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**** Below is a copy of the “Letter to the Editor” sent to the Magee Courier by Robbie Barnes. Robbie sent MageeNews.com a copy today (Thursday, September 10th)
August 27, 2015
Magee Courier
Pat Brown, Editor
Magee, MS 39111
RE: Simpson County Schools
Dear Editor,
Much discussion has taken place over the past several months regarding the condition of our schools, in particular the Magee Elementary School. I recently had the privilege of serving on an Advisory Committee to provide the Simpson County School Board with information related to sites that would be a suitable location to house a new Elementary School in Magee. Our search for a suitable site was limited by certain criteria provided to us from the School Board and County School Administration. We were also told that the existing Magee School campus would not be considered as a possible site since it had already been eliminated by the School Board due to cost and space limitations. I have listed below the criteria we were given related to a potential site:
• Property must be within the current boundaries of the City of Magee
• Property must have access to city water and sewer sufficient to meet the needs of the facility
• Property must have access to public street(s)
• Property must allow for adequate ingress and egress for school traffic
• Property must be of a sufficient size to accommodate the proposed building and improvements and allow room for additional expansion (minimum of 17-20 acres)
• Consideration should be given to any safety issues or concerns that may exist
Based on this criteria, we identified five potential sites and after further investigation and discussions, these five sites were ultimately reduced to two that we presented to the School Board. The Advisory Committee did not make a recommendation on either of the two sites, our report was strictly intended to identify suitable sites and provide them to the School Board for their consideration. A significant amount of time and resources were devoted to this project by a diverse group of leaders from throughout our community and I appreciate contributions made by all those involved in this process.
In addition to the official report that the Advisory Committee was instructed to provide to the Simpson County School Board, we also felt it was necessary to provide a supplemental report for their consideration. This supplemental report was intended to provide critical information that should be considered in conjunction with the decision regarding the Magee Elementary School site and the impact that this decision could have on the future of Simpson County Schools. Since we have one school district in Simpson County, any decision made about any of the schools has a direct impact on the other schools within the district. It was the consensus of the committee that prior to committing to spend over $10 million of school funds to relocate the Magee Elementary School, consideration should be given to the long term impact of this decision. For clarification, the new proposed Elementary School is designed to house 1,200 students and will contain several modular (temporary) classroom structures. It should also be noted that, according to school records, the current enrollment at Magee Elementary consist of 690 students, which is a significant reduction from the previous year’s enrollment. That being said, there is no question that the facilities housing the current elementary school in Magee needs to be addressed so our children can have clean, safe and fully functional classrooms to enhance their learning environment. Please understand that nobody on our committee is opposed to building a new Magee Elementary School if that is the best solution, however it should also be noted that in a best case scenario a new elementary school cannot be built and ready for occupancy prior to the 2017/2018 school year. This means that no matter what decision is made regarding the elementary school site, our children will be attending class in the current elementary school for at least the next two years. Given this, the school district will be forced to spend the funds necessary to repair and maintain the current facility during this period of time.
Based on these facts and considering the limited funding sources available to the district, it was the recommendation of the Advisory Committee that a feasibility study should be performed to determine the economic and social benefits to the district and the community related to consolidating the counties high schools. A consolidated high school would conceivably free up space that could be repurposed for an elementary school on the existing high school campus without having to construct a new elementary school. This study should not take longer than 90 days to complete, be relatively inexpensive, and would have very little impact, if any, on the timeline to construct the Magee Elementary School should the board decide to move forward with that project after the completion of the feasibility study.
This is not saying that, at this time, the School Board should eliminate the possibility of building a new Magee Elementary School and move forward with a consolidated high school. It is simply saying that they, and the citizens of Simpson County, should know the facts regarding this alternative prior to committing in excess of $10 million in taxpayer funds to construct a new elementary school.
If we, as citizens and elected officials of Simpson County, continue to address the problems related to our ageing school facilities the same way we have in the past, we should not be surprised that we will continue to get the same results. We need a long-term strategic plan for our school district with a timeline to achieve the strategic goals that are set. Given the reductions in federal funding, shrinking tax base, along with a large school infrastructure, if we don’t develop a strategic plan to address these issues, we will continue to struggle financially to maintain our existing facilities along with the increasing financial demands of our educational and athletic programs. In addition, fewer available dollars for education will impact our ability to recruit and retain the teaching resources required to offer a quality education to our students.
Our committee is well aware that any discussion about a consolidated high school for Simpson County will be very controversial and many opinions will be expressed both in favor of and opposed to this possibility. However, we are also convinced that for Simpson County to remain competitive and to place our county in the best possible position to attract more economic development and more citizens, this is something that should receive full consideration. It is well documented that one of the very first things that is considered when a business or family is considering moving into a community is the condition of their public schools and the educational opportunities that will be available to their employee’s children and their children. We need to provide a compelling reason for businesses and people to want to locate in our community and one of the most important things we can do is to pull together in support of a feasibility study to determine the benefits of a consolidated Simpson County High School.
Sincerely,
Robbie Barnes
Robbie Barnes
Advisory Committee Chairman
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