The school board appears to have concluded that it is more important to put an addition onto City High than to preserve Hoover. More extended discussion over at the Patch.
UPDATE: Some unanswered questions here.
UPDATE #2: Some additional commentary here: Why pit City High against its own neighbors?
.
4 comments:
I can understand closing Hoover if CHS needs an addition. But, does CHS really need one with the new hs being built? This was discussed a little at the meeting last night, but it seems like they need more data regarding the new addition to make a final decision.
What I don't understand is why they don't discuss closing Lincoln. Over half of the students that attend there are bused in. It is the oldest of the purposed schools to be closed on the tiniest amount of land in the district. Shimek only has 199 students but with lots of room to expand. It seems like the most cost effective move would be to close Lincoln and build onto Shimek out of the purposed building closings.
I agree with the board that Hills should remain open, since it is the heart of that town, and it has the potential to grow. Lincoln does not have the space to grow. As for Hoover, does CHS really need to grow larger?
iclocal -- I do not understand why City needs to grow larger once we have three high schools instead of two. My sense is that is entirely about maintaining its market share and influence, and avoiding economic disparities in the student population.
Additional questions here.
I was not convinced by the discussion of the operational "need" to close one school, so I don't favor closing Lincoln. If we really need to close one school, why don't we close the one we haven't built yet?
City High does need additions. Do you know that the plan for building the new HS is bus potential CHS students to NL? Think about it. They want to keep CHS small. I do not want to see Hoover close and I believe the growth for CHS could go north or east.
Hoover alum -- Thanks for commenting!
I was part of a group of parents who met with City High principal John Bacon last night. Many people were asking questions about why City needs to grow at a time when we are building a third high school. I kept thinking: if he were advocating to keep Hoover open, he'd have ten people right there who would support an addition on City. Instead, he has ten east siders questioning the need for it. I don not understand why he'd want to put himself, and City, in that position.
I agree with you that there are ways to expand City without closing Hoover, and I think the expansion is actually more likely to occur if they find them.
Post a Comment