Spring Lake Public Schools

Spring Lake Public Schools is a public school district in West Michigan. It serves Spring Lake and parts of Crockery Township and Spring Lake Township in Ottawa County.^[4]

Spring Lake Public Schools
Address
345 Hammond Street[1] Spring Lake , Ottawa, Michigan, 49456 United States
District information
Grades	Pre-Kindergarten-12
Superintendent	Dennis Furton[2]
Schools	6[3]
Budget	$35,832,000 2021-2022 expenditures[3]
NCES District ID	2632550[3]
Students and staff
Students	2,297 (2023-2024)[3]
Teachers	143.21 (on an FTE basis) (2023-2024)[3]
Staff	304.17 FTE (2023-2024)[3]
Student–teacher ratio	16.04 (2023-2024)[3]
Other information
Website	www.springlakeschools.org

History

The first school in Spring Lake was built in 1844. Known as Barber Street School, it served as a school until 1855, when a new school was built, and it was moved and put to other uses. In 1988, it was moved to the southwest corner of West Exchange Street and South Buchanan Street and renovated for community use.^[5]

A union school district was established in 1867, and a Union School was built in 1869. On May 11, 1893, half of Spring Lake village was destroyed in a fire,^[6] including the Union School. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1894. It was located across Exchange Street from the current site of Barber Street School.^[5]

In 1951, Holmes Elementary was built.^[5] The Jeffers school district and its three-room school, Jeffers Elementary, was annexed by Spring Lake district in 1957. By 1969, the district had built several additions to Jeffers Elementary.^[7]

As of 1957, the Union School was still in use as a junior high school. An article in the Grand Haven Tribune called it a "‘horse and buggy’ building which was built in 1893 and enlarged in 1919. In case of fire the youngsters on the upper floor must slide down the ‘chute.’ [A fire escape slide attached to the outside of the building.] … Lighting, ventilation, and other structural problems are not easy to solve …"^[8]

In November 1957, voters passed a bond issue to build a new junior high school at 345 Hammond Street.^[9] It was dedicated on November 30, 1959.^[10] By 1961, the community was debating establishing a high school of its own instead of sending its high school students to Grand Haven High School.^[11]

In fall 1963, additions to house a high school were completed at the junior high school.^[12] Ninth and tenth grade were added that year, and by 1965, the high school went to grade twelve.^[5]

The current high school was dedicated on June 15, 2000^[13] and opened in fall 2000.^[14] The architecture firm Fanning/Howey Inc. designed the building.^[13] The former junior/senior high school building became the district's middle school and intermediate school.^[15]

Substantial reconstruction of Jeffers and Holmes Elementaries was completed in fall 2016.^[16]

Schools

Schools in Spring Lake Public Schools district^[15]

School	Address	Notes
Spring Lake High School	16140 148th Ave., Spring Lake	Grades 9-12. Built 2000.[13]
Spring Lake Middle School	345 Hammond St., Spring Lake	Grades 7-8. Shares a building with South Lake Intermediate School. Built 1959.[10]
Spring Lake Intermediate School	345 Hammond St., Spring Lake	Grades 5-6. Shares a building with South Lake Middle School.
Holmes Elementary	426 River St., Spring Lake	Grades PreK-4. Built 1951.[5]
Jeffers Elementary	16031 144th Ave., Spring Lake	Grades PreK-4