Wise county consolidations

[imported_Skeptical]

Basham(sp) is a joke
looks like the only thing he can do is get people made and leave

[DukeFan]

After reading many many posts on this subject and not really knowing the "facts", I mostly just read with a jab or two at my good friend LPDFTBL. Upon reading the paper this morning I would have to agree with LPDFTBL, if your going to consolidate, do it right, 3 new schools. I for one had classes in trailers at the old Carnes Middles School, and can say from experience, its SUCKS. As a taxpayer of Wise County and parent of school age children I stand %100 against the current plan, as do many other Powell Valley parents. There is no way this will work. Basham is asking schools to close down this year and bus them to neighboring schools with no room to put them, come on now, thats stupid. Lets do it right this time and not get down the road some 10 years or so and say well, we should have just built 3 new schools. Surely, there will be some clear thinking on this issue come Monday night. So in closing I say that I stand with Bulldogs,Deacons,and Wildcats, dont close their schools until you can offer a more thought out, fair and decent plan for all involved.

[imported_Counts]

Well I am guessing it is offical now so I will weigh in on what the proposal seems to be and I will say it should be voted down that does not change the fact that I think that consoladation should not happen (although I think it is very nessacerry) IMHO leaving out cuts at the highest level of the county schools as was recomended and the fact that keeping the 3 outdated buildings (I read somewhere when DC was talking about consoladation sorry I can't provide a link) that a school building life is about 45 years anything older than that just does not hold up to new update and inovations as well as wear and tear....

I am sure that a lawsuit will be filed to stop consoladation (some already have) but it is just as likley that if consoladation does not go through a law suit could be files against the SB for a Kid that has not AP courses avalable at his/her school while they are avalable at other Highschools in the county.

Again I would Like to see the SB Do the right thing and Vote for a study on the benifits and costs of Building three new schools vs Renovating three vs renovation 6 Mabye I am reading the situation wrong but the wheels will not fall off the cart tomarrow (or next year) and the SB has time to do things the right way however if they put this dission off for another 5 to 10 years this very option could be forced on them.

For anyone who had trouble following my post I think consoladation would be a good thing for the Avg Wise County Student but the current proposal seems to elemanate half of the benifits of a potional Consoladition

[Unchained]

I see it like this: If we renovate our school then 20 years down the road not only are we going to be asking my generation of taxpayers for the cash, but we'll be asking my children's group for their taxpayer dollars as well. With the ridiculously rising cost of everything from gas to groceries, how are we to expect them to pay this? This current plan is a temporary stopgap, which will force us to spend money TWICE. As i said before, if you are gonna go, go all out and do it right the FIRST time. Everybody wants to point at Lee as consolidation gone wrong, well guess what folks,they are the minority. Head over to schools like East Ridge in KY and take a gander at their school and it's facilities, and i'll show you what done right looks like.

[R0cketer]

Not mentioning a name on here, but I contacted someone who is in the official decision process. I believe that they are considered to be "for" consolidation by many, and they said that they would not vote for this plan. They would vote for a public hearing on it, but not for the plan itself. Take that for what its worth, they may change their mind, but just a FYI. Even those who are in favor of consolidation, or realize that changes are needed, think this plan is for lack of a better word, a joke.

[Merlin]

I think you've hit upon the growing consensus that seems to exist on this board right now. I'm with you. Do it right or don't do it at all. The current plan is flawed and while it does positively address some issues (curriculum choices), it misses the boat IMO when addressing the needed upgrades to the existing school facilities. I think it could potentially make things worse in some regards. "Say NO to Band-Aids!!!"

[R0cketer]

Amen Unchained! Thats what I hope for and I hope most people do. Does anybody remember when this was going on at Twin Valley? It was a mess, you had a lot of people like here who could not see a benefit to it. They finally took a step back, got a model of what the place would look like, and allowed people to see how good it really would be, and a large portion did a 180 degree turn and was totally for it.

It's natural for people here to be jaded when they hear how good something is going to be, because there really isn't a lot of "good" that ends up happening. A silly suggestion like Basham made makes it that much more difficult to get things done right..

[Unchained]

What does the comment about Kelly's football coaching situation imply? Are we back to talking about athletics again old friend? In your situation, your child has already done his schooling-not so in my case. I guess it really doesn't matter to you since your child isn't having to deal with a school that's falling apart. You know me as well as any Red, and know how i feel about the whole situation, but bottom line is change is on our doorstep.Change is going to hit us, and we can either be old school and let it run over us, or open our minds and accept that it is coming, now what can we do to make things as right as possible? I just hate that the "change" that Basham is proposing is a temporary solution to a long term problem. I also think that it is a crock for kids from Pound to have to get up earlier and endure the ride to Wise just to sit in a da#n portable classroom, but then again since when have the kids ever really been considered when we're talking about WCSB?

[imported_Counts]

Unchaned you are 100% right I work with several parents of children that currently go to EastRidge and I have not heard a bad word about it all the parents love it and there kids do as well (One parent had an older Son who went to Elk Horn(one of the schools that became East Ridge) and she said that she can not belive the difference in educational and extra cralicular activitys that her younger son now has) IMHO Consoladation could be the best thing to happen in Wise County in a long time if done right or it could be a situation that Wise Co tax payers overpay for pig with lipstick if done wrong I think the SB needs to take it time and do things the right way

[Unchained]

Expanded courses and expanded opportunities for my children mean a heckuva lot more to me than stubborn pride.