page_title: Kasson Public School
section_title: Summary
hierarchical_section_title: Kasson Public School / History / Summary
caption_attribution_description: Kasson Public School main entrance in Kasson, Minnesota
context_page_description: The Kasson Public School building is located at 101 Third Avenue NW in city of Kasson, Dodge County, Minnesota, in the United States. Designed by architect Nels S. Jacobson Jr. of the architectural firm Jacobson & Jacobson, the school was constructed during the years 1917–1918. Kasson's elementary and high school students began using the building on December 5, 1918.
context_section_description: The Kasson Public School was constructed during the years 1917–1918.  Kasson's elementary and high school students began using the building on December 5, 1918. Samuel A. Challman, the first State Commissioner of Minnesota School Buildings and the foremost standard-bearer for the construction of Minnesota schools, expressed his approval of the school during a 1919 visit:
  "Mr. S.A. Challman, state inspector of school buildings, made the Kasson School a visit on Wednesday last and went into ecstasies over the structure erected here the past year.  He says there is nothing equal to it in the state in the way of completeness and architectural design.  He wanted a photo of it so that he could use it upon his letterheads.  He stated that it was the first of its type - three separate units, connected with a corridor, to be built in the state, but said it would be an ideal pattern for others who could not resist the temptation when once they saw this model structure."
  Commissioner Challman made the following statement about schoolhouse construction in 1914 to the National Education Association of the United States:
  "We must not forget that our public-school buildings leave an indelible impress upon the minds of the children who attend them.  Their very appearance is an education in itself, with which each community and the nation at large must reckon.  We speak rightly of school architecture and must not forget that architecture is one of the fine arts.  We have no more right to violate the established principles of architecture than we have to violate the principles of hygiene or pedagogy.  Our duty is to harmonize the various factors which enter into the problem and out of the whole produce a result which shall embody all that is true with respect to hygiene, mental growth, and aesthetic values."
  The school was used continuously from 1918 into 2005.  For nearly ninety years the Kasson Public School played a central role in the life of the community.  It served as Kasson's only school building until 1958 when the school district merged with nearby Mantorville and combined high school classes were held at a new school north of town.  It served as the Kasson Elementary School for more than four decades after that. It eventually housed an alternative school, community education and school district administrative functions.  Those uses were discontinued in 2005.  The 1895 Kasson Water Tower, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is located behind the school.
  In early 2006 the City of Kasson, MN obtained the school.   A November 2006 referendum to reuse the school as a combination city hall, police station and other governmental uses missed approval by only 122 votes.  The city council soon voted to demolish the building.
  In response, local citizens formed the non-profit Kasson Alliance for Restoration (KARE) in January 2007 to advocate for saving the school.  In May/June 2007 KARE stopped the demolition by filing a lawsuit against the city.  KARE then sponsored an effort which lead to the Kasson Public School being placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 2007.  The suit was settled out of court in August 2008.
  As part of the settlement the city and KARE partnered to conduct an Historic Properties Reuse Study which was completed in October 2009 by John Lauber and Company.  The reuse study suggested many reuses for the school to include for example apartments, library and a community center.  The study instructed the city to: “Market the [school] building to potential development partners (page 4)”.  In the fall of 2009, the city formed a Citizen's Task Force (CTF)to explore the reuse options.
  In April 2010 The CTF polled Kasson's citizens and discovered that a majority of them favored reusing the school.  In June 2010 the city offered KARE part ownership in the school provided KARE raised $3.9 million by August 31, 2011.  KARE declined this offer.  In September 2010 the city formed the Kasson Public Library Building Committee (KPLBC) to explore reusing the school site as a library.
  In August
caption: Detail above entrance
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "COOLPIX L5", "Image Orientation": "0", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Picasa 3.0", "Image DateTime": "2007:10:06 21:39:43", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "224", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "2002", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6792", "EXIF ExposureTime": "5/538", "EXIF FNumber": "33/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "79", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:10:06 21:39:43", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:10:06 21:39:43", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "29/10", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "19/2", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2672", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2240", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1878", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "58", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "61d233deb5f5d9b76d4db12dd69e2465"}