Madison County schools superintendent Mitch McGhee said that school system leaders are currently exploring options for major improvements to that campus.
“We are in the initial planning stages of doing something significant physically with the high school,” McGhee said last Thursday. “Exactly what that is, I mean, we’re floating several ideas out there.”
The current high school building opened nearly four decades ago in 1970.
McGhee said the school system must figure out, foremost, what it can afford and what the high school needs.
“We’re starting that process,” he said.
The school system just put the finishing touches on a brand new 161,147 square foot middle school building in August.
McGhee said the high school’s needs are similar to what the middle school’s were just a few years before the new MCMS was built.
“Where we were four years ago with that middle school, that’s where we are now with the high school,” McGhee said.
School leaders have conducted a general concept meeting with architects and construction officials to ask “what all could we possibly get for how much money?” McGhee said.
But he said it’s too early to announce any specific plans for MCHS.
The superintendent said they’ve turned the process over to high school officials who are currently assessing the school’s needs.
By the way, you do know "Allready" is spelled A-L-R-E-A-D-Y, right?
"Why not give our kids and students the best?"
Answer: First, the role of public education is not to "give" "your kids" the "best." The role of public education is to provide an adequate education; no more, no less. The obvious answer to your question is YOU can give YOUR kids the best at any time you wish. Athens Academy is an excellent private school recognized as the best in this region. Perhaps there are other schools you deem better. Be my guest, by all means, give your kids the best. I'm sure they deserve it. You can do this without any assistance from Madison County taxpayers and if you really want to give your children "the best," you will.
Now allow me to explain why now is not the time for the taxpayers of Madison County to be asked to pay more taxes for any alterations to the school system that exceeds the bare minimum requirements required by law. Now is not the time because Sonny Perdue and the republican legislature have cut off millions of dollars to fund our schools here in Madison County, (more cuts are coming folks!) people are losing homes, property values are down, tax collections are down, the economy is in recession and on the verge of depression, people are out of work (local employers Weyerhauser, LP, A&D, and many, many more have laid off thousands of workers or shut down altogether), and likely there is more unemployment and economic difficulties on the horizon.
Giving "our kids the best" is simply not the mandate of public education, nor is it what we can afford at the present time. When times are tough, in my household, we explain to our children how important it is to live within our budget and stay within our means. This way our children learn valuable lessons that demonstrate how we can solve problems just as well with creativity and diligence as by throwing money around. Our children learn that it is better to live without the "best" and stay solvent than to borrow and spend for the "best" only to go bankrupt later. Actually, when you think about it, it is precisely by NOT spending money we don't have that results in our children receiving the BEST EDUCATION!
Maybe if more people had received an education of prudence as I describe above as opposed to the "borrow and spend for the dubious best" method, those people would have learned valuable lessons and not borrowed money for houses they couldn't afford, lived on credit, lived above their means, etc. and our country would not be in this huge mess.
Why can't a public school give the same type of learning enviroment a private one can? I'm not saying let's put plasma or lcd televisions up in all the hallways or neon lighting around the lockers. Let's put some new color in there, some new carpet... ceiling tiles that don't fall on you in class (It happened more than once while I was there).
Building cost aren't going down, they're only going up. Why not do it now before it cost three or four times as much in the coming years. As for your comments on forclosure and job layoffs. You should know what you're getting into before you jump into a mortgage. Debt is something my child will learn at an early age and teaching them that is MY responsibility... NOT YOURS. I at an early age learned the consequinces of poor spending choices... but now I live within my limits and will teach my child to do the same. Life choices should not influence the school system and has no valid argument in the matter.
"Teacher", I hope you can be a sound teacher and influence a child's life. A child that attends a public school. A public school that deserves to be the best in the region. Shallow minds like your's and "ALLready's" should expand and not hinder our children. Tech, Tech and Teach... be the one that enhances our future through the children you have today.
As the teacher said, if one wishes to spend more for something one perceive as better, one has every right to do so. That's why we have freedom of choice. So critical people like you, Kevin, whose children deserve the very best, can choose to simply send your children to the school of your choice or home school your child so they can truly be the recipient of your high standards and gifted intelligence. What you cannot do, Mr. Cheek, is impose your choices that you wish for you and yours on public education and the children of others. Furthermore, what you cannot do is choose to tax and spend our money just because you want to spend more to create something you perceive as "better" or "best" that is not mandated by state or federal law governing standards of public education.
In short Kevin, you can spend your money as you darn well please, and you can do for your children what you darn well please, but you best keep your hands off of the rest of ours!
Oh, by the way, both of my children attended and graduated from Madison County schools. One went on to attend the University of Georgia where she graduated with a 4.0 GPA and went on to graduate second in her class from Harvard Law School and she is employed in a successful law firm. My son went on to attend Georgia Tech where he graduated with a 3.9 GPA and he was working for Microsoft before you knew what Microsoft was. There's some hard evidence that the public education in Madison County is excellent. As for the private education that one's children are supposed to receive from their parents when one's children are at home, that is another matter, and that is where I would recommend you focus your efforts and your financial resources, Mr. Cheek. Kevin, my children are grown and I am retired, but the time you have spent typing away at writing letters on the internet is proof positive you are not prepared to do what it takes to provide the best education for your children as that is time you could have and should be spending with your children working on that "best" education.
Jill, I make no decisions on what county taxes are spent on. I simply made a comment on how and why I thought the high school needs some reconditioning. I never said destroy the old school and build a new one. Your acting as if you somehow read into me saying that. I also only sated that it's sad a teacher is just there doing the minimum. It's my opinion and I'm entitled to it.
My post are not meant as an attack and I'm sorry if you see them as such. I do spend my money as I please and would like nothing better for you to do the same.
I am proud for you that your children are so successful. I'm glad one is in law and the other works for a software company. Pointing out that it is Microsoft is a dig that does not work for me though. I'm an Apple man myself. Have you used Vista? It's horrible. I do not doubt the education level at MCHS (I'm a grad as well) but shouldn't an education take place in a building conducive to that level of learning? You don't have to agree with me, I'm not asking you to do that. I'm asking you to look at my side and that's all.
As for time spent typing out five minute post on this website... I think it will teach my young... and when I say young I mean young child a valuable lesson for learning and life. It will teach him technical skills, the right to voice his opinion, the ability to view someone else's opinion and respect it. It will also teach him some folks will never accept what your opinion is and that's good. If we were all single minded sheep life would be just plain ol' crap.
By the way, "Appleannie" I do not have all the answers. I never have claimed to be full of myself. My wife says I am at times however.
"Another Taxpayer", You're right. I realize your point and see it that way now. It's just being a personable person, I like to know who I am talking to. Thanks for your insight though.
"I know the tax payers who have kids would be willing to pay for those renovations!!!"
This is great and a solution we all will agree on. So, all the people with kids just need to step up to the plate and pay for the renovations. This need not involve any of our tax dollars, however, as that would involve taxpayers without kids and go against this young person's very fair and equitable proposal.
Good job, Student at MCHS. I'm glad some of our students are thinking and problem solving. I think you should take this idea to the next PTA meeting, or any meeting where parents gather, as well as to the Board of Education and to the next Board of Commissioners meeting. At the end of it all you could be hailed as a hero and pave your way to elected office in this county. Again, I commend you. Well done!
1. MCHS probably does need some renovations. Parts of the school are, of course, almost forty years old.
2. Taxes will have to be used to pay for these renovations. If we had elected a group of commissioners in the past that had brought in business, that tax burden might not be felt so heavily by residential taxpayers. Alas, farmers wanted to be farmers and real estate developers wanted rooftops.
3. With the current student populations, Madison County probably should have two high schools with smaller student populations in each. So, not only should the current high school be renovated to meet student needs, another new state of the art school should be built. Alas, without commerce there is no SPLOST dollars that can work to that end. I was glad to see that another BOC Chair was voted in... maybe in ten or fifteen years the county can be in a position to give the students what would be best for their educational experience.
Last, but certainly not least...
4. Madison County high school students, taking into account the exceptions that prove the rule, take no pride in the school or themselves and leave the building each day trashed. You are lucky to have such a fine janitorial staff working there to clean up after your slobs. If you doubt this, walk into the bathrooms at 3:00 on a school day.
Just a few thoughts after reading the responses. Oh, and luckily with the economic downturn, perhaps building costs will be going down after all... so there may just be a golden lining in "Bush's failed economic policies" as "That One" calls the fallout from the fallout from the mortgage market collapse!
school there I was an office aid I seen most of the school
everyday their some parts that don't need anything done to them
but other are overdue I'm also a tax-payer like everyone
else I like to know where our money goes too I willing to
give my money so it can fix up the high school what most people
don't see is how many kids go to that school when i graduated
their were 263 kids in my class and only going to get bigger
I fully agree with kevin nothing is going to get cheaper
if we do it now it will be better than paying double the
money two years down the road BUT I VERY SICK AND TIRED OF
PEOLPLE WHO HAVN'T SEEN THE WHOLE SCHOOL INSIDE AND OUT
THEN YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND BUT UNTIL THEN EVERYONE SHOULD KEEP
THEIR MOUTH SHUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!