The need for a new school stems from extreme overcrowding at West Johnston. West is currently home to nearly 40 mobile units and is more than 500 students over the building’s capacity. Cleveland High School is expected to draw 573 kids from West, according to the land use survey conducted by NC State University.
Thursday evening the entire Board was in attendance for an open forum. The meeting was run by chairman Larry Strickland, and an opening presentation was given by superintendent Dr. Ed Croom. Croom’s presentation addressed the process of determining district lines. A land use study was done by NC State, and they determined the lines according to the expected growth in the area. Other considerations include transportation, expected growth, subdivisions, natural boundaries and feeder schools. According to previous surveys, West has grown far quicker than anticipated as the current overcrowding situation was “not supposed to happen,” according to Croom.
The new Cleveland High School is expected to have 623 students its first year of operation and will only enroll grades nine and 10. By the year 2013-2014, when the school is occupied by all four grade levels, it is expected to house 1,436 students. This exceeds the predicted enrollment of West Johnston in 2013-2014 (1,339). Both schools are anticipated to only be at 80 percent capacity if expected growth is as planned.
Nearly 100 people attended the board meeting. Several parents took the microphone to express concerns. One obvious concern was from the parents of band members. West’s band is nationally renowned and parents do not want their kids to be forced out. As a result of this major concern, Croom met with band parents at a separate meeting to address the specific concerns.
Among the other concerns were municipal boundaries - for example, people who live in Clayton want to go to Clayton High School, and people who live in Cleveland want to go to Cleveland High School. Parents were also concerned about offerings and technological availability. They were also interested in knowing all future athletic offerings. However, Dr. Croom assured everyone that the new schools would “have adequate resources.”
Some parents were concerned that their student’s education might be interrupted if they are asked to change schools, while others worried about possible anxiety their child might suffer from the move. Many parents were also upset because they had moved homes specifically to send their children to West Johnston, and according to the proposed boundary lines they would now attend Cleveland. One of the repeated concerns voiced by many parents was that of siblings attending the same school. For example, if a family has a rising 9th grader and a rising 11th grader they could potentially be sent to different schools.
After the parents had their time to be heard, the board took a moment to address the concerns. Donna White, as well as a couple other members of the board, thanked the public for voicing their concerns and thanked them immensely for their cordial attitude toward a potentially volatile situation.
The proposed boundaries are public record and are not final. All of the comments will be taken into consideration by the board members as the lines are drawn. Cleveland High School will draw most of its teachers from West Johnston and other high schools in the county. The board seems to have things well under control, and on the whole the public seems happy to see the new high schools being built to elevate the ever growing schools. A final decision will be made in the coming weeks. Parents and concerned citizens are encouraged to contact the Board of Education with any concerns. Both Cleveland High School and Corinth-Holder High School will open their doors, likely to 9th and 10th graders only, in the fall of 2010.
Board Members: Peggy Smith, Larry Strickland, Donna White, Keith Branch, Butler Hall, Dorothy Johnson, Mike Wooten.
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