The idea of an interparish school received its beginnings in the fall of 1964 when representatives from Trinity church in Conroy and St. John’s in Homestead met to explore the possibilities of consolidating their schools. At this meeting it was decided to send school board members from the two churches to Waco, Nebraska and Cole Camp, Missouri to visit recently consolidated schools.

The following spring (1965) Immanuel church in rural Williamsburg also expressed interest in consolidation. At a spring meeting it was decided to suggest to all the congregations in the immediate area to elect five members for the express purpose of exploring the possibility of consolidating school facilities. Five congregations - Trinity, St. John’s, St John’s in Marengo, Immanuel and St. Paul in Williamsburg, responded with delegates. A meeting was held Aug. 2, 1965 at Trinity church in Conroy. At that meeting Carl Maas was chosen as chairman and Ralph Frese as secretary. Five sub-committees were formed to study individually the topics: constitution, finances, plant, site and transportation.

The sub-committees met and reported their progress to the full committee, which met quarterly. After some eight full committee meetings, the last being in December 1966, the aforementioned congregations voted on the proposal for consolidation. All the congregations except St. Paul, Williamsburg, rejected the plan. The main reason given for rejection was that the constitution for the consolidation was too demanding.

Meanwhile, St. John’s in Homestead and St. Paul in Williamsburg, because of difficulty in obtaining teachers, formed an interparish agreement for the 1966-67 school year. This agreement was successful and therefore, the two churches chose to renew the agreement and proceed with establishing an interparish school.

Trinity in Conroy found it difficult to obtain an additional teacher for the 1967-68 school year, therefore its members expressed interest in the agreement that St. John and St. Paul had established. The three congregations formed a joint study committee to work out an agreement for the operations of an interparish school. During this same time period, two teachers from Immanuel indicated they were leaving after the 1966-67 school year. Immanuel then sent two representatives to the joint study committee indicating Immanuel’s desire to be included in these meetings. After numerous meetings (approximately eight) the Lutheran Interparish School Agreement was formulated and presented to the voters of the four congregations. Voting assemblies from all four churches adopted the agreement April 30, 1967.

On May 10, 1967, the Interparish school board met and formed the association. The first elected officers on the board of directors were Milford Heitman, chairman and Dale Baack, secretary-treasurer. Leo Fastenau, who was serving as principal at St. Paul’s school, was appointed by the board of directors to become the first principal of Lutheran Interparish School.

During the first year of operation, due to lack of space in the Williamsburg facility, the board of directors rented the Trinity school facilities to house the fourth, fifth and sixth grades. Trinity’s school facility in Conroy was used until Oct. 7, 1968, when the new classrooms at the site in Williamsburg were completed. This then began the Lutheran Interparish School that has existed for over 40 years.

Enrollment at the new Lutheran Interparish School on the first day, Aug. 31, 1967, was 260 pupils. Ten teachers constituted the faculty. Roughly a year later the enrollment had increased to 269 students. Since then, enrollment has fluctuated and is now at 170 students.

Many changes have occurred since those beginning days in 1967. Our school has had two additions. The first was completed in 1968 and the second was dedicated in January 2003. Preschool was incorporated into the K-8 school program in 2000.