ANDERSON — Details of two preliminary options for city school closings, one of which turns Highland High School into a middle school, have come to light through an online discussion site.
Board members with Anderson Community Schools confirmed that information posted by a person using the screen name Patriot Dan is similar to an option presented to them by the school district’s administration.
The plan involves closing Edgewood, Eastside, Killbuck, Robinson and Southview elementary schools, as well as Southside Middle School. Northside Middle School would become an elementary school, and Highland High School would become a middle school housing seventh through ninth grades. Anderson High School would keep grades 10 through 12.
A second option, wrote Patriot Dan, deals with Ebbert Education Center and Robinson Elementary and moving the location of the alternative school.
While some school board members dismissed the information as rumor, others said parts of the plans were similar to options they’d received from the administration.
Board President Teddy Bohnenkamp and member Bill Riffe said the post was not like anything they’d seen yet.
“We don’t have anything structured like that so far,” Bohnenkamp said. “What we’ve got is all the data we’ve got to go through.”
Not all board members could be reached for comment, but two said the post matched one option they have seen.
Of the first plan, Tim Long said “some pieces do fit.”
He worried, however, that changing the two high schools structure was too radical of a move to be a serious option. Long added that the plan described online seemed to not fully consider the district’s enrollment.
“You can’t cut the pie that way,” he said.
Board member Tobi Jones also said the first option sounded similar to something the administration had told the board.
She said the plan has its positives and negatives.
Closing buildings and creating larger schools does have its advantages, Jones said, like decreasing administrative and utility costs and giving more students access to specialized classes.
The down side to larger buildings, she said, is that they can be a “culture shock” to a city comfortable with its smaller, neighborhood schools.
Commenting on the second plan, Jones would only say that because Ebbert is an older building, it could be a candidate for closing.
Superintendent Mikella Lowe said she couldn’t immediately comment on how the information posted online compared to options prepared by her staff.
“Somebody’s doing homework and looking at options, certainly,” she said.
Lowe announced at a school board meeting Tuesday that her staff had prepared information regarding possible school closings as a way for the district to handle a $5 million budget cut in 2010.
And while that data has been given to the board, Lowe and board members have chosen not to make it public, they said, because they want to gather outside input through a series of public meetings in the coming weeks.
Jones said she disagrees with the decision to not release the information.
“I personally think we should be more forthcoming with the information and more transparent,” she said. “Everything is an option at this point. I’ve heard as much in the rumor mill as I’ve had presented to me by the administration, honestly.”
Local News
School closing options surface online
- Local News
-
-
Anderson man dies at Monroe Reservoir; 3 others arrested
Memorial Day weekend took a tragic turn Saturday evening as an Anderson man visiting Monroe Reservoir died. Three other Anderson men were arrested later that day following the death of Matthew Hosier, 29.
-
Getting Together: Silence not golden for this library program
Certain rules govern almost all libraries: be quiet, don’t mar the pages and absolutely no food or drinks on the premises. But a small group of patrons wait until after hours, lock themselves in the back room of the Alexandria-Monroe Public Library, eat popcorn, drink soda and loudly scoff as they watch bad movies.
-
Veteran receiving Bronze Star 68 years late
An Army veteran will be awarded a Bronze Star on Memorial Day — 68 years after he was originally supposed to receive it.
-
Memorial Day activities set
For Memorial Day weekend, here’s a list of activities to participate in.
-
Arrest Log: May 28
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Saturday, based on Madison County Jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers, but are not final until the Madison County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
- Conservation officers arrest Anderson boater on alcohol charge
-
What's Where: May 28
Local activities are scheduled Monday.
-
Handicapped murder convict alleges prison discrimination
Since October 2006, Donald Lock has been confined to a wheel chair because of a degenerative bone disease. He has spent time at correctional facilities throughout the state, but it wasn’t until he was transferred to Pendleton earlier this year that he said he felt his disability was ignored.
-
Arrest log: May 27
The following arrest log appears in the Sunday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
-
Parents at Little League say coach took money
Parents of the North Anderson Little League filed a complaint with police against a former coach who they say stole fundraiser money.
- More Local News Headlines
-
