To the editor,

We missed the Archdale-Trinity News at the Wheatmore High School open house, dedication and ribbon cutting. Being the first new high school to open in our community in over 30 years, it certainly would have been nice to have it reported in our local newspaper.

I read an editorial in the Sept. 24 issue. The editor expressed the opinion that the Archdale-Trinity area “Public hearing falls short on notification.” I want to respond.

On the Aug. 17 Board of Education meeting agenda, the Sept. 10 date was announced as the Archdale-Trinity area district lines/grade configuration public hearing, along with the dates of each district forum. The Archdale-Trinity News was e-mailed that agenda one week before that meeting and received it again the night of the meeting. Principals and schools were notified in May and reminded monthly about the important dates for their schools and communities. Connect Ed message reminders went out to students’ homes of that meeting on Sept. 8.

The legal standards did not fall short, all notification requirements were met and exceeded.

That topic did come up at the March 10 Archdale Elementary School PTSA meeting, in which Board of Education members Gary Cook, Paul Guthrie and I were invited to attend. It was an elementary school PTSA meeting in which parents, students and faculty were in attendance. We had been invited to explain the process that we, as a board, had gone through and the options that were being considered. Gary Cook and I attended that meeting and we were not allowed that opportunity that night. We did, however, listen to the intense questions and tried, as best we could, to explain the challenges and issues facing our school system and our students.

The Board has set goals for the entire county, trying to meet the needs of our students.

We want to maximize educational opportunities and environments for all our students. Minimizing overcrowding by using the least number of mobile classroom units is another goal.

Using all our facilities efficiently and effectively, along with efficient transportation were goals also. Planning for future needs, considering our current economical ability and situation were our responsibilities.

In meeting those goals, we wanted a clean alignment from middle to high school for all our students. Our reasons being that stability would offer students more support, helping them remain engaged in school. Dropout students often become disengaged in middle school and they need extra assistance and understanding. By factoring in as many issues affecting middle school students and addressing those, it is our goal to keep our students engaged and in school.

The Archdale-Trinity district has five elementary, one sixth grade, one middle and two high schools. This configuration serves over 5,200 students, making it the largest district in Randolph County. As configured now, the elementary capacity is 2,850, middle capacity is 1,050, and high school capacity is 1,780. Our approximate current enrollment in elementary is 2,500, middle is 1,200, and high school is 1,500.

Our elementary schools have smaller class sizes just by state law, which helps provide them a better learning environment. We currently have approximately 350 vacant seats in our elementary schools. Our middle schools not only have larger classes, those schools are overcrowded, complicating those issues. We are past capacity at the middle school level by over 150 students.

Fortunately, we have opened our second high school, alleviating massive overcrowding, more than 1,500 students on Trinity’s campus that was built for 780.

Given our present economical situation, we felt compelled to look at alternatives for our students. Land for a new middle school was purchased with the high school land. The County Commissioners helped us meet our desperate needs for our high school students. Our county debt and the retirement of that debt will depend on tax collections. Increased unemployment rate and decreased employment opportunities affect our tax collections. Considering all factors, a new middle school could be as long as 10 to 20 years in our future. That is a whole generation of students.

Should they have to endure adverse conditions because we do not want to make a change now?

As configured now, our middle schools are overcrowded. All those students go to one school and they will split up friendships, classes, teams and clubs to attend two different high schools.

A few systems across our state are faced with the same situation, but as they get to high school, they are joined by other middle school students. This is not our situation. Our students will split into two high school groups and not be joined by other students because of our Archdale-Trinity tax lines.

Considering the fact that one elementary school is profoundly under capacity and under used, we faced the need to realign our elementary schools.

As a Board, we searched for the best solution. That is what prompted our different scenarios of how to meet that need.

Archdale is our smallest elementary and in a suitable location to pair with Braxton. This option offers the majority of our students classrooms in buildings, with the fewest mobile units.

The proposal to temporarily make Archdale Elementary into a sixth grade, feeding Braxton as a seventh and eighth grade, going on to Trinity High School, came about as a feasible solution to the dilemma. This also helped meet our goals of a clean alignment, better learning environments, efficient and effective facility use and certainly helps on our future needs, temporarily.

The recommendation that the expense of this change be saved for future building of the new middle school came up the night of the public hearing. Expected expenses of this change involves manpower to move furniture from one school to another and the expense of providing supplies for students and teams for a second middle school. No major expense such as construction is necessary. Our students being served over the next decade or longer deserve at least this. All considered, this is minimal expense attempting to meet our growing needs. This might be minimal savings, if unspent. If spent, it is an investment in those students and their experiences.

I realize that change is difficult and disruptive. We have faced change in our community before to meet the needs of our students. Braxton has served us, first as a high school, then a fourth-fifth grade, then a second through fifth grade, and now as a sixth grade school. Our community has grown, we grow by changing. Our students face change yearly, in their classrooms and schools. Should we not give them the best classrooms and schools that we can possibly offer?

Becky Coltrane

Chairman

Randolph County Board of Education