Boone County Schools history

After that, a series of one-room schoolhouses were built around the city, one of which was a public school on Price Pike built in 1828.

In 1881, the Price Pike school was sold, leaving Florence without a public school building for the first time since the Squirrel Hollow School was built.

In 1887, a new Board of School Directors was elected, and within the next year, a new school was built on Montgomery Street.

By 1901, Almer Michael Yealey had inherited this two-room frame building that only had two teachers, one acre of land, a five month school term, and no grades.

That school remained the only public schoolhouse in Florence until 1908, when Kentucky’s school system drastically changed.

By 1911, A.M. Yealey’s school on Montgomery Street had been granted two more rooms, another teacher, and a four-year graded school plan.

In May 1923 the Crook District Board of Education purchased and obtained a deed to the real estate where Van High School is now located.

In 1925, the county conducted its first ever basketball tournament, where the teams played on an outside court during the afternoon and Union won in both the boys and girls division.

Crook District High School was completed in time for the opening school term in September of 1926.

The school began its inter-scholastic athletic activities in 1928 when the first football team was formed.

The first graduating class, in 1930, consisted of six people.

By 1931, Florence had granted diplomas to 80 students before consolidating with the Boone County School System in September to form a graded school.

The first Band was organized October 15, 1939.

In the school year of 1940-41, the National Honor Society was formed to recognize outstanding students.

With the construction of a gymnasium in the summer of 1950, as well as the development of a nearby athletic field, facilities became adequate for a full program of group activities.

The oldest of the four district high schools, Boone was created in 1954 when multiple city high schools consolidated into a single county high school.

Conner High School opened its doors for the first time on October 15, 1970 with less than 600 students in grades 10 - 12.

Since those 136 students graduated in the first class of 1971, over 6000 student have gone through the graduation ceremonies.

In 2020, Conner High School will graduate its’ fiftieth class.