The old bait and switch ya'll can put this idea to bed, I don't think that you'll be closing our schools. You want to close a school pick one on the west side, and leave us be.
Past decisions to build and preserve some Richmond County schools might come back to haunt school board members now that they are faced with the possibility of closing several of them.
An audit released Thursday recommended closing one high school, one middle school and three elementary schools, suggesting the most underenrolled schools be axed. If the board uses that as the sole criteria, T.W. Josey High, Tubman Middle, Terrace Manor Elementary, Willis Foreman Elementary and Hornsby Elementary would be the likely losers.
Hornsby, however, might survive because construction is almost complete on a new Hornsby Elementary.
The decision made a few years back to replace the school rather than shut it down was political, said Jack Padgett, the chairman of the board's building committee.
"This was simply to get the community to support SPLOST," he said.
Ken Echols, who preceded him as building committee chairman, agreed it was done to gain support for the 1-cent special purpose local option sales tax.
"I think it's because every part of the county was supposed to get something," he said.
Hornsby, the system's most underenrolled elementary school, has 250 pupils -- only 41 percent of its capacity. The new school will have the same capacity, being able to seat 612 pupils.
If Hornsby avoids being closed, the next elementary school on the list based on enrollment and capacity would be Lake Forest Hills Elementary, which is using 71 percent of its seating and has room for 184 more pupils.
Mr. Padgett said he has already begun receiving calls about which schools the board is considering closing, but he is awaiting recommendations from Superintendent Dana Bedden.
Overall, the school system has 5,650 empty seats, according to the audit, creating the need to close schools.
"We're a long way away I think from anything like that happening," board President Jimmy Atkins said, noting that it would cause a ripple effect because schools would need to be rezoned and public forums would be held. "At any time a decision is made, it's not going to be a decision made by just us -- board members."
The decision will be a balancing act between the board being fiscally responsible and being receptive to the community's concerns, Mr. Atkins said.
Felecia Lee, a local representative of the Georgia Association of Educators, said she has been getting questions about school closings. She has explained to educators that a closing won't mean they will be out of a job.
When the issue came up at Thursday's meeting, the mood among the overflow crowd went from one of quiet reservation to one of vocal concern.
The big question is whether the board will act on the recommendations, Mrs. Lee said.
"My hope is that they will take the report, analyze it and read it and be supportive of what the superintendent wants to do," she said.
The audit cited declining enrollments since 2001 and projections that it will continue to decline until 2011. No schools have been closed to offset the decreasing figures. The current student enrollment is slightly less than 32,000.
Despite it being an election year for five of the 10 board members, Mr. Echols said his hope is that the board can set aside politics and do what is in the best interest of the school system.
If five schools are closed, the audit projects savings of about $11.7 million over five years. That money, it suggests, could be reinvested into other schools.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
OTHER AUDIT FINDINGS
TRANSPORTATION
The department's assistant director has filled in when needed to drive buses. That puts him behind the wheel about 14 hours a week.
Also, the department maps out bus routes on paper, yet software was purchased eight years ago to do it electronically. An employee was hired to use this program, but money for her training was never spent.
SCHOOL NUTRITION
This department funds more than the breakfast and lunch programs. It bailed out the Title I Department with $645,000 when it was projected to have a shortfall in July. It also funds maintenance positions and school crossing guards.
To make it more profitable, the audit recommends raising lunch prices by 50 cents. Lunches now cost 95 cents for elementary schools and $1.10 for middle and high schools. Adults must pay $2.
ONLINE EXTRA
Source: MGT of America
Comments
The old bait and switch ya'll can put this idea to bed, I don't think that you'll be closing our schools. You want to close a school pick one on the west side, and leave us be.
I think they are looking on the west side. Tutt, Langford, national Hills and Garrett.
So millions of dollars are spent for new stadiums at the high schools and one of them should close? The article says Josey meets the criteria in the report to be the one that should close. Well, that won't happen. This will turn into a battle along racial lines as great as when Larke was appointed Superintendent. Westside will close before Josey does.
Just a thought. Why not use the new Hornsby as a replacement for East Augusta Middle which is scheduled for renovation.
Instead of closing Josey why not take the OVER ENROLLED from Richmond Academy and put them back at Josey where they are zoned for? The same goes for Tubman, who have over enrolled at Langford.
Why not rezone and get rid of the portables being used in the school system. In this way no school has to close its doors.
The easiest way to handle this situation is to rezone from the much over enrolled Richmond Academy. Laney, Josey and Westside all had to drop from AAA schools to AA schools because of the declining #'s and now TRAVEL for sports competitions instead of being able to stay home to play. But Richmond had to jump up to AAAA and ALSO TRAVEL to compete. It's crazy. We're spending more money and taking more of our students time away from home and studies to ship them out of county to play sports. All that needs to be done is re-draw a few lines and the whole problem is solved. Larke was beseiged by requests for this for years. Will someone please explain it to our new Superintendent. Perhaps he will be more receptive and we can put the school closings to rest.
Boy Larke left a mess. Give the new guy some time to fix it.
The athletic conference has already been rezoned for next year. Richmond County will not be travelling to compete. The conference is made up of almost the entire RC district.
Mystery is correct with the exception of Greenbrier; the subregion consists of teams within the area. The two schools fartherest from one another are Hephzibah and Harlem Greenbrier. I agree with redrawing the district lines and shifting some students around. Then if there are still schools that warrant closing because of low enrollment numbers, turn those schools into vocational schools.
Don't you dare disrespect Dr. Larke, he is proof of what happens when a person stands up and says and does things that the West Augusta crowd does not approve of. November, and our new day of change is comming, Get ready for it.
Everyone will have to accept the fact that the school system is here to serve children. Enrollment is down--PERIOD. It's going to take more than rezoning kids from ARC. The money is saved by closing--not moving. Dr. Bedden and board members, just do what needs to be done and don't take forever to do it. It's like my mother use to say, "Everything that's good for you is not necessarily good to you."
Some of the problem is that schools that are not making AYP allow their students to choose another school. ARC is evidence of that problem. Even though all the middle schools are on the list, Langford is perceived to be a better school than Tubman. Change the culture of the failing schools by recruiting REAL principals who actually care about the students and can maintain an orderly learning environment. I so desperately wish that we would return to neighborhood schools and get out from under the forced busing of the current desegregation order. That would also save transportation costs too. And I agree that just about every school in the county has portable classrooms. Rezone so that portable classrooms are no longer needed, then we might be able to get somewhere.
I just a call that Josey Alumni are planning a "Save T.W. Josey High School Rally"....I am a 1976 graduate of Josey and you BEST believe we wont go down without a fight to keep our doors open.
season 4 the wire/
Another option would be to first wipe the district lines clean and start over with the lines. Then, you could see which school to close, if you still need to. You could also work with other counties and retrieve some of your students back.....
Change is inevitable when done to benefit all. God has placed Dr. Bedden in a position to benefit ALL. Favoritism and buddy, cousin, uncle, and best friend syndromes can no longer exist in the system. The railroading and backlashing days are over. To God be the Glory. There is a WAY that seemeth right unto a man but the ends thereof are the ways of death and destruction.
Thank God for change and taking administration out of their comfort zones.every administrator should ponder in their hearts the question, How did I become an administrator in the first place? Was it POLITICAL AND THE GOOD OLE BUDDY SYSTEM OF FAVORTISM? The ending of a thing is ALWAYS better than the beginning of a thing. Keep up the good work, Richmond County. I applaud your changes!!!! Now review the Title 1 Programs, Saturday School, After- School, and other programs that are politically motivated with roadblocks set up for CERTAIN employees. This was in place before Dr. Bedden arrived. I'm just loving the changes and KNOW that there is more to come. When God moves, everybody takes heed. The first shall be last and the LAST shall be FIRST.
Why would you close any school that is staying out of trouble and has better test scores then others.. there is no other High School over near Westside.. that makes no sense to close that school...Plus it has a brand new stadium...Tutt and Langford just had major construction ( just recently and in the last couple years) and they both bring in better test scores then the other middles schools.. Elementary... I could see closing 1 of them since they are right near each other...
Close the high school with the lowest graduation rate and/or the highest percentage of students with a probation officer. For the others, close those with the lowest AYP ratings. If there's some performance competition thrown into the mix, perhaps we'd see some actual improvement. If Josey can't cut it academically, which is the only criterion that truly matters, it should be closed. Same for any other school. If the kids aren't getting the taxpayers' money's worth, it's time to stop ripping off the taxpayers, whatever the reason for the problem.
FIAT LUX.....Josey can cut it academically TRUST ME. It never ceases to amaze me how some people are just so quick to judge a school because of AYP. Let me tell you something. The kids in the state of Georgia not just Richmond or Columbia County are tested entirely TO MUCH. Now put yourself in the shoes of an 11th grade high school junior in the state of Georgia. Georgia High School Graduation Test ( PRESSURE: "If I dont pass this test not only do I NOT recieve a high school diploma, I make my school look bad because they wont make AYP"), End of the Course Test (PRESSURE: "My average in the class is not so good because I have spent the vast majority of my time studying for the GHSGT so if I fail this test, I still wont pass the class and I STILL wont graduate). SAT/ACT (Pressure: "I want to go to a good college so I can become the engineer that I always dreamed of being. I hope I do well but I am so burnt out from GHSGT and EOCT"). So you see its not the students, its really not the teachers, the fault lies with the Georgia Department of Education "setting our students up for FAILURE".
I hope that they don't close Garret... My kids go there and they love thier techers and the staff is very very friendly and helpful. and not to mention that we live right around the corner from it so it makes it SUPER easy to take them to school everyday!
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