Parents voice concerns about plan to merge district middle and high schools
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 — About 100 concerned parents attended Tuesday night’s special Nelson County Board of Education meeting at Cox’s Creek Elementary School Tuesday evening to hear more details of a plan that will bring the district’s middle school students into the high schools.
Superintendent Wes Bradley spent about 40 minutes giving the crowd an overview of the district’s history and how it has changed since 1900, and how the time is right to combine the middle and high school grades at two centrally located schools.
Combining middle and high schools will offer the middle school students advantages of being in a centralized location with a wider range of academic choices available than is now the case.
“This model gives us the flexibility we don’t have now,” he said.
The changes will give the district’s 6-12 students a greater opportunities to excel in a more robust and sustainable education environment, he said. Both high school will have middle school wings, he said.
The timeline for integrating the middle schoolers at the high schools has the changes in place in time for the start of school in the Fall of 2023.
Under the school facilities plan, Bloomfield Middle School would close. Boston and New Haven schools would become K-5 schools. New Haven School and Cox’s Creek Elementary School would get needed modernization and renovations.
Construction on the needed middle school wings could begin in just over a year, he said.
Bradley emphasized that the district’s conversations with stakeholders about the changes were just beginning. The district has community meetings scheduled at all of its schools where parents and community members can provide their input and ask questions (see schedule below).
PARENT REACTION. The most common concern voiced by parents about the changes was the safety of the middle school students. Most parents were uneasy with the idea of middle school students being mixed with the high school students.
Several parents said they felt the plan sounded like it offered advantages, though safety was still a big concern.
Amanda Deaton, a parent and attorney, was one of several Bloomfield area residents who voiced concerns about economic impact the closure of Bloomfield Middle School could have on that community.
“It could hollow out the local economy,” she told the board.
Former school board member David Norman said he was against bringing middle school students to the high schools.
“There’s no reason for it — except for money,” he said. “We have got to sit back and then about the safety — no matter what Wes says — safety is the issue.”
Norman said it was wrong to experiment using the district’s schoolchildren to see if an idea will work.
“Our kids are not test tubes,” he told the board. “We have to make sure this works before we try it.”
Some parents wanted to know what the real reason was behind making such a drastic change — other than saving money — and asked what other Kentucky school district have followed such a plan.
The board did not respond to comments or answer questions because at a special-called meeting, the board is limited to discussing only the items on the evening’s agenda.
COMMUNITY MEETINGS. Parents and members of the community can attend any one of the following community discussions at the district’s school to ask questions and learn more about the changes.
The scheduled meetings all will begin at 5:30 p.m.:
- April 26 – Boston School
- April 28 – Bloomfield Elementary School
- April 29 – New Haven School
- May 3 – Cox’s Creek Elementary School
- May 5 – Foster Heights Elementary School
- May 10 – Nelson County High School
- May 12 – Thomas Nelson High School
NEXT UP. The Nelson County Board of Education will next meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
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