An article in the News and Record this morning describes how the county school system is having to discuss consolidating schools that are underutilized:
There’s no list of specific schools in danger of closing or mock-ups of proposed attendance maps. But, Oakley said, the district’s budget gap, the cost of running schools with fewer than 250 students and the growing popularity of charter and private schools, are pushing the state’s third-largest school district in that direction.
In fact, there are multiple dynamics creating decreased demand for public schools. First, young adults are having less kids, and they are delaying childbirth. Second, the state’s voucher program is causing parents to choose private schools over public schools. Third, charter schools and home schooling continue to expand. The pandemic introduced many parents to home schooling for the first time.
In fact, we had discussed this on this blog a couple of years ago after our foolhardy county commissioners placed yet another school bond issue on the ballot to the tune of $1.7 billion, and tax increases were being discussed to build more schools. We said that there are fewer students, and we would not need as many traditional public schools.
I suspect the school superintendent is going to the media with this story in order to pressure our elected representatives to provide more school funding so they don’t have to close schools and redistrict students. But if they succumb, they would be ignoring the realities. Demand for traditional public schools is plummeting.
Indeed the GCS bureaucrats are intentionally overlooking reality. And the commissioners will give them all they can depending on the taxpayers toleration or not for this profligate spending.
Unfortunately true, Fred. They are drawing from what they perceive to be a bottomless well.