Peabody–Burns USD 398 explained

Peabody–Burns USD 398
Address:	506 N. Elm St.
City:	Peabody
State:	Kansas
Zipcode:	66866
Country:	United States
Coordinates:	38.1697°N -97.1017°W
Type:	Public
Grades:	Pre-K to 12
Established:	1965
Superintendent:	Antoinette Root
School Board:	7 members
Schools:	2

Peabody–Burns USD 398 is a public unified school district headquartered in Peabody, Kansas, United States.^[1] The district includes the communities of Peabody, Burns, Wonsevu, and nearby rural areas of Marion, Chase, Harvey and Butler Counties.^{[2] [3]}

History

In its early history, the Peabody school district was sometimes referred as district 12 of Marion County.

The number of students in rural communities dropped significantly across the 20th century. As farming technology progressed from animal power to small tractors towards large tractors over time, it allowed a farmer to support significantly more farm land. In turn, this led to fewer farm families, which led to fewer rural students. In combination with a loss of young men during foreign wars and rural flight, all of these caused an incremental population shrinkage of rural communities over time.

In 1945 (after World War II), the School Reorganization Act in Kansas caused the consolidation of thousands of rural school districts in Kansas.^[4]

In 1946–1947, many one-room rural schools consolidated into the Peabody school district.^[5]

In 1963, the School Unification Act in Kansas caused the further consolidatation of thousands of tiny school districts into hundreds of larger Unified School Districts.^[6]

In 1964, School District 131 was formed by the merger of the former Peabody, Burns, and Summit school districts into one educational system. The first school board consisted of C. Irvin Good of Peabody, Rodney E. Vogelman of Burns, Sherwin C. Ammeter of Summit.^[7] On July 1, 1965, the school district was approved by the state to become Unified School District (USD) 398.^{[8] [9] [10]}

Current schools

The school district operates the following schools:^[1]

• Peabody-Burns Junior/Senior High School at 810 North Sycamore Street in Peabody. In 1953 the Brown Building was built, in 1997 the current school addition was built south of it.
• Peabody-Burns Elementary School at 506 North Elm Street in Peabody. The school district headquarters is located in the west side of this building. It was built in 1974.

Closed schools

• Peabody High School, northeast corner of 8th and Walnut in Peabody. It was a two-story brick building that opened in 1923.^[11] It was closed after the current high school addition was built in 1997 then demolished and converted into a football practice field.
• Peabody Elementary School, northeast corner of 2nd and Maple in Peabody. It was a large two story limestone building. It was closed after the current elementary school was built in 1974 then demolished. It was started in 1872 as two stone rooms, then expanded over decades to its final size.
• Burns High School, southeast corner of Main and Cincinnati in Burns. It was closed in 1965 then converted into the Burns Community Museum.
• Burns Elementary School, southwest corner of Main and Church in Burns. It was closed in 1997 then demolished.
• Summit School (rural), along Vista Road between Peabody and Burns. It was closed in 1965 then demolished.

District Superintendents

Decades ago, Superintendents use to teach class in addition to their administrative roles. The notes columns lists other jobs held within the same school district (not exhaustive, and may be missing some information).

Years	Name	Notes
2021 to Current	Antoinette Root^[12] ^[13]
2012 to 2021	Ron Traxson^[14]
2011 to 2012	Demitry Evancho (interim)
2007 to 2011	Rex Watson
1999 to 2007	Thomas J. Alstrom
1995 to 1999	Dennis L. Versch
1990 to 1995	Robert Herbig
1982 to 1990	John G. Glover	PES principal 1968 to 1982
1980 to 1982	Norris Wika
1967 to 1980	Donald E. Martin^[15]	PHS principal 1963 to 1967
1962 to 1967	Robert D. Schmitt
1961 to 1962	John G.S. Nettleton^[16]	PHS principal 1956 to 1961
1955 to 1961	Charles Kerr
1952 to 1955	Harold M. Clark^[17] ^[18]	PHS principal 1950 to 1952
1950 to 1952	Robert H. Krieger
1927 to 1950	Harry H. Brown^[19]	PHS principal 1923 to 1927, PHS teacher 1950 to 1956, Brown Building was named after him
1923 to 1927	Ira O. Scott ^[20]
1919 to 1923	W.P. Reese ^[21]
1917 to 1919	C.I. Vinsonhaler ^[22]
1916 to 1917	P.C. Vilander ^[23]	Peabody principal 1913 to 1915 ^[24]
1912 to 1916	A.K. Loomis ^[25]
1909* to 1912	J.W. Roberts
1906* to 1908*	W.D. Ross
1901*	A.H. Bushey ^[26]

Neighboring school districts

The neighboring school districts to this school district are:

• Remington USD 206 - south
• Newton USD 373 - southwest
• Goessel USD 411 - west
• Hillsboro USD 410 - northwest
• Marion–Florence USD 408 - north
• Chase County USD 284 - northeast
• Flinthills USD 492 - southeast
• El Dorado USD 490 - southeast

See also

• Peabody City Park, location of football field
• Peabody Gazette-Bulletin, local newspaper, contains stories about this school district
• List of high schools in Kansas
• List of unified school districts in Kansas
• Kansas State Department of Education
• Kansas State High School Activities Association

Further reading

• The Women of Peabody; Peabody Historical Society; Mennonite Press in Newton, KS; 250 pages; 2010; LCCN 2010928692. (contains memories from some former school teachers)
• Peabody : The First 100 Years; Peabody Historical Society; Peabody Gazette-Herald in Peabody, KS; 123 pages; 1971. (contains school history)

Notes and References

1. Web site: USD 398 Website . https://web.archive.org/web/20200130103820/https://www.usd398.net/ . January 30, 2020 . live.
2. Web site: USD 398 District Map . . https://web.archive.org/web/20200130105207/https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/SchoolDistrict/School%20District_398.pdf . January 30, 2020 . live.
3. Web site: USD 398 Boundary Map . MapTechnica . https://web.archive.org/web/20170510102128/https://www.maptechnica.com/school-district-map/null/null/unsd/2010590 . May 10, 2017.
4. https://books.google.com/books?id=TQ_RAAAAMAAJ&pg=1 Your School District: The Report of the National Commission on School District Reorganization; National Education Association; 286 pages; 1948.
5. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19460110_english_3 School District Reorganization Notice of Hearing; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; January 10, 1946.
6. Web site: Administration of Unified School Districts in Kansas . Kansas State Department of Public Instruction . https://web.archive.org/web/20200710105315/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED037897.pdf . July 10, 2020 . January 1967 . live.
7. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19641231_english_8 New District 131 School Board Moves Quickly On Unification; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; December 31, 1964.
8. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19650204_english_1 Unification Petition Is Approved; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; February 4, 1965.
9. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19650610_english_1 To Unify This Year; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; June 10, 1965.
10. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19650826_english_6 USD 398 Begins First Year; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; August 26, 1965.
11. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19221228_english_1 Using New Gym Now - New Building Fast Nearing Completion; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; December 28, 1922.
12. Web site: USD 398 Names New Superintendent . USD 398 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210623103436/https://www.usd398.net/article/392439 . June 23, 2021 . February 2, 2021 . live.
13. Web site: Staff . USD 398 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210622095724/https://www.usd398.net/o/usd398/staff . June 22, 2021 . live.
14. Web site: Staff . USD 398 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210112172717/https://www.usd398.net/o/usd398/staff . January 12, 2021 . dead.
15. Web site: Donald E. Martin Obituary . . February 20, 2013.
16. Web site: John G.S. Nettleton Obituary . https://web.archive.org/web/20191016033408/https://www.wrightfuneral.com/obituary/john-gs-nettleton/ . dead . October 16, 2019 . Wright Funeral Home . September 28, 2008.
17. Web site: Harold M. Clark Obituary . . November 29, 2006.
18. Web site: Harold M. Clark Obituary . https://web.archive.org/web/20191015001912/http://herald-zeitung.com/obituaries/article_5c4a4dbc-0773-5455-82b1-b92e8b0c44eb.html . dead . October 15, 2019 . New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung . November 29, 2006.
19. Web site: Harry H. Brown Obituary . . May 4, 1967.
20. Peabody - The First 100 Years; Peabody Gazette-Herald; June 1971.
21. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19230426_english_1 Supt. Reese Resigns; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; April 26, 1923.
22. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19190710_english_2 The Vinsonhalers Leave Today; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; July 10, 1919.
23. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19160810_english_5 Supt. P.C. Vilander Arrived; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; August 10, 1916.
24. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette-herald_usa_kansas_peabody_19151209_english_1 Principal Vilander Took His Class Out For Some Practical Work; The Peabody Gazette-Herald; December 9, 1915.
25. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=peabody_gazette_usa_kansas_peabody_19130820_english_1 Six Teachers In High School; Peabody Gazette; August 20, 1913.
26. https://peabody.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?fn=the_peabody_gazette_usa_kansas_peabody_19010328_english_4 Teachers Institute & Enrollment by Grade; The Peabody Gazette; March 28, 1901.