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Parents voice overcrowding, redistricting concerns
Changes to lines, Murray, Sweetwater and Snow Creek schools discussed at meeting.
Robert C. Reed
Catawba County School Superintendent Dr. Timothy Markley listens to concerns from Bill Totty about the redistricting plans for the Sweetwater community at Sweetwater Elementry School.
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Published: October 8, 2008
HICKORY - Catawba County Schools held the first of four planned community meetings to discuss redistricting in the St. Stephens elementary schools Tuesday night. Although the meeting was targeted for the Sweetwater Elementary community, the most discussion came from a group of concerned Murray Elementary parents in attendance.
Bill Totty, the father of a fifth-grader and a third-grader at Webb A. Murray Elementary, said he was most concerned about the redistricting bringing more students to a school that already has seven trailers.
Sweetwater Elementary School is closing at the end of this school year, and a new school, Snow Creek Elementary School, will open next year. As a result, the elementary school lines in the St. Stephens district are being redrawn. Although a preliminary redistricting map has been created, it is not final, and Catawba County Schools board members and staff are hosting meetings at each affected elementary school to get community feedback.
At Tuesday's meeting, parents also expressed annoyance with the delay of a classroom addition for Murray Elementary until the next funding cycle while money was spent for athletic improvements at other schools.
"I'm mad that a track got put before classrooms. I'm upset because we had our building taken away. Our kids shouldn't have to walk outside to class," Totty said, adding that Murray was, "Never told what's been done."
Board chairwoman Joyce Spencer apologized, saying the board should have communicated with Murray Elementary and its Parent Teacher Organization that the addition would be delayed. However, she reiterated that's why the board is asking for the community's input on the redistricting lines — so the board will know if they need to change them.
Murray parent Brian Correll said he wanted an explanation for how the board determined the new lines, particularly with regard to bus routes for the proposed Murray district, some of which is comprised of the current Sweetwater district. He said some buses for the new Murray district will travel closer to St. Stephens Elementary than to Murray Elementary.
"If you look at the geography of the land, Sweetwater is a lot of industrial buildings," said Timothy Markley, superintendent of Catawba County Schools. "We tried to divide the two major populations of Sweetwater among two schools (Murray and St. Stephens elementaries). We try to look at what schools will be under-capacity. When you look at the quality of education, there's not a school in the district I wouldn't send a student to."
With all the concerns being voiced, Murray parent Holly Specht said she didn't want the Sweetwater parents at the meeting to feel like they wouldn't be welcome at Murray.
"We want your kids to come in, we love you. We're not here to say we don't want Sweetwater," she said. "We're just standing up for the families that we're losing to redistricting."
Ragan Punch said she could understand that. As the vice-president of Sweetwater's PTO, she respects the community feel of a school and knows how important it is. It's part of what she loves most about Sweetwater Elementary and why she transferred her kindergartner and fourth-grader from the Hickory Public Schools district to Sweetwater Elementary.
"The facility my kids will go to next year will be better (than Sweetwater), and we're thankful for that. But we want our kids to have the same love our kids had here," she said.
Stephanie Harper also spoke of the love her children have experienced at Sweetwater Elementary.
Although her sixth-grade daughter will be at Arndt Middle next year, her son will go to St. Stephens Elementary. Harper said she wished he could stay at Sweetwater.
"I want to stay here, because the school's so cozy and warm," she said. "Everybody's going to have to go through a change, but I don't know how many of his friends will be in his school."
There will be another community meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. at Clyde Campbell Elementary. There also will be community meetings at St. Stephens Elementary on Oct. 14 and Webb Murray Elementary on Oct. 16. Both are at 6 p.m.
Web links:
Redistricting map:
http://www.catawba.k12.nc.us/news/documents/StStep...
Comment for the school system about the redistricting:
http://www.catawba.k12.nc.us/ccs_redistricting_com...
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