North Area (Whale Branch) High School Debacle More Apparent

Let’s face it, this issue is a festering wound. The only reason it hasn’t drawn more controversy over the years is because it’s been for the most part ignored by the press because it is heavily laden with racial innuendos. But it certainly hasn’t gone away. The Beaufort County School Board and District are now justifying the construction of the $35 million Whale Branch High project by saying it will help more kids to graduate.

Really?

New schools will help children graduate?

I’ll let that soak in for a moment.


They claim that by building a new school, bus ride times will be reduced and thus preventing kids from dropping out. I’d hazard the argument that if a child is willing to drop out over an extended daily bus trip, that child has already failed to realize the value of an education and will likely drop out anyway.

Remember this school is at least 3-4 years away from being completed (they haven’t even started construction yet). Remember also the original referendum for this school was over 7 years ago. Also keep in mind that the board has justified this school as a means to escape its responsibility to ACE, which is a slap in the face to all Beaufort (and Jasper) County residents.

My point is, the district and board haven’t exactly shown much intent toward getting this school built or any kind of commitment to bettering education whatsoever. My best guess (I’m just blindly taking a stab here) is that once the high school is built (if it ever gets built), the board members that use race and ignorance as their platform will have to pay the piper when that new school fails just as miserably as the old one did (that is if they’re paying attention)... so other than getting folks in a tizzy and attaching emotional baggage to yet more political posturing, there’s no hurry here. Can anyone else see the windmill in Orwell’s Animal Farm?

The district (and board) once again doesn’t get it. If they’d just look around in their own house for half a second they’d realize that the problem they face is real, but it is not relegated solely to the rural areas in the northern part of the county. Regardless, the solution they’ve contrived will help nothing. Kids all over southern Beaufort County ride the bus just as long as those poor, pathetic kids up north. My daughter could ride her bike to/from school faster than it takes the school bus to make the trip (about an hour).

The real solution lies in having an adequate number of buses and routes to efficiently and effectively serve the children of each attendance zone. This would prevent or lessen those long bus rides, save us all from a $35 million dollar burden, and create a positive impact right now (instead of years down the road).

Northern Beaufort County residents have as much right to a decent education as the rest of the county, but this waste of money will not give them what they seek. This forces one to consider that either the district is woefully inept or crazy like a fox, neither of which bodes well for the folks footing the bill. It’s time to tell the school board to stop playing games and stop wasting our money.

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