The quality of local education is very important to local residents Joey and Amy Shore and their family.
Murphy – Amy Shore understands why so many Cherokee County residents have been against consolidating the three primary high schools in Andrews, Murphy and Hiwassee Dam.
After all, she used to be one of them.
“In 2017, when talks of consolidation started, all I could think of is if this happens we will not get to walk down the steps on Friday nights to the echo of J.R. Carroll shouting, ‘This is Bulldog country.’ It still gives me chills,” the wife of Cherokee County Board of Education member Joey Shore said about their son, who played youth football at that time and will be a sophomore on the Murphy High School football team this fall.
“I went to public meetings, I clipped newspaper articles, I talked negative about it. I did not go to the extreme some people have, but I did not like the idea.”
Shore’s thoughts began to change after her son entered Murphy Middle School, and what Principal Tiffany Clapsaddle told students and parents during orientation.
“The thing that she said to us the parents, and the kids that were there, was you are student-athletes. Academics come first,” she said.
“I thought of that, and I became ashamed that I had put my dreams and desires in front of my son’s future. The difference is I accepted that those were my dreams.”
Clay County experience
Shore said her personal educational history shows school consolidation is nothing to fear. Her mother attended the former Ogden School in Warne until the ninth grade. When her younger sister was in the seventh grade around 1972, the Clay County Board of Education started consolidation talks.
“My mother said my grandfather fought it,” she said. “Ogden closed, but my aunt was not traumatized – and my grandfather was a proud man many years later. He was able to see his four grandchildren graduate from Hayesville High School; I was in the second class to graduate in the new high school.
“Through the opportunities I had at Hayesville High, I went on to be Tri-County Community College and have been a registered nurse for 20-plus years. Both of his grandsons are self-employed in trades, and his youngest granddaughter teaches career technical education classes at a state 3A school and was named Teacher of the Year two years ago.”
Since Clay County started the consolidation process, Shore said officials there have maintained, renovated and built many new buildings, plus received a $35 million state grant earlier this year. Meanwhile, Cherokee County is still using many of the exact same buildings students here were learning in 50 years ago.
“Why? Because some of the people in the community put their desires in front of what is best for the children of Cherokee County,” she said. “I can call it selfish because I, too, was selfish at one time.
“Not once have I heard a student express concerns about merging, combining, consolidation whatever you want to call it. It is parents and grandparents. Some individuals made Clay County children a priority, and look at their facilities today.”
Why not in Cherokee?
Shore said the best thing in a consolidated high school is every child is offered the same opportunity.
“Every child deserves a path, and that path does not have to be a four-year college,” she said. “When a child graduates from Cherokee County Schools, they should be ready to enter college, a trade school, the military or the workforce. This could be what keeps that child off drugs, out of jail or saves their life.
“When you think about this, is your school really worth taking that chance?”
Shore said she can’t help but wonder why Cherokee County officials haven’t been more proactive over the years, instead of just being reactive.
“Consolidation is not a new topic, but every time it is brought up the answer is voting those people out,” she said. “That pacifies some for awhile. At the same time, our buildings continue to age, and we continue to spend tax dollars to the hum of about $50,000 a month on patching these schools up.”
Worse than the lack of facility resources has been what this means to children’s education, Shore said.
“This time around, the consequences are worse. There have been students graduate that did not have a clue what they would do the day after they graduated,” she said. “That is sad. Our school system has no money because it is spent monthly on repairs.”
Shore added that because enrollment is down, state funding is also down. That, along with $600,000 in cuts for the 2022-23 fiscal year budget by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, is making it difficult to pay for a teacher in every classroom among the 13 public school campuses spread out in the sprawling county.
“We cannot continue to operate these schools without adequate funding,” she said. That made losing out on a state grant of up to $50 million earlier this year difficult to accept.
Not taken for granted
Shore said while the grant would not have been enough to pay for all of the approved consolidated high school near Tri-County Community College in Peachtree, it would have been far less of a burden to taxpayers than the current situation. She was shocked some people were even against applying for the grant, in large part due to the proposed location.
“Would it allow more learning opportunities being right next to the college and the new School of Innovation? Yes!” she said. “That means our children would be set up to succeed.
“It seemed like we would be a shoo-in to get the grant. We were not awarded the grant, but our neighboring county was. I still do not understand how that
happened.”
Shore said she contacted state Sen. Kevin Corbin and Rep. Karl Gillespie (both R-Franklin), and both responded quickly with a personal email expressing disappointment that Cherokee County did not receive a grant. Making that decision was the N.C. Board of Education – which Dr. Donna Tipton Rogers, president of Tri-County Community College, serves on – but “she did not have an answer, either, and was disappointed as well.”
The Cherokee County Board of Education is faced with making significant spending cuts this year, which members say could include merging some classrooms and schools before students return Monday, Aug. 29.
“All of this could have been prevented if this had not been blocked all these years,” Shore said. “The people have made sure that every time a board has the courage to put students, teachers and faculty first, they are voted out.”
Her family has experienced that firsthand. Joey Shore voted in favor of the proposed consolidated high school last year, only to lose his race for re-election to the school board earlier this year.
Future of local education
Amy Shore said proposals to build two high schools in the county – and East and West – would cost twice as much to build and operate as the one-school model. Such an alignment would also split students who attend Murphy elementary, middle and high school right down the middle.
She added that the most important thing in local education is to be able to offer every student equal opportunities. Unfortunately, that is not occurring today.
“We have a new jail, a new fire station, new fire departments all over the county, a renovated courthouse and a new Emergency Medical Services station being built,” Shore said.
“Don’t get me wrong, we need these facilities, but now it’s time to put the students, teachers and faculty of Cherokee County first. Then we might be able to attract families to the area.”
As it is today, she said our county is actually losing quality students, teachers and coaches. Thomas Nelson left Murphy High last summer, and Ray Gutierrez resigned just weeks ago. Both accepted teaching positions in north Georgia.
“This time, we are losing an entire family – a teacher and coach, a well-respected optometrist and two sweet boys,” Shore said. “Their families are here, so this was a huge sacrifice for them to make.
“As much as they will be missed, you have to respect and wish them well if they are putting their kids first. If we are lucky, this will be the only loss we endure by Aug. 29. Who knows? It could be coming to a school near you.”