AHS to become a magnet school?

[bulldog nation2014]

As you can see this shows an added 900 and change to the county since 2010. Not a big growth but sti shows growth. My guess is we attract more jobs the population will grow quickly. The only way I think you close the city HS is if there is a steep decline in avg income and population that is not the case. County schools should be eliminated before a school in a town due to economic impacts and commute for kids who quite frankly don't have the means.

We have the space etc for good manufacturing jobs to come in but the state doesn't seen to be friendly to it.



http://accessnc.commerce.state.nc.us/docs/countyProfile/NC/37167.pdf

 

[btango]

Originally posted by bulldog nation2014:
As you can see this shows an added 900 and change to the county since 2010. Not a big growth but sti shows growth. My guess is we attract more jobs the population will grow quickly. The only way I think you close the city HS is if there is a steep decline in avg income and population that is not the case. County schools should be eliminated before a school in a town due to economic impacts and commute for kids who quite frankly don't have the means.

We have the space etc for good manufacturing jobs to come in but the state doesn't seen to be friendly to it.



http://accessnc.commerce.state.nc.us/docs/countyProfile/NC/37167.pdf

The link is for Stanly County not Albemarle. I think the growth will be higher than what they project for 2019 but it will be heavily toward the western end.

I do not agree about the city school should be the one to remain open based on geography. If you were at South I feel confident that you would feel differently. The reasoning based totally on geography is the distances.

If you close South or North there would be some students literally driving past that school to get to their new school. The districts for the county schools are much larger in land mass but the population is not as dense. West is obviously out of the equation for being closed so look at North. Students live seven miles past North straight up Highway 52 on the north side of Pfeiffer. Those students would most likely be sent to Albemarle which is five miles from North. A student that was sent to North would probably live on the north side approximately of Main Street. Those students are going to travel five to seven miles to school maximum. Students to the south of Main Street will go to South Stanly which is going to be about nine miles maximum. A student living in Piney Point will travel as much as 17 miles to Albemarle HS and there are a few areas further out.

In addition with higher density neighborhoods school bus routes can be set up in a system that will allow for picking up in a neighborhood and then no further stops once the bus hits the main road. In a rural setting the stops are going to be more numerous due to the distance between houses and pickups.

If one school has to close and it is based on geography Albemarle will most likely be the one that is closed. I have questioned people from western Stanly for saying that Ridgecrest should be a magnet school when in fact the magnet school should be the most centrally located school due to students coming from all directions. That is why Albemarle is the only choice for the county wide magnet but it also has the reverse influence when sending students out from the centralized location.

 

[bulldog nation2014]

In regards to closing south i actually said a county school should be closed before a school in a town in reference to south and albemarle.

 

[Buddy Rich]

My question btango is if AHS is to become a magnet school, why does it have to be closed a year before that happens? Also when it does open want kids be coming to it from all over the county. What kind of busing nightmare will that be?

 

[bulldog nation2014]

So Albemarle is centralized enough for a magnet but not enough to close north instead. And from AHS to pfeiffer is a 10min bus ride. To me AHS is not the one to close as you do have kids with no transportation or limited and lower income families. 17miles from piney point compared to what a previous post said a hr to west?

I think that magnet is the last thing that we need to worry about honestly. Who pays for the teachers at this magnet? A previous poster said these teachers for these stem magnets are required a higher salary because of education. Im not sure on this but would make sense and i guess the only way to really know for sure would be to talk to some of the stem programs in charlotte as that is what we would be competing with on it.

I want to make clear my stance i dont think we need to close a school i believe there are other options that need to be looked at to better academics. Academics and academics only needs to be our focus. Additionally there needs to be a full review on budget spending in the school systems as i personally believe there is alot of waste going on. I believe i seen where the budget is around 75million? Correct me if i am wrong on that.

Additionally if believe it is better academically to close a school then there needs to be community involvement and a well laid out and executed plan. This is drastic an fast and me being in the business world doesnt feel on the up and up. Typically you see this when you are trying to not be forth right with info and there is a hidden agenda. There kids and teachers jobs on the line here whether you wabt to admit to that or not and this should not be rushed just to get it through. If this is the best option and there is no other option people will see that and agree to it by majority. Funny how you mentioned the academic portion and i have not seen or heard that as of yet.

If this is about money let me tell you never hold back when it comes to our kids and their education. You want school tax dollars make it clear and concise what you want and what the plan is and dont include emergency communication equipment. Thats shady and leaves a gray area. Remember this board works for us of stanly county they can always be removed just as they got in.

There are plenty of options and those should be exercised prior to closing a school. If thos goes through without exercising those options shame on them and shame on us as adults of this community. I would be greatly disappointed if AHS and SSHS is closed or either one without being thorough. I would at that point look seriously at what i would do with my own kids. So i am watching this as a parent.

This post was edited on 2/2 10:01 PM by bulldog nation2014

 

[bulldog nation2014]

Buddy for the magnet i believe the parents will be responsible for travel to and from school. Correct btango?

 

[Buddy Rich]

I will agree with you on one thing nation. I think this board is really trying to rush this thing and get it done in a hurry. Makes you wonder. WHY?

 

[bulldog nation2014]

Yeah, anytime something this drastic is being done like this it seems like something is not right. The board meeting tomorrow and outcome will be interesting.

 

[bulldog nation2014]

I know one thing everybody assumes this is all over and done. These achool board members work for the people of these communuties. And there are alot of people not happy right now.

 

[btango]

Originally posted by bulldog nation2014:
So Albemarle is centralized enough for a magnet but not enough to close north instead. And from AHS to pfeiffer is a 10min bus ride. To me AHS is not the one to close as you do have kids with no transportation or limited and lower income families. 17miles from piney point compared to what a previous post said a hr to west?

Once again basing this on geography, absolutely. A magnet school will take students from all areas of the county. If you cut down to three schools, the districts will be divided up by geography and enrollment. Look at one high school counties, it is evident that the school was built in a centralized location and easily accessible location with regard to geography and population. The population is why Richmond Senior is built more to the southeast area of the county and five miles from the square in Rockingham and to downtown Hamlet but still over twenty miles from the far northern reaches of the county where there are very few residences.

The address I used in Piney Point would basically be 21 miles to both North and West but driving to North would be much faster due to Highway 51 and the bypass. If you went Highway 52 North to 24/27 West the drive time may be shorter but the mileage would go to 25 miles. In the scenario with three districted high schools South Stanly would remain open and the students currently in the district would remain there with some Albemarle students going to South. With Albemarle remaining open as a magnet South students would go to both West and North but where the split of their district would be I do not know.

If you are driving a bus from Albemarle HS to Pfeiffer in ten minutes please let someone else drive.

 

[btango]

Originally posted by bulldog nation2014:
Buddy for the magnet i believe the parents will be responsible for travel to and from school. Correct btango?

If it is a public high school transportation normally must be provided. Think that is standard. That is where charter schools differ greatly, they do not have to provide transportation or serve meals.

I have seen busing different ways. Some places they do regular busing, some do busing to the student's home district high school which feeds the magnet and then students change buses.

 

[btango]

Originally posted by bulldog nation2014:


I think that magnet is the last thing that we need to worry about honestly. Who pays for the teachers at this magnet? A previous poster said these teachers for these stem magnets are required a higher salary because of education. Im not sure on this but would make sense and i guess the only way to really know for sure would be to talk to some of the stem programs in charlotte as that is what we would be competing with on it.



This post was edited on 2/2 10:01 PM by bulldog nation2014

Based on information that I have been able to get from Cabarrus and Mecklenburg County the pay for the STEM teachers being drastically higher is incorrect. If you look at the breakdowns of Plan A and Plan B it shows the teachers that will be added and they are budgeted in. That is where the bottom line I noted of $600k being saved was taken from.

 

[bulldog nation2014]

I just overlooked the plans in depth. And this plan is outrageous and is really putting the art before the horse. Additionally I looked over the financials and after reinvestments of just relocating really they have a true net savings of $49,000. Additionally the programs at SCCC offers the same things that the magnet is going to with the exception of maybe dance. It's a technical school really that teaches some trade and gives college credit and is the same exact thing as the post secondary option pending of
Course they qualify through testing and gpa etc. I am very familiar with the post secondary option it is a great program typically done through your local community college.

Also I find it amusing that they are throwing $2million dollars into renovating all these schools in both options HOWEVER non into AHS unless I missed it. Even in option B where the AMS would move to AHS. However most of the kids are funneled into west stanly district. From what I could see. I didn't add the numbers up but by my guess that is what it looked like.

The AP courses are offered at our schools currently. I am going to review more. I wanted to post the link but it would not copy over.

I would advise seriously everybody be against this plan. I will see if I can get this to paste in. But this plan makes no sense to me. I will add this plan should have been on the ballot so the community could officially tell this plan where to go.

One more thing renovate Badin???? Wow and AHS is out of date compared to Badin. That school is pretty full as is. Larger classrooms does not equal success.

 

[bulldog nation2014]

Just an FYI I have a kid who is taking college classes now that plays for me and she is a junior at AHS so the opportunities are there for all schools. Why not take the $2 million and invest it into providing more for our kids and current schools. I figure close to a million if not more has been invested in football fields gym floor replacements etc. Take the $2 million and add it to the schools to allow for more resources. No need to do all of this.

 

[bulldog nation2014]

Can you tell me where you seen the savings of $600k was and on what page? I seen a true net after reinvestments of $49k.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=c3Rhbmx5Y291bnR5c2Nob29scy5vcmd8c3Rhbmx5fGd4OjI5MjBlNzViZTc5YjZjNzY

 

[bulldog nation2014]

Here is the interesting part of it all. They need 3 things to make this work from a budget standpoint.

1) INCREASE in local funding aka tax increase
2) INCREASE in state funding which I read in a earlier post that the NC education dept was in a $1 billion dollar shortfall
3) INCREASE in federal funding
4) Increased Efficiency

All four is needed to balance the proposed budget. Additionally on the plan where the magnet is at AHS I find funny as kids will be fed in so a school will still be there however Bulldog Athletics will not be. My question is why not invest these resources into our current schools if they are there. My guy tells me they are not and that's why they are trying to push this through quickly. If they can get this through or what I like to call strong arm it the community at that point will have no choice but to pay the increase locally as the kids have already been sent and AHS has been closed moved or whatever. It's done at that point. However what happens if 2 or 3 of the four funding avenues don't come through? Then we would have 3 at capacity HS with no more resources less teachers overfilled classrooms right?

Please tell me if I am off on this but this is what I see. I know the funding is correct because it is right there in big bold letters. Lol. I am a simple man.

 

[btango]

Originally posted by bulldog nation2014:

Academics and academics only needs to be our focus. Additionally there needs to be a full review on budget spending in the school systems as i personally believe there is alot of waste going on. I believe i seen where the budget is around 75million? Correct me if i am wrong on that.

Additionally if believe it is better academically to close a school then there needs to be community involvement and a well laid out and executed plan. This is drastic an fast and me being in the business world doesnt feel on the up and up. Typically you see this when you are trying to not be forth right with info and there is a hidden agenda. There kids and teachers jobs on the line here whether you wabt to admit to that or not and this should not be rushed just to get it through. If this is the best option and there is no other option people will see that and agree to it by majority. Funny how you mentioned the academic portion and i have not seen or heard that as of yet.

If this is about money let me tell you never hold back when it comes to our kids and their education. You want school tax dollars make it clear and concise what you want and what the plan is and dont include emergency communication equipment. Thats shady and leaves a gray area. Remember this board works for us of stanly county they can always be removed just as they got in.

There are plenty of options and those should be exercised prior to closing a school. If thos goes through without exercising those options shame on them and shame on us as adults of this community. I would be greatly disappointed if AHS and SSHS is closed or either one without being thorough. I would at that point look seriously at what i would do with my own kids. So i am watching this as a parent.

This post was edited on 2/2 10:01 PM by bulldog nation2014

The budget was $82 million but was $70 million this year. The cuts come from loss of students and also the state cutting school budgets. This is a huge issue in every county. It is a hot topic in Cabarrus County. Stanly is not alone but Stanly has been without major change or growth for so long it is tougher to accept. CMS is about $1.4 billion but they serve nearly 140,000 students compared to 8,700. If you did it by percentage I think SCS would be about $78 million but it hard to compare a system that large to one this small.

Reagarding teachers jobs are on the line. From the info I have been able to find you will not see a great reduction in teaching positions. The system is not losing students so that will not be as great a number as some seem to think. I personally think teachers here are underpaid by about 20% also but that is more of a state issue.

You wrote that you have "not seen or heard" about the academic portion. There is a breakdown in the links I shared of what they want to offer in the future that is not available now. That is a big part of this.

You run a business. If you want to advertise but have no funds for it you cannot advertise until you cut from somewhere in the expenses or bring in more dollars. Schools are the same. The main thing leading to this from a financial aspect is the state is cutting their funding to the school systems.

The BOE does work for the citizens of Stanly County and they were voted in to do a job. They are not required to hold forums or get input from the community. They could unilaterally move forward on something but they appear to be requesting input from the community. Part of their reason and it is listed in the linked info is to be proactive and not reactive. As I have written I think this is something that is being moved forward now because their is fear that there will not be a choice in the near future and the options will be less at that time.

As far as being a parent and willing to look at other educational options that is what a lot of parents of students have done and I feel confident that we will see more of that regardless if the system does or does not close schools.

 

[btango]

Originally posted by bulldog nation2014:
I just overlooked the plans in depth. And this plan is outrageous and is really putting the art before the horse. Additionally I looked over the financials and after reinvestments of just relocating really they have a true net savings of $49,000. Additionally the programs at SCCC offers the same things that the magnet is going to with the exception of maybe dance. It's a technical school really that teaches some trade and gives college credit and is the same exact thing as the post secondary option pending of
Course they qualify through testing and gpa etc. I am very familiar with the post secondary option it is a great program typically done through your local community college.

Also I find it amusing that they are throwing $2million dollars into renovating all these schools in both options HOWEVER non into AHS unless I missed it. Even in option B where the AMS would move to AHS. However most of the kids are funneled into west stanly district. From what I could see. I didn't add the numbers up but by my guess that is what it looked like.

The AP courses are offered at our schools currently. I am going to review more. I wanted to post the link but it would not copy over.

I would advise seriously everybody be against this plan. I will see if I can get this to paste in. But this plan makes no sense to me. I will add this plan should have been on the ballot so the community could officially tell this plan where to go.

One more thing renovate Badin???? Wow and AHS is out of date compared to Badin. That school is pretty full as is. Larger classrooms does not equal success.

On page 19 for Plan A Phase 1 has $228,210 and Phase 2 shows $376,129 available funds after the two phases are implemented which works out to over $604,000. Plan B appears to be the one that shows a $48,000 savings. I am going to look over the two plans more in-depth Tuesday hopefully and compare the savings numbers.

Go back and read some of the earlier posts, the concern of overlapping classes was discussed.

You are advising people to be against something that you have continually misstated facts about and have "just overlooked the plans in depth." People should be attending the school board meetings and going to the community open houses to try to understand more and form an educated opinion. That is what has been the problem in the past and one reason the system is in this situation. A minority of the county and two very strong personalities ruled the board for years. That board member that was voted off is putting out incorrect information such as Albemarle always gets what they want, they got a $500k field house. He fails to tell people that the system was facing a Title 9 lawsuit if something was not done.

The ballot was voting for the BOE. The other option was voting for the tax referendum that would have sent money to the schools.

Badin is 84% capacity. Are you saying that Albemarle needs renovation? I think the main things that are planned for the two district (or three depending on which plan) high schools is to add space and meet the requirements that would be needed by adding students which would be sensible. I am sure all of the high school could use some upgrades but Albemarle has had additions such as the front wing by the lower parking lot.



This post was edited on 2/3 2:40 AM by btango

 

[btango]

Originally posted by bulldog nation2014:
Just an FYI I have a kid who is taking college classes now that plays for me and she is a junior at AHS so the opportunities are there for all schools. Why not take the $2 million and invest it into providing more for our kids and current schools. I figure close to a million if not more has been invested in football fields gym floor replacements etc. Take the $2 million and add it to the schools to allow for more resources. No need to do all of this.

Where does the student take college classes? Is that part of the Early College deal?

Where is the $2 million coming from?

 

[btango]

Originally posted by bulldog nation2014:
Here is the interesting part of it all. They need 3 things to make this work from a budget standpoint.

1) INCREASE in local funding aka tax increase
2) INCREASE in state funding which I read in a earlier post that the NC education dept was in a $1 billion dollar shortfall
3) INCREASE in federal funding
4) Increased Efficiency

All four is needed to balance the proposed budget. Additionally on the plan where the magnet is at AHS I find funny as kids will be fed in so a school will still be there however Bulldog Athletics will not be. My question is why not invest these resources into our current schools if they are there. My guy tells me they are not and that's why they are trying to push this through quickly. If they can get this through or what I like to call strong arm it the community at that point will have no choice but to pay the increase locally as the kids have already been sent and AHS has been closed moved or whatever. It's done at that point. However what happens if 2 or 3 of the four funding avenues don't come through? Then we would have 3 at capacity HS with no more resources less teachers overfilled classrooms right?

Please tell me if I am off on this but this is what I see. I know the funding is correct because it is right there in big bold letters. Lol. I am a simple man.

As I have wrote numerous times the state budget cuts are a major reason for the school closings. The budget as being listed would be less than the budget to keep the system the same as it is now. Either way the admini thinks that there is more funded needed from all three levels. The county gave the schools $12 million this year. They want more. An example, the superintendent thinks that supplements for teachers should be higher. (I agree!) In order to pay more there must be a larger budgets, cost cuts, or a combination of both.

The plan appears to show that the teaching slots are not dropping and I have written this. Show us where and how many teacher slots are being lost? It appears the loss / gain is not causing a large drop off in positions. Standard attrition would remove some also.

To answer your question go back to paragraph one.