Middle School Schedule

A few residents have asked me about my thoughts on the middle school schedule and middle school consolidation.  I apologize, but I have no comment on the middle school schedule at this time, not because the cabal  Board is secretly debating this and will present it as a fait accompli, but because the Board has not yet seen the presentation, the details or the data.  (I have seen the data on consolidation --enrollment and facility capacity -- and I am convinced that it is not feasible to close/sell one middle school at this time.  That should be a dynamic decision, considered yearly.)

In a tip of the hat to Superintendent Dr. Lyn Mckay, she has decided to go out to the community, to seek input from residents, staff and education experts before presenting her findings and thoughts to the Board of Ed.  While Dr. Mckay did make the Board aware of the outline of what was going to be presented at her Knowledge Cafe, I was unable to attend the Cafe itself so I do not have the level of detail that was presented.  I expect to have it presented to the Board at our November 15th meeting.  If you missed Dr. Mckay's presentation and discussion with the community, attend the Board meeting or watch the video embedded below from NCCMC or a video of the upcoming Board meeting.

Also, for those of you who did attend or who have specific knowledge, an expertise or an opinion, please come to the November 15th Board meeting and make yourself heard.  At the last meeting, at the end when we announce future meetings, Board President Kiesel indicated that we are prepared to move our meeting from the academic commons to the auditorium if there is an expected high turnout.

There are two things I can (and should) say at this time. One, as full disclosure, prior to my service on the Board, when Seven Bridges was first being built, knowing only a parent's instinct, I was in favor, if there was going to be an additional middle school, of having one school be a 5-6 and the other a 7-8.  Second, at this point in time, for me, the decision will be a trade-off between educational merits and cost.  That is, all things being equal on the educational alternatives, we should make cost a significant driver of the final decision.   Of course, if there are appreciable differences in the educational outcome from the alternatives proposed, then we need to consider that first.  But, we are at a point where cost, or cost savings, should be considered strongly.


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