumni of College Corner Union Elementary School or its predecessor, College Corner Union School: * Paul Ramsey HawleyArmy physician

References

External links