Harmony Community School District was a school district which was, at the end of its existence, headquartered in unincorporated Van Buren County, Iowa, near Farmington.[1] It served sections of Van Buren, Henry, and Lee counties. Communities in its service area included Farmington, Bonaparte, and Hillsboro.[2]
In previous eras it had its headquarters in Bonaparte.[3] In 2016 the high school closed and the elementary moved into the former high school building.[4] At the end of its existence the district operated one school, Harmony Elementary School near Farmington, and sent students to Van Buren Junior-Senior High School in Keosauqua as part of a grade-sharing arrangement.
The state of Iowa had changed its scheme for funding public schools, and the numbers of students in area schools had decreased.[5] In January 2016 the Harmony district and the Van Buren Community School District agreed to begin a grade-sharing arrangement in which Harmony-zoned students attended Van Buren schools for grades 7–12. The Harmony district repurposed the Farmington high school building for its elementary schools.[6] The arrangement began in fall 2016. The Harmony district's junior and senior high school closed the previous spring. The final graduating class consisted of 15 students.[4]
In January 2018 the administrations of the Van Buren and Harmony districts began to consider merging. In February 2018 83% of the voters in the Van Buren and Harmony districts voted to merge, with 94% (of 637 voters) in favor in the pre-merger Van Buren district and 72% (of 619 voters) in favor in the pre-merger Harmony district.[7] The requirement for a merge was for both districts to each have over 50% of voters in favor.[8]
There was a single superintendent and school board for both areas beginning on July 1, 2019.[7] On that day the Van Buren County Community School District formed.[9]
It formerly operated Harmony Elementary in Bonaparte, Harmony Middle School in Farmington,[3] and Harmony High School in unincorporated Van Buren County.[10]