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Our History
Our History
The Ross Local School District was formed in 1931 through the consolidation of the village
schools in Shandon, Venice (Ross), and Millville. The Shandon school building (known as the
New London School) became the high school for the consolidated school district. The Venice and
Millville school buildings were used to house grades 1 – 8. The Shandon building proved too
small to house all of the high school classes, so the two-story brick house at the corner of State
Route 126 and Alert-New London Road was used for the library, business classes, and science.
The I.O.O.F. Hall in Shandon served as the auditorium and gymnasium. In the early years of
Ross High School, a school newspaper was established and named Ross Rays. The first
yearbook was called the Ross Reveille. Several years later the name of the yearbook was
changed to its present title of the Rossonian. Mr. John Kilburn was the first superintendent of the
Ross School District. He also served as the principal of Ross High School.
District buildings
In 1939, construction began on a new school building located north of Venice on State Route 128. The construction project was financed through the federal government’s Works Progress Administration. Students moved into the new building in January of 1940. The new three-story building housed grades 1 – 12 for the entire school district. The building featured lab rooms for science, home economics, and industrial arts. It also had a combination auditorium/gymnasium with theatre type seats. The Future Farmers of America and Future Homemakers of America were two new organizations formed at this time. The Ross Chapter of the National Honor Society was established in 1945. In 1954 the Morgan School District was consolidated with the Ross School District. The Morgan Township school in Okeana continued to house students in grades 1 through 8 who lived in Morgan Township. The name of the school newspaper was changed in 1963 from the Ross Rays to the Ro-Hi-Ti, which stands for Ross High Times, which is the current title.
In 1962 a new elementary school was built at the corner of State Route 128 and Elda Drive. The school was named Elda Elementary in honor of Elda Emerick who was a long-time teacher in the district and whose family donated part of the land for the building. The building housed students
in grades K – 4. Mr. Harold Hill was the first principal of Elda Elementary.
In 1968, construction began on a new high school adjacent to the three-story building, which then housed grades 5 – 12. Students moved into the new high school building in December of 1969. This one-story modern building was a sharp contrast to the older three-story school. It provided much needed relief for classroom space and allowed the district to use the older building for a separate middle school for grades 5 - 8. This was a beneficial arrangement as the late 1970s and early 1980s brought climbing enrollment due to new subdivisions being built in the Ross and Millville areas. An addition to the high school in 1992 doubled the size of the media center, added three computer labs and one science lab. New land was also purchased behind the high school, which allowed the building of new athletic facilities including new football, baseball, and softball fields, an all-weather track and tennis courts.
A new Morgan Elementary School was constructed in 1982 on Chapel Rd. in Morgan Township. The modern style building initially housed students in grades K – 6 but, due to new home construction, grades 5 and 6 were later consolidated at the Ross Middle School.
