Murphy – Opposition is strong among parents, county commissioners and even a retired principal who announced a last-minute effort to run as an unaffiliated candidate for the board of education, but Cherokee County Schools appears resolute in its plan to reorganize four of the 13 campuses starting in fall 2025.
The plan moves Ranger middle schoolers to Hiwassee Dam, Hiwassee Dam elementary schoolers to Ranger and Martins Creek middle schoolers to Murphy. The decision puts an end to elementary/middle school configurations throughout the county.
Annual savings for the two plans would be $63,673, school officials claim. One-time expenses to retrofit facilities would be an estimated $276,500.
Here are the financials for the two approved reorganization plans:
- Murphy Middle School/Martins Creek Elementary School: Murphy Middle would need two or three additional classrooms to accommodate the added students from Martins Creek at a cost of $60,000-$90,000. Adding restrooms, which are already in short supply at the school, would cost from $143,000-$200,000. Since there would be few changes in faculty and staff, there would be an added annual cost of $26,400 per year, due mainly to added bus routes.
- Hiwassee Dam Middle School/Ranger Elementary School: Costs would be minimal because classroom facilities are sufficient at both schools. Additional transportation costs would range from $39,300-$78,600. Because there are numerous faculty and staff changes, there would be a savings of around $90,000 per year.
It was presumed that the school district would need permission from the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners to fund the plan. Three of the five commissioners have said they would oppose additional funding – Ben Adams, Dan Eichenbaum and Jan Griggs.
However, Cherokee County Schools has a general fund balance of $432,000 – more than enough to fund retrofit construction of the affected campuses without board of commissioners consent.
“This may or may not reduce costs,” Eichenbaum said at the board of commissioners’ March 7 meeting. “It does nothing to improve the quality of education.”
Eichenbaum emphasized the importance of a good education system for the county’s economic vitality. He said high school students are migratory, whereas elementary school students need to be closer to home.
While elementary school students at Andrews, Martins Creek and Peachtree remain unaffected, Hiwassee Dam elementary school students will have to travel farther to get to Ranger once the change is complete. Middle schoolers in Martins Creek and Ranger will also have to change schools.
Eichenbaum urged the school board to hold public meetings and do more research, using previous plans as a starting point.
“We want to make schools something to be proud of,” he said.
Commissioner Cal Stiles said he was open to discussion, but doesn’t want to discuss consolidation of the three primary high schools, a plan for which collapsed in 2022 when the county turned down a $50 million grant to build a single campus that would consolidate Andrews, Hiwassee Dam and Murphy high schools into a single campus next to the Cherokee County Schools of Innovation & Technology in Peachtree.