RFP Staff
♦ The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education at Thursday’s day-long retreat discussed the potential closing of six elementary schools. Besides Cleveland and Woodleaf Schools, already positioned to be consolidated into one school, the plan tossed about on Thursday by the school board includes the possible closing of Enochville, Mt. Ulla, Faith, and Morgan Elementary schools.
When word spread through the grapevine that six schools were getting groomed for closure you would’ve thought the schoolboard and the school system were planning to torture cats, dogs, and goldfish. It set off one of the larger barrages of emails to the RFP in recent months. On April the 25th when the School Board has scheduled a “business meeting” they should expect all the seats in the Wallace Educational Forum to be packed with angry residents and parents deadset against the closing of “their” local elementary schools.
The outpouring of public wrath against the school board’s latest call for “saving money” at the expense of local residents and parents may well eclipse the county’s outpouring about 2 years ago for keeping Bible education alive in the public schools. Talk about emotionally charged.
Cut back to yesterday’s retreat. SfL+a Architects and the Operational Research and Education Laboratory presented a population forecast that foresaw a significant student decline over the next 5 years. Many persons in opposition to the school closing wonder aloud if this “laboratory” was chosen to serve up a forecast for what the school system desired. After all the mass consolidation would allegedly save money and lead to “new construction”. Do we hear a nest of greedy Salisbury snakes licking their fangs and sniffing overage money?
Residents and parents are getting stoked for this fight. Could it change the course of the next schoolboard election?
The picture put forward by the lab was that the new western elementary school would pick up the 3 western elementary schools to be shuttered. Millbridge elementary attendance area would expand to take in Enochville. Rockwell would absorb Morgan’s attendance area.
Allegedly “attendance barriers” would be redrawn to ensure that no school was overcapacity. New boundaries would prioritize students attending the elementary closest to them. It would require a shift of more than 4,000 students which will leave many working parents concerned about major changes in “their” schedules, new fuel expenses, taking slices out of their sleep time, new stresses, their child’s safety, and other major hassles in time and money. Sure it might save the school system a few bucks, but most assuredly it will cost parents both time, money, and stress. When your school is much further away it means travel time and changes in schedule. Do you have a spare granny to take care of biz early in the morning?
Many parents have expressed anger about several school board members saying the opposition is emotionally driven. Many parents don’t like the hardships being thrust on them and their families in transplanting their children to more distant locations.
The changes and closings are projected to come fast. Keep in mind though this axing of 6 schools has not yet been approved by the current school board. On April the 25th the school board will meet for business, but there will be no decision at that time. According to sources several town halls will take place around the county for the school board to get a feel what local people want. On April the 25th the residents and public can express their displeasure to the school board. Three of them are up for reelection this fall.
**This article will be updated when new information arrives.**
