New Middle School - again?

[ShallowsNole]

Sunshine, or anyone who knows, I noticed that Wayne Miller with the WCSD is on the BCC agenda this afternoon for assistance with land for a new middle school in SoWal.

I know ECMS is filled to the gills, as is Butler...does Butler Elementary need the ECMS building too?

 

[sunshine]

It's a mess Shallows. The middle school has inadequate facilities (no library, no gym, no locker rooms, no art room, no band / music room) and there are NO (zero, zilch, zippola) plans on the table to add these necessary components. The district is now looking for land upon which to build the real school (and let Butler use our space for grades 4 & 5). I'm off to the BCC meeting and will report back on this issue (and provide more detail). I'm not able to stay for Eden / Point Washington part of the meeting.
Sunshine

 

[ShallowsNole]

Yeah, I know. I knew they were to share a gym with Butler but you'd have thought they would have added the other facilities...

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

It's a mess Shallows. The middle school has inadequate facilities (no library, no gym, no locker rooms, no art room, no band / music room) and there are NO (zero, zilch, zippola) plans on the table to add these necessary components. The district is now looking for land upon which to build the real school (and let Butler use our space for grades 4 & 5). I'm off to the BCC meeting and will report back on this issue (and provide more detail). I'm not able to stay for Eden / Point Washington part of the meeting.
Sunshine

I didn't realize that things were this bad at the new school. It is shocking and embarassing. So is the new "school" just classrooms and nothing else? What a waste of time and money! I knew about the sharing the gym thing (and wondered how that would work since a middle school gym is used throughout the day), but I had no idea that there were no other facilities. How can there possibly be a "middle school" education if there are not facilities?

 

[ShallowsNole]

From what little bit I've been in the school, it is primarily classrooms / educational space. There is a cafeteria/open area. I wouldn't classify it as "bad" as the academics come first, but extracurriculars are important too - especially at the middle and high school level. I am sure the space will never go to waste, but doesn't it seem like it could have been built all at once?

 

[sunshine]

The original plans had been for Butler to be a K - 8 school, with the students in grades 6 - 8 sharing facities with Butler. The population of both student bodies grew far more quickly than the school district anticipated; as a result, the middle school students don't have adequate access to these shared facilities. They are not allowed anywhere in the Butler buildings except for the gym. That means that they can't go to the library / media center, even if there were grade level appropriate books. The bookmobile comes from Defuniak every Thursday to serve as a library for the 350 students.
There is a wonderful science lab, and acquatic, I love the idea of students taking Oyster Lake on as a project. However, the lab is used as the music / band / chorus room, so the students are limited in the amount of research and testing that they could do.
The teachers and administration are doing an outstanding job with the resources at hand. If they had adequate facilities, they wouldn't just fly - they would soar.

The school district has the money to build a new school with all of the facilities - they just don't have the land. They need 20 to 30 acres. There was a request on yesterday's BCC meeting agenda for some land, but the item got postponed until the next meeting. This particular land is well located, but I'm not sure if it is appropriate for a school.

And please, don't shoot the messenger - I'm a mom who volunteers at the school.

 

[ShallowsNole]

Oh no sweetie - we wouldn't shoot you. Hopefully none of my comments were taken that way. You do a wonderful job, and our school is lucky to have you! :clap_1:

 

[sunshine]

Thanks Shallows,
It's a wonderful phase of my life that I can spend time helping others. I didn't take anything you said in the wrong way - I included the messenger comment for others who might not know who I am. ;-)

 

[sunshine]

Greetings,
The first item on the county commission meeting agenda today (Tuesday the 13th) will be a request by the school district for land for a new middle school. The meeting begins at 4:00 at the South Walton County Courthouse annex (the building where you get your car tags). This item has a total of 5 minutes allotted, and as quickly as they move through items, I would wager that they will be on the next agenda item by a few minutes after 4. I'll be there, wearing a purple ECMS shirt. Hope to see you there to support our current and up-coming middle school students.
Below is a link to the Walton County website, and the agenda is the top item in the left hand column:

http://www.co.walton.fl.us/default.asp?ID=2

 

[sunshine]

Re: New Middle School - Superintendent to Address PTO

The quarterly PTO meeting will be held on Thursday, January 19th 2006 at 5:30 PM in the cafeteria of ECMS. Carlene Anderson, Superintendent of Schools for Walton County, and Darrell Barnhill, District 3 Representative to the School District will speak and hopefully update us on the status of either a new school or of expansion plans at the existing facility. There will be a bief question and answer period (the meeting will adjourn at 6:30). Please come, and encourage other parents, students and interested citizens to attend as well.