was easier to stay with the familiar rather than try the unknown. Another objection was the size of the proposed district There were only three high schools in the 12 districts, and while a new centrally located high school was proposed, some of the Pleasant Hill students would have to travel to Mitchellville for classes.

Pleasant Hill: “Leave Us Out"

Feelings were high enough in Pleasant Hill that people took action to block the proposal or stay out of it themselves. Grant and Chmura started circulating a counter-petition not only in Pleasant Hill but also in the other affected districts. They found other opponents to the proposal in Mitchellville, Runnells, and North Camp The Pleasant Hill school board and Ipalco hired lawyers to advise them on the issue.

The counter-petition did not halt the proponents of consolidation from filing their pro-merger petition with the Polk County Board of Education on April 30, 1953 at 11 p.m. The date and time became significant in the latter cases. The 55th General Assembly was in session at the time and had passed a revised school law that affected the method of consolidation. The new law was to take effect after midnight on the night of April 30-May 1, 1953.

Objections Filed; Rejected By Proponents of District

Norris, the county superintendent of schools, announced that October 1, 1953 would be the last day for filing objections to the proposed district. Objections were filed by a number of people from Pleasant Hill and by people from elsewhere. On October first and again on the twenty-second, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh and on November ninth, Norris listened to objections. On November 10, the superintendent filed his ruling in which he overruled the objections, sustained the petition, and fixed the boundaries of the proposed district as set out in the original petition except for a small portion of Jasper County.

The objectors, following the legal course, appealed the superintendent's ruling to the Joint Boards of Education of Polk and Jasper counties.

After hearing the objections to the school consolidation, the joint board decided to change the proposed district. They excluded three districts (Mitchellville, Runnells, and Franklin No. 5), a two section tract in North Camp District, and all remaining area in Jasper County. This ruling on April 22, 1954 left Pleasant Hill and its tax base of Ipalco in the proposed district. The county superintendent set May 11, 1954 as the date for a vote on the formation of the new district out of the eight remaining.

However, before the vote could take place, a petition was filed on April 27, 1954 in Polk County District Court to stay the election proceedings. The petitioners were Ralph Grant, Chick Chmura, and Janet P. Petersen. They, through their lawyers Earl Gritton and Donald L. Beving, argued that Norris as county superintendent and the joint board had "acted contrary to law and in excess of their jurisdiction in fixing the boundaries of the proposed district and in proposing to call and hold an election." The court refused to halt the vote.

Lopsided Pleasant Hill Rejection

The voting took place on May 11. A majority of voters approved of consolidation in six of the eight districts. Only in North Camp and Pleasant Hill was the proposal rejected. In Pleasant Hill, the rejection was 145 to 1. It was plain that the residents did not want to be part of this proposed district. However, based on the law in effect before May 1, 1953, the votes of the seven rural areas were combined and a majority of combined votes approved of the plan. A total of 1,249 people wanted the merger and 716 did not like it. County superintendent Norris proceeded with the next step, the election of a new board of directors and a treasurer.

Before that election could be held, an amendment was filed in district court to the original petition by Grant, Chmura, and Petersen. The amendment stated that Norris was acting "illegally in calling and holding an election for directors and treasurer in the new territory." They received some help on June 7, 1954 from people of Mitchellville, Runnells, and North Camp, two areas which had been left out of the proposal and the third that had