BOE Approves Cherokee High School Overcrowding Plan

CANTON, GA -- The Cherokee County School Board has taken a major step in relieving overcrowding at its oldest high school. Board members at their Dec. 14 meeting unanimously approved a plan to ease overbearing conditions at Cherokee High School by utilizing the neighboring Canton Elementary School campus.

Thursday's vote comes on the heels of several months of public input meetings to gather feedback from the community, which was used in the recommendation presented to the board by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Hightower.

“These are kids that we love," Dr. Hightower said before the board made its decision. "These are teachers we respect. This is really the first tough decision in regard to attendance areas that we’ve had to make in recent years.”

Dr. Hightower earlier this school year announced that while Cherokee doesn’t meet “critically overcrowded” standards due to mobile classrooms and other solutions already in place, more significant action was needed to relieve the campus.

The plan approved by the board will expand Cherokee High School for next school year to include the neighboring Canton Elementary School STEM Academy campus. The plan not only will alleviate overcrowding at the high school, but also will reduce district operating costs by $1.5 million over five years.

Canton ES STEM Academy students will be consolidated into Knox Elementary and R.M. Moore Elementary schools, which both offer plenty of capacity to accommodate more students (520 students will move R.M. Moore ES, and 270 to Knox ES).

The school district will make both campuses STEM Academies; R.M. Moore ES will retain its Title I services that support schools with higher populations of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. While Knox will not see enough of a demographic shift to qualify as Title I, the system said students in need will continue to receive extra services.

• The entire proposal approved Thursday can be viewed here.
  

While some Canton ES STEM Academy parents and teachers lobbied for a plan to keep the school intact, the school district argued the plan would have increased operating costs without a funding source, which board members said made the decision all the more challenging.

“We did not take this lightly," board member Patsy Jordan said, speaking directly to a group of Canton ES STEM Academy teachers in the audience. "We have looked at every single option. Just remember that the love and grace you have for those kids, that will be the winner in the end.”

Now that the board has selected a plan, Dr. Hightower said his staff will begin meeting with staff at the affected schools (he has committed that all staff will remain district employees, noting enrollment is up and continues to rise) and map out a timeline and all actions steps needed in order to complete the project for an August opening with the new configuration.

Dr. Hightower also repeated his pledge that this plan is a “phase one” of a larger effort to solve overcrowding for Cherokee High School, which ultimately will require construction of an additional high school.

While that estimated $70 million-plus construction project is not feasible until the next Education SPLOST referendum in 2021 due to borrowing constraints, Dr. Hightower said his staff will explore renovations that could be made to the Cherokee campus once the school begins using Canton Elementary and moves mobile classrooms offsite.

The board also heard the Superintendent’s recommendation that students not be required to make up the three days missed so far due to inclement weather, to which there was no objection. Employees are required to make up missed work time, and information now will be shared with them about that process.

The Board on Thursday also approved a new partnership agreement with the Atlanta Braves Baseball Club that includes many exciting opportunities, such as bringing baseball into the classroom to teach STEM concepts and bringing high school sports marketing and sports medicine students to SunTrust Park to learn about possible careers.

“We know a lot of our fans come from Cherokee County, so we’re really looking forward to working with the School District, students and staff,” Braves Director of Community Affairs Ericka Newsome Hill said.

The Board, in approving the monthly personnel recommendations on Thursday night, accepted the retirements of three longtime principals: Jan Adamson of R.M. Moore Elementary School, Elliott Berman of Sequoyah High School and Dr. Ann Gazell of Indian Knoll Elementary School.

“We have been very privileged to have them as leaders,” Dr. Hightower said.

Following approval of the personnel recommendations, Dr. Hightower also introduced his new executive administrative assistant, Renee Coleman, a 19-year district employee, whose previous roles have included administrative assistant to the assistant superintendent of school operations and the deputy superintendent.

Dr. Hightower also was granted approval by the school board board to serve as a superintendent consultant/education fellow for the Education Research & Development Institute, an opportunity extended to select superintendents to gain their input on research and trends in education.

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