Toward the end of 1972, the Dallas County School District drew up plans to annex the schools at Tunas, located in the northern part of the county, into the much larger school district at Buffalo, the county seat. Tunas was a small school district with only about 155 students in grades 1-12, and it had been struggling to survive on its own for some time.
There was just one problem. Nobody apparently bothered to consult the Tunas School Board or the community's citizens. When the Tunas School Board learned in early 1973 of the proposed annexation, they approached the Skyline School District about consolidating with that school district instead and, upon receiving a favorable nod from Skyline officials, scheduled a vote for February 13 on the question of annexation into the Skyline district. The Skyline Schools, the result of a 1957 reorganization of the schools at Cross Timbers, Preston, and Urbana, were (and still are) located about four miles north of Urbana in Hickory County but were still a couple of miles closer to Tunas than Buffalo was to Tunas.
Meanwhile, the Dallas County School Board scheduled a vote on the question of annexation of the Tunas district into the Buffalo district for February 15, and they obtained a court order restraining the Tunas School District from holding its February 13 election. However, the latter election went on as scheduled, and voters in the Tunas School District voted overwhelmingly (232-19) in favor of joining the Skyline District. As soon as the Tunas School Board certified the results, they met with the Skyline School Board, who voted to accept Tunas into the district. Then on February 15, citizens in the Buffalo School District complicated matters by voting 396-231 to annex Tunas into their district.
Proponents of the Buffalo annexation then obtained an amended court order seeking to prevent the Tunas School District from transferring school supplies and other assets to the Skyline district. It now fell to Judge Charles V. Barker to decide the legality of the Tunas-Skyline election. Even though he was the one who had issued the restraining orders, he ultimately upheld the Tunas-Skyline election. But that was not quite the end of the dispute.
As the time for a new school year to begin approached in August, Tunas students were to be counted as part of the Skyline district, but they were scheduled to remain at their old buildings in Tunas. Then on August 9 fire destroyed the Tunas Elementary School and damaged the high school building. Arson was suspected, but no one was arrested (at least not in the immediate wake of the fire). The fire forced an altering of plans; so Tunas Elementary School students were now shifted to the old Tunas High School building, while the Tunas High School kids would commute to Skyline.
But this was still not quite the end of the controversy. Five Tunas school election officials had been charged with contempt of court for ignoring the original restraining order. Greene County circuit judge James H. Keet heard the case in October. The defendants claimed the restraining order had not been delivered by proper authorities nor had it been delivered in time to prevent the election. The prosecution said otherwise, and conflicting testimony supporting one side and then the other was presented. Judge Keet eventually acquitted the defendants but only because he ruled that the bond of the Dallas County citizens who obtained the restraining order was defective.
3 comments:
The Tunas area is an interesting place. The town itself is pretty much dead. But to the east on the way to Lead Mine CA, there are a community of Old Order Mennonites. Not much of a large scale farming area they have started or are involved in several businesses. There is grocery store that uses what I think are called sun tunnels for light, or gas when dark. An unbelievably good bakery, and even a produce auction among others.
That's interesting. Thanks for posting. It's been a year or two since I've been through Tunas, and I don't think I've ever been east of Tunas on the road that leads to the Lead Mine Conservation Area.
Thanks for this story I graduated in 1969 at Tunas High School.
There were suspect that set the school on fire one of them lived real close.
Him and his Son in Law were real suspects of doing this they for some reason wanted the School to go to Buffalo Mo.
The Board was served papers back then the day of the election is what I learned later by then Sheriff Jerry Cox. He also graduated there. One of the former board members later told others what Jerry said when he brought the court document in. He said I have some papers for you not sure if they would be good enough to use in the bathroom or not. But here they are and turned around and walked out.
The election went on as planned. The voters vote to go to Skyline and that is what they did.
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