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Buchanan consolidation?


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1 hour ago, big ugly vol said:

Step 1 for Buchanan Schools - Pass a resolution to never hire Haydee Robinson. Step 2, Look at everything Dickenson County did with how they handled their money and do the EXACT opposite. You will probably be O.K. On a serious note, Council Doesn't field a team and Twin Valley is historically not very strong. Hurley despises Grundy, I doubt most football players will go there. Which means Grundy basically stands alone vs 3A competition and gets absolutely destroyed anytime they play at that level. I hope not, but that's the way I see it shaking out for a few years anyway. 

Lots of truth in this post.  Especially regarding Step 2 and Buchanan County’s prospects in 3A.  They’ll be a power in wrestling and doormats in literally everything else.

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So I read the $235.6 million was to actually replace Hurley High and also either replace or flood-proof the Buchanan Career and Technology Center (The new high  school could be in Hurley or an alternate location) 

To the residents of Hurley,

Congratulations, you're getting a brand new high school!

And the best part, it's only 25 miles and 43 minutes away from your current school.

Sincerely,

Your neighbors in Grundy

  

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2 hours ago, UVAObserver said:

Lots of truth in this post.  Especially regarding Step 2 and Buchanan County’s prospects in 3A.  They’ll be a power in wrestling and doormats in literally everything else.

My second born is actually excited about the prospect of going up against Grundy wrestlers at the 3A state level.  He is currently in 8th grade, so depending on his own performance he should have that kind of shot before he finishes high school.

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21 hours ago, big ugly vol said:

Step 1 for Buchanan Schools - Pass a resolution to never hire Haydee Robinson. Step 2, Look at everything Dickenson County did with how they handled their money and do the EXACT opposite. You will probably be O.K. On a serious note, Council Doesn't field a team and Twin Valley is historically not very strong. Hurley despises Grundy, I doubt most football players will go there. Which means Grundy basically stands alone vs 3A competition and gets absolutely destroyed anytime they play at that level. I hope not, but that's the way I see it shaking out for a few years anyway. 

Those old rivalries will fade away.

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I would say by the time this goes through the numbers will be closer to 2A in Buchanan Co.

And to go along with that, kids will more than likely end up at a closer school such as Phelps, East Ridge, Ridgeview, Honaker, River View, Richlands, etc, which will reduce numbers even further. 

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23 hours ago, big ugly vol said:

Step 1 for Buchanan Schools - Pass a resolution to never hire Haydee Robinson. Step 2, Look at everything Dickenson County did with how they handled their money and do the EXACT opposite. You will probably be O.K. On a serious note, Council Doesn't field a team and Twin Valley is historically not very strong. Hurley despises Grundy, I doubt most football players will go there. Which means Grundy basically stands alone vs 3A competition and gets absolutely destroyed anytime they play at that level. I hope not, but that's the way I see it shaking out for a few years anyway. 

Trust me, if Powell Valley and Appalachia communities can merge Hurley and Grundy kids will be just fine.

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15 hours ago, Gridiron60 said:

I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I could be wrong that happens occasionally, lol. 

Hard to imagine any statistical model that allows Tazewell County to give serious thought to consolidation at this point.  And an unforeseen influx of capital probably wouldn't resolve the impact of VHSL classification policies.

Unless there is a clear trend in population decline pointing to historic numbers (like a reduction to levels in the year 1900 or thereabouts), Tazewell County probably doesn't have any better option than to simply sit tight for a few years.

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2 minutes ago, RichlandsAlum said:

 

Hard to imagine any statistical model that allows Tazewell County to give serious thought to consolidation at this point.  And an unforeseen influx of capital probably wouldn't resolve the impact of VHSL classification policies.

Unless there is a clear trend in population decline pointing to historic numbers (like a reduction to levels in the year 1900 or thereabouts), Tazewell County probably doesn't have any better option than to simply sit tight for a few years.

Others have thought the same but in the end....consolidation. 

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Just now, 50kw said:

Others have thought the same but in the end....consolidation. 

In the really cosmic scheme of things, I believe that consolidation is the future for most (if not all) school systems -- including Tazewell County.  But the exact timing is the issue that has to be defined -- and there are very definite hazards associated with jumping too quickly.

Enrollment/population numbers don't work for Tazewell County to venture too far down that road right now.  There are still estimated to be 40,000 people living in Tazewell County.  The population in 1900 (before the coal boom really impacted numbers) was about 23,000.  To hit the number that roughly existed prior to the coal-based economy, 42% of the current population would need to move away.  That very well may happen over time -- but the timing is both unknown and a very important variable within the equation.

Graham, Richlands, and Tazewell have a combined enrollment of over 1,700 students.  That would land a consolidated school squarely within Class 5 and create a geographic outlier of huge magnitude within the Commonwealth.  An ultimate loss of 42% would still equate to a Class 3 enrollment.  Presumably Abingdon and Carroll County would be available as local traveling partners, but you'd still be facing trips to the New River Valley/Roanoke area for the closest competitors come playoff time.

Of course, this is assuming that all other things remain equal.  

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Once the TCSB closed Pocy (RIP) , further consolidation just didn't make sense in Tazewell County. That was 2008 and nothing has changed significantly to this day.  There remains three distinct population centers spread fairly evenly being served by three high schools along the primary corridor.  Like the rest of SWVA, I'd expect to see a continual decline in the overall county population but nothing to warrant consolidation in the foreseeable future.

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12 hours ago, hoard said:

So where does Honaker end up after Buchanan consolidates?

Cumberland?

Combination SWD? Easiest travel-wise

Hogo? (they were in it in the 80s)
 

 

I would imagine the Hogo just to keep the districts even (Hogo currently has 5 schools, Cumberland has 6) and they have historical ties to the Hogo but they have played a lot of the teams from both districts regularly. 

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I grew up in Wyoming County, WV.  I watched us go from 6 high schools in 1991 to two.  Consolidation is never an easy decision.   There are always pros and cons to it.  Wyoming East and Westside have both transitioned fairly well and have had a great deal of success in all sports.  The academic opportunities that consolidation provides are often a great aspect of such a move as well.

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1 hour ago, stu_bean said:

Not that I like the idea but you would just about have to do a Tazewell East and West school

On its face that is a reasonable assumption.  But it's not very practical in the specific case of Tazewell County.

It's no overstatement to note that schools are enormously expensive to build.  The politics associated with splitting the Tazewell enrollment zone could also get pretty ugly on a large scale.  Plus you'd still probably have two Class 3 schools for a while as a result, and those would be geographically isolated from most of their other cohorts in that classification for some period of time.  If there's any likelihood that you will end up with one county-wide institution at some point in the future, it makes very little sense to exert the resources necessary to construct two different schools within the interim period.

If/when it happens in Tazewell, I think we will see the three schools dwindle to Class 1 numbers before they will be amalgamated into one school that has a shot at living within Class 2 at its maximum enrollment for a while.  Buchanan and Dickenson appear to be the models for managing these variables very efficiently (albeit with "found money" in both cases).  Counties that are able to do so will probably consider themselves wise to follow their example.

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The best solution for all school systems in Appalachia is to turn over the reigns to Dollar General.

A Dollar General will be located 5 miles from each other by the year 2025, so we'll be saving money on transportation. 

Education will be at our forefront. Counting inventory (Math), reading labels (English), and even stocking shelves (Physical Education), will have our students "learning" on a daily basis. 

The kids we'll have two 15 minute smoke breaks and one 30 minute lunch break, per OSHA laws.

Athletics will be top notch as well! The winner of each sport will participate in only the best of games, the Dollar General Bowl.

Sign up today! 

dg bowl.jpg

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