Elk Grove Union High School was the first union high school in the state of California. Sixteen elementary districts voted to tax themselves for a high school, and they all remained as separate districts until the entire K-12 district unified in 1959. The high school opened its doors in 1893 at its first site on Main Street (now Derr Street and Elk Grove Boulevard in Old Town). In 1922, a new brick building was constructed where the Joseph Kerr campus is today. In 1964 the school moved to its present site as a three-year high school (senior high) with grades 7-9 at the junior high. Elk Grove is the second oldest high school in Sacramento County. Until 1977, Elk Grove High was the only comprehensive high school in the district.
