I just heard a rumor that they may shut down Albermarle for a year and bus the kids to North and South Stanley and then reopen the school as a magnet school....Has anyone else heard this and is there any truth to this at all?
Albermarle Athletics
- Thread starter KNIGHTlife7
- Start date
Yes that is what they are attempting now. The magnet that they are planning to open would not have sports. The community is fighting it hard we should know more in a couple of weeks. I believe the official vote is mid to late march.
Why and who would want to shut down such a dominate athletic school? That makes absolutely no sense. What school would they attend?
The school board. Lol the community is fighting it hard. So hopefully they can come to an agreement to keep AHS open. The plan is to split AHS and south stanly high school students up between west stanly and north stanly. 9 middle schools 4 middle schools and 2 high schools. It's really concerning because there are other communities I have heard that has small 1a's that's looking to do the same. There is no reason for it and it would affect a lot of diverse kids from low income families. It has been really tough on the kids.
Stanly County School, much like a lot of smaller school systems in NC, is stretching out the budget too much. There are 2 plans which SCS are considering. First plan removes Albemarle HS and moves the students between West, South, and North. Second keeps Albemarle and moves around some of the middle schools in the county. Albemarle academically struggles, as the grades the state released show. SCS are just trying to get the most bang for the buck, and athletics honestly aren't a huge priority with the decision
Yes they are. And in regards to the grades we also have the most diverse kids in the county. However if you look NS grade wise is about on the same level as Albemarle. This boils down to the board didn't get as much money as they wanted from the county. They are looking at closing AHS to open a new magnet. Even though we already have a early college in Albemarle. Essentially the million dollar field house brand new gym with no athletics smh. Oh yeah forgot about one of the nicest football fields in 1a. It's a shame and hopefully the political crap can get out of the way and they can come to an agreement to keep AHS open
Decision has nothing to do with athletics. Stanly County does not need four high schools. When 3 of the 4 are 1-A, and two of those are small 1-A, re-alignment is needed. The cost of running all of these schools when it is clear that they don't need them all is evident. It has to do with finances and what is best for their student population. Stretching a budget thin to simply keep schools open is not what's best for students.
Stretching a budget? You obviously have never seen a budget or know how one works. Even with closing 2 schools you still have money that needs invested to accommodate the students coming in. Additionally at 80-85% it is recommended for expansion every school on the county would be at 96% capacity. So essentially if our schools are failing now at the student teacher ratio how in the heck will it get better at that kind of student teacher ratio. You are NOT addressing the fundamental problems.
Now back to the budget you would have a NET gain of 0 by doing this. Meaning 0 SAVINGS. It has already been stated that regardless the increase of funding will have to be there. Additionally if you combine these schools 2 new schools would have to be built which is MILLIONS in investments.
Additionally nobody knows what the current investments are needed in these schools as ALL of the numbers are from 2005 and a lot of work has been done to these schools since. In addition for example in Oakboro they say 3 million needed for that school however those plans included an expansion in addition to the repairs that have since been accomplished.
Bottom line yes additional funding is NEEDED a sales tax needs to be passed and the commissioners need to put more money towards the schools. Trust me a consolidation will help nothing and hurt a lot of kids. Previous states funding needed plus redistricting. There is no reason at a for west stanly to go as close to SSHS as it does and no reason for WSHS to come into the city of Albemarle. That along with the growth of the western part of the county would fix the funding as well as increase the enrollment.
The main priority needs to be on fixing the academics in this county. There are ways we can get better and nobody is even focusing on those issues. Financially we should never push back against the funding of our schools. BUT the funding needs to be for the schools and schools only not piggy backed with something else.
Now back to the budget you would have a NET gain of 0 by doing this. Meaning 0 SAVINGS. It has already been stated that regardless the increase of funding will have to be there. Additionally if you combine these schools 2 new schools would have to be built which is MILLIONS in investments.
Additionally nobody knows what the current investments are needed in these schools as ALL of the numbers are from 2005 and a lot of work has been done to these schools since. In addition for example in Oakboro they say 3 million needed for that school however those plans included an expansion in addition to the repairs that have since been accomplished.
Bottom line yes additional funding is NEEDED a sales tax needs to be passed and the commissioners need to put more money towards the schools. Trust me a consolidation will help nothing and hurt a lot of kids. Previous states funding needed plus redistricting. There is no reason at a for west stanly to go as close to SSHS as it does and no reason for WSHS to come into the city of Albemarle. That along with the growth of the western part of the county would fix the funding as well as increase the enrollment.
The main priority needs to be on fixing the academics in this county. There are ways we can get better and nobody is even focusing on those issues. Financially we should never push back against the funding of our schools. BUT the funding needs to be for the schools and schools only not piggy backed with something else.
You are exactly right, in many regards. They are paying to operate buildings that can be consolidated down due to necessity. Do they spend the money to upgrade and fix their current buildings, or invest in updated buildings that are more appropriate for their current needs. The growth on the west side of the county is certainly not substantial. It is not like West is a 3-A school that is busting at the seems. A magnet school is a great idea, in many ways. This seems to be an effective way to address the issues that SCS have with the allocation of resources and their poor facility conditions.
I have asked this before and nobody has Been able to give an answer. What programs would the magnet be able to offer that's not offered at our early college?
Wouldn't it be a better idea to do a post secondary opp at the early college bring the enrollment of that back in to the county schools and allow those kids to participate in HS activities? That way our kids graduate with a diploma and associates additionally we would be able to drive up interest in that as athletes they could be a part of it.
The arts that they are proposing should be a part of our county schools anyway. Dance theatre band etc are great programs that should emphasized in our schools.
Magnet and charter school pull from the enrollment of our public schools. Then you have to factor in you are not saving any money BUT you are not accounting for the minimal of 50 to 100 kids who will leave SCS if the consolidation is done. So SCS will be actually true net losing a lot of money plus have a magnet that is doing the exact same thing as our early college AND yet we have NOT even addressed the issues and fundamental problems in our academics. So schools will still be failing and you will still have the under achieving kids that are basically just hidden better.
Wouldn't it be a better idea to do a post secondary opp at the early college bring the enrollment of that back in to the county schools and allow those kids to participate in HS activities? That way our kids graduate with a diploma and associates additionally we would be able to drive up interest in that as athletes they could be a part of it.
The arts that they are proposing should be a part of our county schools anyway. Dance theatre band etc are great programs that should emphasized in our schools.
Magnet and charter school pull from the enrollment of our public schools. Then you have to factor in you are not saving any money BUT you are not accounting for the minimal of 50 to 100 kids who will leave SCS if the consolidation is done. So SCS will be actually true net losing a lot of money plus have a magnet that is doing the exact same thing as our early college AND yet we have NOT even addressed the issues and fundamental problems in our academics. So schools will still be failing and you will still have the under achieving kids that are basically just hidden better.
Hit the nail on the head, nation. What the school board is trying to do is insanity. Still think it was a cry for help from them because the county commissioners dropped the ball.
Yeah Buddy. I understand the schools need and should have more funding. If people actually look at the details instead of taking face value on what's being said it's all right there. Commissioners need to step up BUT also we as a community need to step up and take care of our kids and our schools. I will continue a bit by saying the funding that's passed and supported by the community needs to go to ONLY the schools not for uniforms or emergency communication equipment. I think combining funding allows for shadiness.
Also look from an athletic standpoint in Stanly County. Closing any other school does nothing athletically to the others in terms of a boost. Closing AHS and spreading that athletic talent throughout Stanly County, is both asinine and brilliant. Spreading AHS athletes over the county helps the other schools tremendously. Not to mention if the new magnet school doesn't have athletics, the money saved there helps to renovate the other schools in the county. High Schools budget anywhere from $7000-15000 depending on the school. That is a good chunk of money.
Money saved from running athletics? Ummm. We have great fans here and our sports carries itself. Basketball and football carry the other sports. The sports here is not really an expense to the school it actually benefits the school as sports programs are suppose to do.
This has got to be the most popular Football off season post ever. I'm liking this because this is filling in off season boredom. That and having a good Basketball Year. I was talking to My Nephew who was a West graduate just a few years ago and He agrees that there isn't enough Room at West
I just don't know of a better plan. How many of the adminastration quit at Albemarle during this past summer. Academics helps the Students but cost more without doing something. We appreciate betango because He has a lot of knowledge about this. Anyway the School Board has Their hands full. This isn't an easy County to bring change to, and that doesn't help
I don't believe any of the administration left with the exception of the AD. We had teachers leave. There is no cost savings with closing the schools. Actually without the extra transportation cost factored in they are at a true net 0 savings. And you are running the schools at a extremely high capacity and would still need to invest MILLIONS in expansions or even more MILLIONS in new buildings. And you still haven't addressed the fundamental issues with academics. The schools need more funding and redistrict no doubt but we need a plan to improve our academics. That needs to be our #1 priority.
Same thing happens with Redistricting. When a Child leaves the Old School to go to the other Old School, Parents start Fussing
Not if you allow affected kids to decide and it begin with all incoming freshman. Better than closing the school in 4 mos lol
But Stanly County has managed to make that work. Changing Schools has been Something Our Kids have seen a lot of.
And yet still academically struggling. So does this move once again fix the problem? Academically we will not get better until the fundamental problems are addressed. Closing a school does not help financially or academically so why do it? That's the question no one seems to have answer too. Funding and redistricting is needed. There is no reason at all for west stanly to come into Albemarle city limits and into south stanly's backyard. Additionally our schools do need more funding but that tax or whatever is proposed needs to go to ONLY the schools and not piggy backed with something else.
After that is completed we need to focus ONLY on academics. I am all for change if it betters the academics.
After that is completed we need to focus ONLY on academics. I am all for change if it betters the academics.
