Todd Paris, Associate Editor and Salisbury Attorney
♦ I read with great trepidation that our school board paid money for a study that supports local school closures and are now considering closing elementary schools at Faith, Morgan, Mt. Ulla, and Enochville. This appears to be set in motion by the necessary consolidation of Cleveland and Woodleaf elementary schools due to a “bad” well. The rest of these consolidations have no such urgency.
In 2015, it was reported that all three schools received a “C” grade from the state, which does not sound impressive, however it was the highest grade awarded to any elementary school in the district, with many scoring lower. Faith was the highest-rated school in math in the RSS system and Mount Ulla raised its math scores eight points.
At the recent Board of Education retreat Chuck Hughes called for these schools to be closed as soon as possible while forecasting a $2 million savings. The entire discussion surrounded how and when these schools should be closed and not “if.” East representative Josh Wagner appears to be on board as well. There seemed to be little concern over the increased cost in fuel, wear, and tear on buses, and hardships to parents and children affected by longer travel times to schools much further away. Also, the indication was clear they would make the decision first and worry about logistics later.
The idea of closing schools to save maintenance costs seems logical, but only if you abandon these buildings and allow them to become eyesores and blights upon the community, (the school board’s habit.) But aren’t we still going to have to mow the grounds and keep them minimally heated to keep pipes from bursting in the winter? Used school buildings have very little utility for any other purpose and little commercial value. Will the BoE commit to demolition, asbestos removal, and cleaning up environmental hazards for these abandoned facilities so the land can be sold and returned to commerce? That hasn’t happened in East Spencer now saddled with two dilapidated school structures, one burnt and unsalable.
Savings from a reduction in force from laying off dozens of administrative personnel at these schools gains the county very little as these salaries are primarily paid by the state, and not the county. Perhaps the more prosperous counties will send us a thank you note for freeing up state funds to hire more administrators.
No provision was made for determining which facilities have newer versus older structures. Most of these facilities have new, energy efficient additions erected since the eighties. Do we abandon these?
Out in the county the real estate market is just beginning to rebound. Those thinking of buying a house in Rowan might want to hold-off till they see how this is resolved. School choice is an important issue for many homebuyers as they don’t want theirs kids to leave the school they are already in, and many take into account the state’s published grades for each school before they move.
Travel time and length of bus rides are also a factor. If you want to live at High Rock Lake and work in Stanly or Davidson counties and you drive your kids to school, driving to Rockwell twice a day might make buying “across the river” a much better choice. Elementary school aged children are the most vulnerable as they need the most sleep and generally adapt less well to changes in their schedules and living circumstances. I hazard a guess as to how long the bus ride would be from Panther Point to Rockwell Elementary instead of Morgan or how early those children would have to awaken in the morning.
It would seem that a county wealthy enough to spend millions on renovating the West End Plaza should be able to afford to keep these schools open for the convenience of these communities, their children, and the taxpayers.
The only successful abandoned school re-use that I recall is Wiley School which was transformed into housing for the aged and disabled. I understand this re-use was considered for the latest abandoned facility in East Spencer as well. I fear closing down elementary schools and converting them into old folk’s homes may be seen by potential outside economic investors as the bellwether of a dying county. Maybe the new 500K rebranding project now underway could adopt the marketing slogan, “Rowan County – Last one out, turn out the lights.”
We can do better. A properly functioning school and economic development system can get people moving back into Rowan. The chicken or egg cycle of the economic development folks blaming bad school scores for their lack of success and the schools blaming lack of economic development and poverty on low scores has to stop. Maybe new leadership is needed on both fronts.
