Alpena Public Schools


Alpena Public Schools is a public school district in the Alpena County, Michigan. It serves all of Alpena County, except for some western parts of Green Township and Wellington Township. In Presque Isle County, it serves Presque Isle Township and part of Krakow Township.
APS covers more than and was officially established as Michigan's first county-wide school district in 1963.
WWW alpenaschools.com

History

The first school building in Alpena was built in 1863. A union school district was established in the town in 1867, and the district built its school four years later. In 1883, the first class graduated from the high school and the school board requested and gained accreditation from the University of Michigan.
Four buildings have served as Alpena High School:
  • 1870: The first high school operated within the Union School building.
  • 1891: Central High School was built, and additions were added in the 1920s. The school burned down in 1940.
  • 1942: The burned high school was replaced by a new building. Additions were added in 1952 and 1957. It became a junior high with the opening of the present high school, and has since been demolished.
  • 1967: The present high school opened. Additions were added in 1998.
Alpena's school district once only served the City of Alpena. In 1957, Presque Isle Township joined the school district. Rural districts in the county consolidated with the School District of the City of Alpena in 1963 and the district gained its present name. In 1966, the current high school was built to accommodate the increased student population. It was designed by the architecture firm Tarapata and MacMahon Associates.
In October 1981, the district ran out of money and closed for about two weeks. That November, district voters approved a tax renewal but defeated a tax increase, allowing the district to reopen, but without many services such as buses. In April of 1982, voters recalled four of the seven school board members, and the remaining members requested Governor William Milliken to appoint new members, which he did.