Murphy – Several local schools are candidates for mergers or some other type of reconfiguration as the Cherokee County Board of Education looks at ways to cut costs.
The board moved forward Thursday with plans to study a handful of different scenarios, including a combination of Peachtree Elementary and Martins Creek Elementary/Middle schools, a previously discussed merger between Hiwassee Dam Elementary/Middle and Ranger Elementary/Middle schools, and ways to temporarily fold The Oaks Academy alternative school in Marble into another existing facility.
The Oaks Academy will permanently move into The School of Innovation & Technology prior to the 2023-24 school year.
School Superintendent Jeana Conley asked for official direction from the board Thursday after many of those possibilities were discussed during a June 22 meeting.
Board member Jeff Tatham noted that the group additionally raised the possibility of reducing Martins Creek from a K-8 school to a K-5 facility and moving grades 6-8 to Murphy Middle School. He said he would like to examine that scenario in addition to the other proposals.
Tatham pointed out that the school system, years earlier, conducted a full study of a merger between Hiwassee Dam Elementary/Middle and Ranger Elementary/Middle schools. He said that scenario still makes sense for a variety of reasons, and he would like to consider making the reconfiguration effective for the 2022-23 school year.
“Even if we don’t see an immediate savings from that, looking at long term, I just don’t think it makes sense to have two K-8 (schools) so close together when we can configure one as the elementary school and one as the middle,” Tatham said. “No school has to close, and to me it increases opportunities, it’s more efficient money-wise and potentially helps save both of those schools so the new board (in December) is not having to look at closing one of those.
“I really feel like that would help us get in a better place where we need to be this year, and the numbers will bear that out, but it would certainly help us get in a better place in the future.”
The school system has in recent weeks scrambled for ways to eliminate up to $1 million from its budget. The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners reduced the board of education’s annual appropriation by $600,000 earlier this month ahead of the approval of the county’s 2022-23 budget ordinance. The school system had asked commissioners for a $300,000 increase to cover rising general operating expenses and cost-of-living increases.
The school system lost another $373,506 that was allocated for The Learning Center charter school, which permanently closed last week. The school system’s allocation from the county stands at $6,698,372 for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Conley agreed to look at the possibilities put forward by the board, but noted that The Oaks Academy must in some way remain its own entity in order to maintain state funding.
“I know we’re within a year of moving those kids,” board member Joe Wood said. “The numbers are real low. I’d like to see the possibility of moving those kids to one of our other high schools in the meantime and truly closing that school.”
Tatham and vice chair Jeff Martin have been vocal about examining all options for the coming school year, citing concerns about lowering students’ quality of education in the process of cutting costs.