A contentious school levy, debate over the location of a new school, a battle of public comments, a mid-year school transition, and adults making a bigger deal than the kids… all this sounds familiar to recent community debates, except this is the growing pains of a new school district from 60 years ago.
In early 1965, the Boards of Education for the Farmersville and Germantown school districts started having discussions about a possible merger. Small schools across the state had been encouraged to consolidate to provide more educational opportunities for students.
Merger Decision
The first public announcement of a potential merger was a May 27, 1965, story in The Germantown Press reporting a meeting of representatives from each school district and the Montgomery County Superintendent of Schools.
By August 5 that year, The Press reported that the merger proposal had been filed with Montgomery County Schools and a 30-day waiting period for formal opposition had passed without a petition.
The consolidated Board of Education for Valley View was announced at the same time and included Melvin Sears (Farmersville) as president, George Kuhn (Germantown) as vice president, and members Marvin Ulrich (Farmersville) and George Bowman (Germantown).
The headline blared “Valley View School District is Established” (see image above).
A Levy and a Land Purchase
The new Valley View School Board got to work immediately on plans to construct a new consolidated high school. Just as quickly, debate broke out in the community about the location of the new school, with many on the board favoring a location between the two communities.
By March 1966, voters were asked to approve a $1.75 million bond to build the new school. And though the merger had not met with any opposition, voting for an increase in taxes met with some resistance.
The March 17 issue of The Press reported, “The levy passed with 54% of the vote. Germantown and German Township residents opposed the issue by 81 votes, but a 214-vote majority in Farmersville and Jackson Township gave the issue the necessary margin.”
A lawsuit filed by Germantown residents tried to prevent the purchase of the Weaver land on the corner of Manning and Farmersville-Germantown Pike, voicing concerns about the cost and access to utilities. And a July 1966 letter to the editor of The Press pushed for building the new school on land adjacent to the existing buildings in Germantown. Other letter writers chimed in to voice full support of the School Board.
Once the lawsuit was dropped in November 1967 due to its costs, the Board quickly moved forward with the land purchase. One new board member, George Kuhn, notably voted against the location, while making it known he was in favor of the merger.
Plaque commemorating the opening of the new Valley View High School in 1969
Excitement Grows with Students
While the adults in the community were sparring about taxation and land purchases, the students of the future Valley View Schools were excited.
1974 alum Amy (Boomershine) Cline recalls visiting the new school under construction. “It was really kind of exciting to see all that. I can remember the times when they would open it up, and the public could come in. I remember it was a muddy mess, but it was really exciting to see all that come together.”
Even after the merger announcement, the classes of 1967 and 1968 stayed separate, with 1968 as the last official classes of Farmersville and Germantown schools.
Class of 1968 alum Randy Leis served on the Farmersville Student Council. He remembers that students who wanted to “transfer” to Germantown High School for programs like vocational agriculture or football could do so to start taking advantage of programs that weren’t offered at the smaller Farmersville school.
Valley View students came together in the 1968-69 school year. Since the new high school was still under construction, students in K-8 stayed at their original school buildings while all freshmen went to Farmersville and sophomores, juniors and seniors combined at Germantown.
The first class of Spartans, Valley View Class of 1969
Since class officers were selected in the previous school year, the Valley View class of 1969 had two sets of class officers. Incoming 2026 Hall of Fame recipient Tom Sears was president from Farmersville, along with Gloria (Hale) Winning from Germantown.
The 1969-70 school year started the same, but students moved into the new high school mid-year as it was completed, making the class of 1970 the first to graduate from the new school.
Alum and Valley View Hall of Fame inductee Mark Cline (married to Amy) remembers making the transfer during his junior year, “We thought it was great to be the first class (1971) to go all senior year.”
The first class to graduate from the new high school - Valley View Class of 1970
A Whole New Set of Friends
Amy Cline remembers the period as an opportunity to make new friends. “I think it was in the seventh grade that kids would get on a bus and go to Germantown to be in band. The rest of us would then send notes back and forth. I would send notes to people I knew from Germantown. Sometimes it was because I was a seventh grade cheerleader and they were a seventh grade cheerleader.”
“We were the first class to have gone all four years through the school and to the new high school. And it was kind of a relief to be together,” she said. “Even though it was a little scary, it was almost a relief when you started going to school with those people, because you could actually see them and talk to them.”
When the merger was first announced Cline says kids were “fired up” to participate. “When there was dissension, it typically wasn't dissension of kids. It was dissension of the parents. And unfortunately, that's the way a lot of it goes.”
The Birth of a Spartan—or Viking or Patriot
While the Valley View name came from the Board of Education, students were involved in selecting the new mascot.
Glen Bowman remembers suggesting Spartans as the new Valley View mascot as Farmersville Student Council Vice President in 1966. A retired Valley View teacher and coach, Bowman remembers the School Board asked the Student Councils from each high school to make suggestions. He said the Germantown Student Council may also have recommended Spartans.
The School Board then narrowed the list and paired each mascot option with colors. The school wanted to avoid mascots similar to the previous Germantown Cardinals (red) and Farmersville Wildcats (purple and gold). All students in the new Valley View were able to vote.
Amy Cline from the class of 1974 remembers voting as a young student. “There were three choices on there, and I don't remember what the other two were, but we thought Spartans was pretty cool. I do remember that even elementary children were able to vote. I think everybody voted on it.”
Bowman remembers that the ballot included three final choices from the Board of Education, “The final three choices were red, white and blue, Patriots; green and white, Vikings; and navy and white Spartans.”
Once the new name and mascot were selected, the new teams needed new uniforms. Mark Cline recalls some controversy over the first Valley View football uniforms. “I remember people got ticked off because our new football uniforms were navy blue and white, but then they had red bands. And people said, no, wait a minute, we weren't supposed to be in reference to Germantown or Farmersville, right? I thought it was a neat uniform, and I recently donated my original uniform to the new school.”
The modern Valley View logo, adopted prior to construction of the new K-12 building, includes stars to honor the Farmersville Wildcats and Germantown Cardinals.
The Valley View logo includes red and purple stars to honor the Germantown Cardinals and the Farmersville Wildcats
Ongoing Challenges
The challenges of combining two communities and two schools continued for many years and sometimes come to the surface today.
Students in grades K-5 remained in separate elementary schools until around 2010, delaying full integration with their graduating class until what was known then as Middle School. And causing friction between the buildings with separate teachers and separate principals.
School officials have been cautious about news reports on athletes or Homecoming attendants listing their hometown, knowing that there are people “keeping score” on representation.
Recent social comments on a Twin Creek Times story about the Farmersville school demolition brought up debate about how many athletes from each town contributed to state champion football teams.
Spartan Spirit Endures
Time and time again, students have shown Valley View how to work together to support causes, care about the community, and exhibit sportsmanship.
This quote from the editorial leaders of 1965 captures the feelings of that time and provides a good guide for us today.
We have made a decision to merge. Let us accept future responsibilities with the same desire to give our children the best possible. They are our most precious possessions.
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