Consolidation played a big role in the school districts we know today. Below is a brief overview of the origins of each district:
Village schools were established in Stoutsville and Amanda by the late 1890s. Between 1914 and 1928, most of the schools in Madison Township had closed, with students instead attending Amanda or Clearport schools. In 1928, Clearcreek Township had consolidated all of its schools to an elementary and high school in Stoutsville and a second elementary school in Oakland. In 1935, Clearport School closed and those students went to Clearcreek or Amanda schools. In 1937, the last one-room schoolhouse in Hocking Township closed and most of those students then attended Lancaster schools. In 1944, Oakland Elementary School closed and the students in Clearcreek schools went to Stoutsville. In 1960, Clearcreek Township and Amanda Township schools consolidated to form Amanda-Clearcreek Local Schools.
In 1915, Basil and Baltimore schools consolidated to form Liberty Union United Schools. By the 1930s, a single one-room schoolhouse remained in Liberty Township, with the others consolidating into Liberty Union United. In the fall of 1960, Liberty Union United and Thurston School Districts consolidated to form Liberty Union-Thurston Local Schools.
Rural one-room schoolhouses were consolidated into three larger districts in the 1920s and 1930s - Pleasantville, Rushville and Bremen. The districts remained relatively stable until statewide pressure from the legislature and Ohio Department of Education in the 1950s spurred discussions about combining the three districts into one. On April 16, 1957, Pleasantville and Rushville consolidated to form Fairfield Union Local school district. A bond issue was passed shortly afterward to build a new high school, but the board of education delayed construction to determine whether Bremen Local District would join Fairfield Union. In 1959, Bremen residents voted in favor of consolidation, which occurred in 1961. The first superintendent, Evan Belville, was hired in August 1961 and the first operating levy - 3 mills - was passed in May 1963.
After the Civil War, several one-room schools were located in Berne Township. Sugar Grove had three other school buildings before the first part of the present building was constructed in 1915. Sugar Grove High School graduated its first class in the spring of 1917. As the years went by, there was discussion to combine Crawfis High School and Sugar Grove School. On June 7, 1930, the Fairfield County Board of Education passed a resolution to create the Berne Union School District. The last of the one-room schools was abandoned in 1934.
For several years after the first settlement of Walnut Township in 1807, there was no organization of school districts in the township. James Allen and Jesse Smith were among the first school teachers of Walnut Township and they taught in different neighborhoods for many years. One of the first schoolhouses in the township was built in 1815 near the site of Millersport, in the Murphy and Holmes settlement. Millersport Junior-Senior High School (housing grades seven through 12) was built in 1975, and additions were constructed in 1986.
Lithopolis High School started in 1845 and disbanded in 1918, with those students then attending Groveport, Carroll or Canal Winchester. Carroll High School started in 1887, with eight students in its first graduating class. The next graduating class was not until 1902 or 1904. It is uncertain why there were no graduates between 1888 and the early 1900s. Bloom Township and Carroll schools consolidated in the mid-1950s to form Bloom-Carroll, with Carroll High School changing its name to Bloom-Carroll High School in 1968. However, diplomas issued from the school did not say "Bloom-Carroll" until the class of 1972's graduation.