Oh yeah, lets consolidate then and have ourselves another Lee High....no thanks.
Some good points, ROcketer!
You can never rise above the image that you have of yourself in your own mind."
Oh yeah, lets consolidate then and have ourselves another Lee High....no thanks.
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I have paid attention. And all i hear is the same thing you hear here. Most were and are against. And the majority in Dickenson County still have no clue about it. That is what strikes me as odd. You talk to people from certain areas. Mention consolidation. They look at you?
So how did this get by so easily. Politics.
And it's not just about losing schools it's about losing jobs.
Not gonna have to have all those teachers. Where do they go?
You work here in Wise Co. What if we started letting Lee Co. do a major part of our outside work and your job was no longer needed? Would you understand and like it?
There is a lot more to look at when you say the words consolidation than most think.
Hell most in Dickenson County alone still have no clue it's gonna happen. Wonder why? Was they not informed. Go out into some of the areas and ask a few. Some honestly think it is and was just talk. No idea it even got passed and anything is gonna happen.
Yet we here in Wise County are to dumb to realize what we have seen with other consolidations? Wonder why some of the smallest schools in Lee Co. are doing so good? Then the largest school cannot even pass the SOL's or if they do it's with a barely passing mark? And we just had a discussion on here about how easy they are to cheat on. And how most teach to the SOL's. So students can pass them.
But their better? What because you have nicer buildings? If that is the only reason then, hell let's build buildings.
Let's not even discuss it and just build.
What many never think about. You put all these schools together and people think it's gonna work. Lee is going on 20 yrs or so and still divided. Still your little groups from each area.
For every point a person has given for consolidation. You can find 2-3 reasons why it has failed and keeps failing. Even if it starts off good. Problem is no one looks at it. Why don't some on here who love figures do a numbers crunch on that? Because it shows you it is not a good idea. Even if it saves money. Who looses? Those your trying to educate. The kids.
Sorry we may be behind the times. We may stay behind the times. I've read on it. It's not a good thing in rural areas. Because of the constant problems. And it kills out the ability of the children to get a good education. But as long as we have pretty buildings who cares about education. And if you lose teachers.
And the biggest problem i have with the study. The school administration states well before it is out. There is no talk in it of consolidation? Yet last night before i left, it was mentioned no fewer than 6 times. Well who is lying to who. See that is a lot of why no one wants to deal with this current bunch on the administration and several on the school board. If they told the truth lightning would strike them dead.
Look, I'm not a fan of it, but its becoming a necessary evil due to the declining population around here. Our schools, the number of them are based around a larger population, or at the very worst a population that was younger. It's not a dislike for any school or such, but economic driven. It also has to be to increase the education that is provided. Wise County is lucky. If they close down a few schools, or consolidate to a few schools, consider yourself lucky. It's not like Lee when you closed the whole area into 1 school or like Dickenson is when they most likely do it, so think of it in those terms. The idea is better than it could be.
What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach, so you get what we had here last week which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it.
Why do most people in Dickenson County not know about consolidation? Same reason most people here don't know about it or understand it, you're dealing with a populace that is generally uneducated or under-educated. You're dealing with people who can not understand that when you are paying the equivalent of $1.50 to send a student to one school, and $1.00 to send a student to another school, something isn't right! Why do smaller schools have easier times with SOLs. It's rather simple, you better have higher SOLs at a smaller school, the biggest selling point to a smaller school is the lower ratio, and thus their scores should be better. Think of it in terms of baseball, its easier to have .400 batting average with 50 at bats than it is with 500 at bats.
I'm sorry, its just the way the world is. Mom and pop grocery stores disappear. The little general store in the middle of town goes away for the same reason. It's nice to go into the little store that has been there forever, but eventually you realize that you can get the same thing at Walmart or more at Walmart. The local grocery store owned by old man Myers is great, but you start realizing that you can get more stuff at Food Lion or Food City and cheaper. We all deal with cost and benefit and thats something we have to do with our schools and our community. You wonder why the northern part of our state looks down at us, why they think we're uneducated and we have problems getting funding? It's because when faced with facts, pure dollars and cents facts, to often our people who like the way things are don't want change. We've had leaders in our area return money to the state for roads saying our roads are good enough to handle the traffic we have. The concept of better roads increasing traffic seems lost to them.
Change for the sake of change isn't good.
Change for the sake of improvement is good.
What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach, so you get what we had here last week which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it.
By the way, its pure politics? How does ticking off 1/2 the population help you politically? I've wondered that. I mean sometimes doing whats right isn't going help keep you voted in somewhere. This is such a strongly debated topic and by the numbers, its about split in most counties (or very close), so considering the limited numbers who normally vote in a school board election, don't you think that the people who are supporting this, know that they probably are going to be voted out due to a 'protest vote' from those against it. We all know that more people come out to vote against something than for something.
What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach, so you get what we had here last week which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it.
My problem is not change. My problem is lies and lies from people who know better.
The school administration to the several on the school board.
I think most who have any idea of this are tired of their constant it's not this or that. To come right back and say it is this or that.
I realize the concept myself sometimes you have to expand and regionalize. Even helped work on projects that have done it. They work quite well when done right and everyone is in the know.
But let one person who should be in the know be left out or not fully understand. Well you have major problems.
I will say i was and am still amazed at the sheer number of people in Dickenson County who still think consolidation is not gonna happen? It has done been voted on and approved and time tables set?
And here in Wise those who do want to see things done right. No matter what. Well one minute you hear, the matter has been dropped to well here is the answer.
I think it was said about a month or two months ago. From someone on the school administration staff. The study has no plans for consolidation. Well people are interested.
We have been lied to so many times. Who and what do you believe?
Even the firm that did the study does not do consolidation planning. Yet their advisement was that?
One thing. There is a total lack of trust between not just the citizen of Appalachia, but Wise County in general with this school administration and members of this school board.
I think if both were changed and some of those who in the past have made themselves out and out liars were gone. It could be feasible to work with them. But right now. There is no trust. And where there is no trust there is no respect. Many studied this boards plan when they first talked of closing Appy down and combining with PV. The figures themselve never added up to a savings of 1 million dollars. And this study itself showed that no matter what school you closed it would only save 200,000 dollars initially.
So you know the school administration and school board wants the public to work with them. How about telling the truth to the public for awhile. Instead of half truths and basically lies and hidden agenda's.
That is my main problem. Ever time something is done. Well the bottom line. Is we never get told the whole truth or none of the truth. That is from this school administration to several on the school board. It's as if they don't want anyone to know? Why? Their not helping themselves. All their doing is creating an atmosphere of mistrust and intolerance.
Adding a little to the rant. The Consolidation Issue in DC was handled somewhat better than in Wise County in DC there were Public Forms at each of the 3 High schools the People for and against consolidation here was split about 50/50 (Although most of the same detractors showed up at every form) the breakdown is like this Haysi is overwhelmingly for it (There school is literally falling apart and has been for some time if nothing is done a new school will have to be built when there's slides into the river in the not to distant future) Ervinton is overwhelming against it (There school is in the best shape of the three and they are more than happy to see Haysi slide into the river and have no use for Clintwood other than to complain "That they get everything they want and we get nothing") Clintwood is split about 50/50 (Our High School has problems The "OLD" Building does not have windows that open (There is about a 1 inch vent gap) and the wiring is so old that (15 years ago in my days) that only a few classes had AC (Computer classes and Lidature for what ever reason are the two that I can remember) The upstare classes at the end of the day were next to unbearable (My 9th grade year we had a kid passout from the heat) The heating in the winter is almost as bad the Coal furnace that heated the radiators either did not work (we all wore coats and froze) Worked to well (Everyone striped down as best they could and sweated) or leaked scalding water (Desks were scooted out of range) The Classrooms and lockers on the bottom floor would be evacuated at least once a year due to flooding The "NEW" building is 60 year old and while the School has done a good job keeping things up and running the science labs are a Joke and with fewer teachers being replaced after retiring class sizes are getting larger or subjects are being eliminated (Advanced classes first). Sports should be the last concern in consolidation but it would also be nice if Clintwoods softball team had a field to play on (in the past they have been playing on the LL baseball field this year they do have a field all there own but it is in Clinchco) It would also be nice for a county school to have a track.
I will be the first to admit that I have mixed feelings toward Consoladation but I think it will be better for the Kids in the long run.
Most schools in our area are already consolidated schools (GC was Shomaker and another school, PV was BSG and ESG, Pound was several small schools, Clintwood was BearPen and several small schools) I am sure that alot of people were against consolidation (My grandmother still does not think they should waste money on buses that kids should walk to school or learn to work the farm(She is a little touched))
I won't argue that there is probably a state of mistrust. However, would it really have mattered? I mean you could tell a % of the population the facts, the numbers, and they would still sit and argue with you till you're blue in the face, or past that. Some of the people are so dead set against things that it wouldn't shock me to see violence done to the administration. Again, I go back to the general under-educated or uneducated population. You could put up a sign that said 'free money' and post it all over the county and a large amount of your population wouldn't know about it, wouldn't read it, wouldn't hear it unless their neighbors called and told them about it and put their own slant on things. It's this apathetic nature that really makes this difficult. It would be great if people tried to inform themselves, but they take so-and-so's comments about it and don't try to find out if the person who is talking knows what they are talking about.
What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach, so you get what we had here last week which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it.
Clintwood will still exist. Ervinton will be shut down with a new high school to be built near Clinchco. Ervinton has as little as 7 students in a classroom. Not very feasible. Some will transfer to Clintwood, others to the new High school. Now I heard this was an option they are taking seriously.
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