Thunderbird Legacy

The creation of Skyline Schools in 1967 meant closing the doors at four community schools in Pratt County.  The Byers Hornets, the Coats Bulldogs, the Cullison Owls and the Sawyer Eagles became the Skyline Thunderbirds. The old school colors would be traded in for Columbia Blue and White. 

My dad was president of the Board of Education when Skyline was formed. In April, he was recognized as the first inductee to the Skyline Schools Thunderbird Legacy award.

Back in the mid-1960s, the state of Kansas was mandating consolidation of rural schools.

"We had no say. If we didn't do something, the state was going to mandate it," said my dad, Bob Moore,  in an article in The Pratt Tribune in 2018 to commemorate Skyline's 50th anniversary.

Initially, the state was pushing county consolidation. That meant that the smaller school districts would be absorbed into the Pratt district. In 1964, rural voters overwhelmingly defeated a vote for county unification, with 1,063 rural patrons voting against and only 82 voting in favor.  

A board was elected in 1965 with representatives from all the small rural schools, with my dad as the first president. They began exploring the qualifications necessary to become a Unified School District (USD). The area had to cover at least 200 square miles, have a valuation of at least $2 million and have a student population of at least 400. Most importantly, they had to convince the rural patrons that combining into a unified school district was the way to go. 

"We (school board members) went to each town and talked to people in person," he said in the 2018 article. "We went to each school and presented our ideas. We took questions and took a vote at each meeting. It was favored by a great majority. ..." 

Not everyone was convinced.

"My doctor and my car dealer told me personally, 'You won't last five years,' " my dad recalled in the 2018 article.  

But with rural residents backing the plan, my dad and other board members toured other schools across the state, looking for designs and ideas that would ease the transition and provide the best possible education for students. The small schools were part of the Skyline League for athletic competition, so Skyline Schools became the logical choice for a name. They chose Columbia Blue and White for the colors to avoid any of the previous school colors. 

On an August day in 1967, some familiar faces filled the school bus as we traveled toward rural Pratt. Before, I had only 3 1/2 miles to ride from my farm home to Byers. Now, it was closer to 12 miles. I don't really remember the first day, but my mom always took a photo to commemorate the beginning of a new school year. 

5th Grade class at Skyline and our teacher Opal Hemphill  minus me. I guess I liked being the photographer rather than being in the photo back then, too

 

At Byers, I had only three people - counting me - in my 4th grade class. It was quite a change to have a classroom full of one grade level. 

It was an honor for my dad to have been chosen for the first Legacy award. All of us siblings were able to be at the gala.  

My siblings (l to r) Darci Webb, Lisa Bauer, me and Kent Moore

While my mom was never on the school board, she - and the other wives - certainly played a part in the success of the process behind the scenes.

 

As for my dad's doctor and car dealer, they were wrong. Skyline Schools is still going strong. 

Me in 1975 in my Skyline blue

 And several of the family members who attended the Skyline Gala are also Skyline graduates. 

 

Thanks to the committee for honoring my dad in this way!