This week’s question: What do you think of the Cherokee County Board of Education’s proposal to merge Martins Creek Elementary, Murphy Elementary, Murphy Middle and Peachtree Elementary schools into one large campus?
- This proposal makes the most financial sense.
- This proposal will give students a better education.
- This proposal will give students a worse education.
- This proposal will hurt the communities schools leave.
- I’m just not sure.
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“Thinking back on when I went to school, we had a separate grade school, junior high school and a high school. They kinda kept all the campuses separated. I don’t know if merging elementary and middle schools into one campus is good. You’re gonna have kids anywhere from 6 years old up to 15 years old, and I don’t know if that’s a good idea to have them all together.
“I think it’s better when it’s spread out. I don’t have a dog in this fight but looking back, I know they kept the younger kids away from some of the older kids.
“There’s a big difference between kids and their personalities through the ages. I realize they would not be taking classes together, but to have them all together in the same area in one campus could cause problems.”
Joe Sherrard, Ranger
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“I think it’s a bad idea, and I wouldn’t want my kid to
go to that school if that’s how it was gonna work. I think the kids are different, their mentality, everything.
I just don’t think that’s a good idea for our babies, and they are babies.
“They’re 6 years old, and they shouldn’t be with 15-year-olds, nope. They are growing up too fast as it is without putting them into a school with older kids. I don’t care about the money stuff, our children’s education should not have anything to do with money. They’ll get a better education in smaller groups.”
Michone Kastelitz, Ranger
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“I don’t agree they should be merged. I think they should be separate campuses. Even if it’s on the same campus, they should be somewhat separated, older and younger kids.
“I think the smaller campuses offer more personal interactions. You may have 35 people in a classroom, whereas on a smaller campus you may have 15.”
Geanine Dotson, Murphy
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“I would say keep it small because the older kids can do cruel things sometimes to small children and be a bad influence. Keep it small. That’s why people come to small towns, they like the small-town feel and better education. It may not make financial sense, but the outcome of our future will be better. It’s one of those things you really can’t put too much of a price on when it comes to trying to educate our young ones.”
Tip Dotson, Murphy
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“Thinking about being back in school and when you go from elementary to middle, if there’s a junior high or high school, that’s
a big step just going into those groups. I think that developmentally, the kids should be kept to themselves to figure out where they are at in their maturity range.
“It would also keep them more focused on their education, so I think it would hurt the students to be in one campus.”
Tom Kastelitz, Fort Myers, Fla.