Columbia High School
Address
469 SE Fighting Tiger Drive Lake City , Florida 32025 United States
Coordinates	30°08′53″N 82°38′12″W / 30.14806°N 82.63667°W / 30.14806; -82.63667
Information
Type	Public
Founded	1888 [2]
School district	Columbia County School District
Principal	Trey Hosford
Teaching staff	96.00 (on an FTE basis) [1]
Enrollment	1,957 [1] (2018–19)
Student to teacher ratio	20.39 [1]
Color(s)	Purple   and Gold
Fight song	Onward Victorious
Nickname	Tigers
Rival	Suwannee High School, Gainesville High School
Yearbook	The Columbian
Feeder schools	Lake City Middle School
Website	chs.columbiak12.com

Columbia High School (CHS) is a four-year public high school located in Lake City, Florida. The school's mascot is the Fighting Tigers and the colors are purple and gold. ^[3]

History

The school was founded in 1888. The 1921 building, which was replaced in 1957 by a new building on Duval street, is on the National Register of Historic Places. ^[4] In 1935 the school was accused of cheating in football by playing a 21-year-old student who lived outside the county. A judge ordered them to be suspended from the Athletic Association and cancelled the rest of their games. ^[5]

Censorship

In 1986, despite opposition from the ACLU, the school district banned Chaucer's The Miller's Tale and Aristophanes Lysistrata from the school because of sexual content. ^{[6] [7]} This decision was ultimately upheld by the courts in 1989 in the case Virgil v. School Board of Columbia County. ^{[8] [9]} A 1993 attempt to ban Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was defeated due to the intervention of a local librarian. ^[10]

Integration

Prior to 1969, Columbia was for White students only. In 1969, when the schools were forced to integrate by federal courts, students from the all-Black Fort White High School were sent to Columbia High School,^{[ citation needed]} but the district did not fully integrate Columbia at that time and defied a federal court order to do so in January, 1970. ^[11] The court allowed them to delay until February. ^[12] Students from Fort White continued to attend Columbia for over 30 years, when a new Fort White High School was built.^{[ citation needed]} In 1979, a Black student was accused of improper behavior towards a White female. The Black student was suspended, which led to a boycott of the school by Black students, and McKinley Jeffers, a Black assistant principal was fired. ^[13]

Activities

Extra curricular activities at the school include the FIRST Tech Challenge team The Flying Tigers, the Academy of Graphic Design, Academic Team, Athletics, Band, Color Guard, and two chapters of Future Farmers of America. The football program lists regional championships in 1969, 1998 & 2003; made it to the Quarter-Finals in 1975, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2001 & 2002, and one State Championship victory in 1967. ^[14]

The Columbia High School Marching Band has been ranked superior in the Florida Bandmasters Association's Marching Performance Assessment for 16 years. ^[15] The CHS Drumline has a long lasting record of superiors at the State level, they've received 5 straight, as of 2023.

Columbia high football has been an important part of the community since it began, it won a state title back in 1967, and were runners-up in 1964 and 1997. It was at one time, the winningest program in the state of Florida. ^{[16] [17]}

Columbia high athletics have been competitive over the years winning a total of 8 state titles, and producing many notable alumni in its past.^{[ vague]}

Sports

State championships

• Boys Basketball: 1947 (Class B) ^{[18] [19]}
• Boys Track: 2002 (Class 3A) ^[20]
• Boys Weightlifting: 1996, 1998, 1999
• Boys Football: 1967 (Class A) ^[16]

Notable alumni

References

External links

• School Website
• Columbia High School page at Great Schools