Taft City School District

The Taft City School District is located in the extreme western portion of Kern County and comprises an area of approximately 116 square miles.   The area now in the Taft City School District at one time was a part of the Buena Vista School District. Then in 1903, the Midway district was formed. The Conley School District was formed from territory formerly included in the Midway School district on February 5, 1909. The first teacher of the K-8 school was Dulcie Green. During this school year the "blowing in" of the famous Lakeview gusher on March 14, 1910, caused the enrollment to increase and at the end of the first school year there were 90 students enrolled. Its first district clerk was G. W. Parish. The district was named for John W. Conley, a holder of extensive oil property in the area.
 
In its first year, Conley School had an average daily attendance of 48 pupils. The next year the average, 1910-1911, daily attendance had risen to 137 pupils. Extremely rapid growth characterized the Conley School District during its early years. By 1925-1926, the average attendance was 1,832 pupils.
 
The first Conley School was held in a small frame shack near Boust City, the early name given to present day Taft heights. This first school burned down the first year and school was temporarily held in a section of the old pavilion, which was located on Crystal Street between Asher and Shattuck Avenues. A makeshift tent house was the next location of the school.
 
In 1910 a two-room school was built in the area north of Buena Vista Street between Naylor and Rose Avenues. In 1912 a $50,000 bond was passed to erect a two-story brick building with eight classrooms and an assembly hall. This building still stands, though it was reconstructed to conform to legal earthquake-proof structural requirements in 1934 and is known today as Conley School.
 
To house the rapid increase in pupils, the district passed a $360,000 bond issue at an election held on December 21, 1920, by a small majority of 12 votes. Two new schools were built after the sale of the bonds. Roosevelt School was constructed in 1922 and Lincoln School was built in 1923. In 1924, the Ford City Kindergarten building was built. The first cafeteria was constructed at Lincoln School in 1925.
 
In the beginning and for several years, the high school and the elementary schools were under the same jurisdiction. In 1932 the Taft Elementary School District became a separate city school district. The vote was 773 Yes and 165 No. At that time the Conley School District was changed to Taft City School District.
 
The Tehachapi earthquake of 1952 severely damaged the school structures. The original buildings known as Taft Primary, Roosevelt and Roosevelt Annex and the 1923 construction at Lincoln were all razed. The following facilities were built in their place. Parkview School was built in 1955. Taft Primary completed in 1959. Roosevelt School constructed in 1954. Lincoln School has had several expansions from 1937 band room and little theater to the completion of the gym and cafeteria in 1955. The "new" Jefferson School was constructed occupied in the fall of 1985.
 
In the spring of 2001, the voters of Taft approved a $20 million bond for the modernization and improvement of school facilities. All of the district's schools will receive funds to install air conditioning, upgrade electrical systems and to build new library media centers on 5 of the school campuses. The completion of these projects will take place over the next 6 years.