School consolidation. Just the mention of the words starts discussion and the lining up of pro and con supporters. Each side armed with studies, reports, experiences and opinions. The reality is that both sides can make valid points to support their arguments for keeping smaller community schools or the benefits that a large consolidated school can provide.
The time is nearing that Roane County is going to have to address a building program for its high schools. At that time the decision will have to be made to consolidate our high schools or keep our community high schools. It is not going to be easy.
Our current high schools on the average are 52 years old. Kingston high school was built in 1950, Rockwood high school in 1950, Oliver Springs in 1949, Midway in 1960, and Harriman in 1974.
Currently, Roane County is bucking a state-wide consolidation trend. One-third of the 95 counties in the state have a single high school, in 1950 that number was around three. Twenty-five counties have but two high schools – this means that over 60% of the counties in the state have two or less high schools. Only ten counties in the state have more high schools than Roane County.
Looking at it in another way, Roane County with a population of 52,500 has one high school for approximately every 10,500 residents. No other school system in the state has as many high schools for a population the size of our county. In the area, Blount County has four high schools for a population of 105,000 or one high school for each 26,456 residents and Cumberland County one high school for every 23,000 residents.
The Roane County school Board began addressing the school building needs last year when a $47 million proposal was presented to county commission to fix the growth issues in the county for our middle and elementary schools. The Board felt that this amount would address all the immediate facility needs for everything except the high schools, knowing full well that in about ten years, the high school issue will have to be addressed. Then the average age of our high schools will be 62 years old and the consolidation issue will have to be addressed.
It would serve us all to look at the reasons why 3% of counties in the state had one high school in 1950 and now 33 have a single high school.
Since our high schools were built, our road infrastructure has improved, bridges built, the homogeneous of communities has become less due to new citizens moving in and urbanization, and school building needs have changed as now we cannot just have classrooms. Now a school needs computer labs, science labs, vocational areas, and other specialized workrooms. So many of the reasons for having small community high schools are not as valid as they were 50 years ago.
However, I suspect one of the biggest factors in whether to consolidate or not will come because of cost. Building costs have risen sharply in the past five years – mainly because of hurricane Katrina. Before Katrina, building a high school cost less than $100 a square foot. Now the cost can be as much as $175 a square foot. This is not including additional land purchase, land preparation, furnishing, athletic facilities, wiring, and parking.
Ten years from now it would probably cost Roane County close to $300 million to completely replace all of our five high schools. A recession and added safety, national and state building requirements will continue to increase the cost of our schools faster than regular housing prices will increase. If money was borrowed for this type of construction at a 3% rate, our property taxes would increase by 67% for a 25-year period. As an alternative, a $375 wheel tax for 25-years would have to be imposed.
Staggering numbers, but probably close to real in 2018. Three bordering counties – Knox, Cumberland, and Anderson (Oak Ridge) just built three new high schools for a total cost of over $150 million – and that is in today’s dollars. Each of these new schools were built to handle around 1,500 students (Roane County’s high school enrollment is around 2,500), so obviously if we were to build five high schools right now, the cost would be much cheaper than the $300 million ten years from now. But what will our school population be in 2018?
For a frame of reference, if a decision was made to build a single high school in the county, it would be slightly larger than Farragut, or the third biggest in the state. If two high schools were built they would each be roughly the size of Oak Ridge, Maryville, Rhea County or Knoxville Central.
What decision will be made when the issue is addressed? Consolidation supporters will point out that more advanced courses can be offered, a vocational program can be developed that would reach the 40% of students government statistics say are better suited for that career field, school infrastructure costs would decrease with less buildings to maintain, security can be better, and teacher skills can be better distributed.
Opponents will argue that community schools provide smaller class sizes, less travel time, more students being able to participate in extra curricular activities, lessons can be made more relevant and the schools adjust more easily to social change.
Whatever the decision on consolidation – one will have to be made in the coming years.
