Citrus High School

For the school in California see Citrus High School (Fontana, California)

Citrus High School (CHS) is a public high school in the town of Inverness, Florida, United States. A part of the Citrus County School District, Citrus High currently offers a four-year curriculum in grades 9-12 and currently has an enrollment of 1,420 students. The school was founded in 1911. Citrus High, nicknamed the Hurricanes, was the first of the three high schools in the Citrus County School District, which also includes Crystal River High, in the coastal town of Crystal River and Lecanto High, located in the center of the county.

Citrus High School
Address
600 W. Highland Blvd. Inverness , Florida 34452 United States
Information
Type	Public Secondary School
Established	1911
School district	Citrus County School District
Dean	Chad Meyer, Janel Griffis
Principal	Mark Kahler
Assistant	Mary Leonard
Assistant	Kyler Kirby
Assistant	Jason Cates
Teaching staff	79.50 (FTE)^[1]
Grades	9 to 12
Enrollment	1,439 (2019-20)^[1]
Student to teacher ratio	18.10^[1]
Schedule type	7 periods
Color(s)	Black and Vegas Gold
Song	Citrus High We Love Thee
Mascot	Hurricane
Yearbook	The Citrio
Feeder schools	Inverness Middle School, Citrus Springs Middle School
Website	http://chs.citrusschools.org

In the 2016–17 school year, Citrus High School started the Academy of Computer Sciences, an academy designed to give students a strong foundation in computer science.

Citrus High serves the following communities:^[2] Inverness,^[3] Floral City,^[4] Inverness Highlands North,^[5] Inverness Highlands South,^[6] and sections of Citrus Hills,^[7] Citrus Springs,^[8] and Hernando.^[9]

History

Citrus High School can be dated to the late 1800s when it was a wood-frame school building that taught chart class to the sixth grade. It is referred to as the first Inverness High School by some. Citrus High School was officially authorized to be built in 1911 as a two-story brick school house which was designed by architect W.B. Talley. It was to be built on Citrus Avenue. This was across the street from the existing building. The Winston Brothers of Inverness, Florida's bid of $12,760 was approved by the school board. It was built originally to serve high school students, however, after the construction was completed, the school taught grades 1-12.^{[citation needed]}

In 1913, the school was wired for electricity and in 1918, the student body had outgrown the school. The school board originally wished to add on to the school but, after two unsuccessful attempts for bid, the project was abandoned. In 1920, the Board of Public Instruction approved to build a school and principal's home. The newer school was to be built on the corner of Line Avenue and Main Street. The bid was given to C.M. Emerson & Co. for a bid of $19,210. The current old school was to be strictly used as a grammar school. In 1921, the new school was built but was only used for a short time. Due to major structural problems, the students were sent back to the 1911 school. In 1930, a new high school was built once again on Main Street and Line Avenue. Citrus High received accreditation as a four-year high school from the State Board of Education. This school housed students until 1985 when a fire struck Citrus High School which nearly burned down the whole campus. The fire was blamed on faulty wiring. Students were placed in temporary portables to finish the school year. Some classes were held in the original 1911 building which is currently owned by Citrus Memorial Hospital. After the fire, Citrus High School was steadily reconstructed until 1992 when construction on the new East and West Wings were completed. The original building from the 1930 school resides between these wings.^[10]

Notable alumni

• Sam Franklin - NFL strong safety for the Carolina Panthers, Franklin recorded his first career sack on Patrick Mahomes
• Monty Grow – NFL player
• Kissy Simmons – Actress, Class of 1993
• Rick Hamilton – UCF Athletics Hall of Fame – Football, NFL Player

References

1. "CITRUS HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
2. "Citrus County High School Attendance Boundaries." Citrus County Schools. Retrieved on February 2, 2017.
3. City map 2017-01-24 at the Wayback Machine. City of Inverness. Retrieved on February 2, 2017. Compare this map to the county school maps.
4. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Floral City CDP, FL." U.S. Census Bureau. See map index. Retrieved on February 3, 2017. Compare this map to the attendance boundary maps of the school district.
5. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Inverness Highlands North CDP, FL." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 3, 2017. Compare this map to the attendance boundary maps of the school district.
6. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Inverness Highlands South CDP, FL." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 3, 2017. Compare this map to the attendance boundary maps of the school district.
7. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Citrus Hills CDP, FL." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 3, 2017. Compare this map to the attendance boundary maps of the school district.
8. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Citrus Springs CDP, FL." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 3, 2017. See map pages. Compare this map to the attendance boundary maps of the school district.
9. "." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 3, 2017. See map pages. Compare this map to the attendance boundary maps of the school district.
10. . Archived from the original on 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2015-05-25.

External links

• Official website

28°50′07″N 82°20′13″W / 28.8352619°N 82.3370383°W / 28.8352619; -82.3370383