HISTORY OF TAKINI SCHOOL WM,VH,TR

In 1979 Red Scaffold School Board entered into negotiations with the BIA to build a new school for K-9 on the west end of the Cheyenne River Reservation. (Red Scaffold already had a K-9 system in place.) Originally, the Red Scaffold School Board and the community of Red Scaffold wanted the new building to be located at the junction of roads leading to Red Scaffold, Cherry Creek, and Dupree next to the Beaver Widow homestead on donated land. In the early 80s, 4.5 million dollars was appropriated to build the school.

At this time a movement began to consolidate the schools in Red Scaffold, Cherry Creek, and Bridger. The BIA decided to locate the new school in between the three communities of Red Scaffold, Cherry Creek, and Bridger.

The infrastructure for electricity, water, and roads was already present at the originally planned site, but it was not present at the location selected by the BIA. Three-phase electricity was established at a cost of 1.5 million dollars, which was taken from the 4.5 million dollars appropriated for the new school. A two-inch water line that ran for the last 7 or 8 miles was replaced with a six or eight-inch water line in order to fill the water tower with water for drinking and safety purposes. A new road leading from Red Scaffold to the new site, with a major bridge over Ash Creek, was built. Because it was necessary to spend a couple of million dollars of the appropriated money on these projects, the plans for the new building had to be downsized significantly.

In 1986 Red Scaffold School Board contracted with the BIA to start a high school. The plans that were developed to house students in grades K-9 were not altered.

At this time the K-6 schools in Cherry Creek and Bridger were BIA operated. The K-12 school in Red Scaffold was a Contract School. The CRST Council mandated an election to determine how the new school would be operated. The first vote resulted in a tie; contract won by one ballot in the second election. A special election was held to elect School Board members. Two members from each of the three communities and one member-at-large were elected: Harold Condon, Lucy Etzkorn, Dorothy Strikes Enemy, Ramona Red Horse, Mary Jane Good Shield, Deloria Straighthead, and Jess Knight were elected.

The new K-12 school opened in 1989, with an enrollment of over 300 in a building designed for 225 elementary children. In 1991, with money in the school budget, the Takini School Board built a metal building, which included seven classrooms and two administrative offices. In 1992 the Takini School Board built a small metal multi-purpose gymnasium. In 1994 six modular units were added to the campus to house the high school classes.

Initially five modular houses were built to accommodate teachers. Over the years Takini School Board negotiated with lending institutions to purchase twenty-some trailers for teacher housing. (The closest community with rental possibilities is approximately 100 miles away.)