Adirondack Central School District was created by the merger of the Boonville, West Leyden, Forestport, and Ava school districts. Ava was the first school to merge with Boonville in 1957 with West Leyden and Forestport joining in 1966. The Adirondack Wildcats became the district's mascot replacing the Boonville Green Hornets, Forestport Red Raiders, and West Leyden Indian Braves. Athletics helped play a role in the smooth transition of the district by giving all three communities a sense of pride in the achievements of their student athletes. This was especially true of the 1970-71 boys' basketball team which went undefeated for the season.
During the merger, Forestport students were sent to school in Boonville while students from West Leyden remained in West Leyden until the fall of 1970 when the new high school and Forestport elementary buildings were dedicated. The first Superintendent of Adirondack Central School District was Harold P. Seamon and the first High School Principal was Bruce A. Quick.
The Forestport and West Leyden buildings housed students in K-6 and the Boonville building became a K-8 building. Eventually overcrowding occurred and in 1997 construction began on a dedicated middle school for grades 6-8. Since then, the district has seen declining enrollment and in 2019 a decision was made to permanently close Forestport Elementary. The school system currently includes fifteen townships and parts of three counties serving over 1100 students.
Scope of Collection
This collection contains yearbooks from Boonville High School, West Leyden Central School, and Adirondack Central School.