Watervliet Public Schools
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| Watervliet Public Schools | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
450 East St. Joseph Street[1]
, Berrien County, Michigan, 49098United States | |
| District information | |
| Motto | Working together to keep us together.[1] |
| Grades | Pre-Kindergarten-12 |
| Schools | 5[1] |
| Budget | $20,292,000 2021-2022 expenditures[2] |
| NCES District ID | 2635460[2] |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | 1,436 (2023-2024)[2] |
| Teachers | 81.38 (on an FTE basis) (2023-2024)[2] |
| Staff | 181.56 FTE (2023-2024)[2] |
| Student–teacher ratio | 17.65 (2023-2024)[2] |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
Watervliet Public Schools is a public school district in West Michigan. In Berrien County, it serves Watervliet and parts of the townships of Bainbridge and Watervliet.[3] In Van Buren County, it serves parts of the townships of Covert, Hartford, and Keeler.[4]
A new school building opened in Watervliet in fall 1890, and included a high school.[5] It was used until the next high school opened in January 1925.[6][7] That school was located at the corner of Red Arrow Highway and M-140.[8] North and South Elementary Schools were built in 1953.[9]
The current Watervliet High School opened in fall 1967 and was dedicated in April 1968.[10] Planning for the building began after Watervliet voters turned down a merger with Coloma Community School District in 1964, and Watervliet had a better idea of its facilities needs. Trend Associates of Kalamazoo was the architect.[11]
The 1925 high school building then became the district's middle school, but it was closed after the 1976-1977 school year. A resident insisted that the building’s roof had structural problems, and an engineering study confirmed it. The district could not afford repairs, and retrofitting the building to meet fire code posed additional challenges. Students were redistributed to other district schools.[9]
In 1999, an addition was built at the high school to house middle school students who were already attending school in the building.[12] The 1925 school building was torn down in 2004.[8]