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History

history

 Sabine Independent School District is located in an unincorporated area on the western edge of Gregg County in Northeast Texas. This area was incorporated as Liberty City in 1978 but the following year the city charter was revoked by the voters. The school district was created by the Gregg County Commissioner's Court in 1893. By 1907, the school served sixty-five students under the leadership of Miss Ola Mae Rogers. During the same period, black students within the district attended Mount Pleasant School. The school for black students was moved and renamed the North Chapel School in 1903. 

The County School Board commissioned three schools within the district for white students in 1911. The three schools: Sabine, Mount Moriah and Mount Sylvan, provided the students with an education through seventh grade. Mount Moriah consolidated with Sabine in 1914. The county then constructed a new building in 1917 to serve Sabine students. Two classrooms were located on the lower floor of the two story structure. The second floor housed the Woodmen of the World Lodge. By 1918, the school had increased to nine grades and three teachers. 

On the North Chapel campus, a new two-room, two-teacher school was built in 1922. This structure was used until a seven-room brick building was erected in 1933. During the late 1940's and early 1950's, the North Chapel campus expanded and built a new high school and an elementary facility. Most of the student records from the North Chapel school were destroyed by a fire in the late 1950's. 

The Sabine School District became an independent school district in 1951. The district continued to renovate and expand its campuses to meet student needs through its oil-rich tax base. In 1965, Sabine ISD integrated its schools through a "freedom of choice plan." The North Chapel campus was closed when integration was finalized in 1969. 

Today, Sabine Independent School District serves approximately 1400 students on three campuses. The elementary school serves Pre-K through grade 5. Middle school students in grades 6-8 are housed in the 1969 high school building. High school students in grades 9-12 attend classes in a two-story facility that was dedicated in 1984. Sabine ISD joined other area school districts that fell victim to the economic impact of the East Texas "oil bust" in the mid-1980's. Declining mineral values and revisions in the school finance law moved the district from its status as "budget balanced" or "rich" school district to a financially "poor" district. The budgetary constraints, however, have not affected the commitment of Sabine ISD administration and Board of Trustees to provide a quality education for all district students.