School Mergers

[Jumper_Dad]

Science Hill is just seven miles from Pulaski County High and about eight miles from Somerset High. 

They are staunchly independent and financially strong, Science Hill isn't joining any other system any time soon. Their students move on to their choice of Pulaski or Somerset High Schools.

[gchs_uk9]

16 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Science Hill is just seven miles from Pulaski County High and about eight miles from Somerset High. 

They are staunchly independent and financially strong, Science Hill isn't joining and other system any time soon. Their students move on to their choice of Pulaski or Somerset High Schools.

That's what I was about to post. It isn't remotely isolated and their situation actually seem to work well for all involved seeing that 8th graders can progress to any of the three high schools. @Jumper_Dad, I know Science Hill is closest to Pulaski County High School. Do you have any percentages on how many Science Hill students go to Pulaski, Southwestern, and Somerset?

[gchs_uk9]

On 5/24/2022 at 9:48 AM, se7ens said:

I would say the ones facing the largest push to close/merge in the future are Southgate, Burgin, Caverna, Pineville, Fairview, Augusta, Jackson, Cloverport, East Bernstadt, Dawson Springs, Jenkins, Science Hill, and Williamsburg.

One you didn't mention but would have to be near the top of the list is Fulton Independent and Fulton County. If you combined the two high schools the enrollment would still only be around 250 kids. I've heard that repeated attempts to discuss a merger always falls away. I was also told several years by a media member from that direction that the state once discussed a hybrid type merger of the two Fultons and Hickman county but for whatever reason, either lack of support or lack of legality, it didn't happen.

[gchs_uk9]

On 5/24/2022 at 9:41 AM, se7ens said:

Newport, Dayton, Southgate, Bellevue, Fort Thomas, Campbell County.

Assuming their district maps look similar to their city limit maps on Google, then most every student north of I-275 in Campbell County attends an independent school while everyone below attends Campbell County. Is that a fair assessment of the situation?

[se7ens]

2 hours ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Assuming their district maps look similar to their city limit maps on Google, then most every student north of I-275 in Campbell County attends an independent school while everyone below attends Campbell County. Is that a fair assessment of the situation?

That is for the most part accurate. A portion of Southgate (actually the surrounding area to the Beverly Hills Supper Club property), a few neighborhoods in Fort Thomas along city borders and then the entire cities of Highland Heights and Wilder are in the county district. However, a lot of the kids in the areas I just mention pay tuition at an independent school district or choose private school. Highland Heights is really the northernmost community consistently sending kids to county schools. And that city used to have its own elementary school.

[Jumper_Dad]

7 hours ago, gchs_uk9 said:

That's what I was about to post. It isn't remotely isolated and their situation actually seem to work well for all involved seeing that 8th graders can progress to any of the three high schools. @Jumper_Dad, I know Science Hill is closest to Pulaski County High School. Do you have any percentages on how many Science Hill students go to Pulaski, Southwestern, and Somerset?

In the past I think it's been a pretty even split with probably a few more going to Pulaski than Somerset. 

[The Professor]

East Carter and West Carter are merging. Site suggestions and discussions have already begun. 
 

Other schools that I haven’t seen mentioned on here, and maybe because a consolidation will never occur, is Barbourville and Lynn Camp being absorbed by Knox Central. 
 

And since I’ve mentioned the word “Central”, I hope any future mergers do not include that word in their name. There’s a zillion Centrals out there. When MC Napier and Dilce Combs combined to form Perry County Central why didn’t the committees simply go with Perry County High School??? Why didn’t Floyd County do the same? Everyone already knows that the schools are being centralized. It goes without saying. 

Harlan County got it right and didn’t add the Central when they merged Cawood, Cumberland and Evarts. It’s a useless word as part of the name.
I hope the folks in Carter County call their new school simply Carter County High School. 
 

I know that sounds picky but i watched a basketball game a couple years ago in the WYMT Mountain Classic between Floyd Central and Knox Central and both teams had Central on the front of their jerseys. Nothing else, just Central. So Central was playing Central. By the way, Central won. 

[gchs_uk9]

1 hour ago, The Professor said:

And since I’ve mentioned the word “Central”, I hope any future mergers do not include that word in their name...Why didn’t Floyd County do the same?

I think Floyd Central's name was chosen because it combined South FLOYD and Allen CENTRAL. So they took part of both names for the combined school.

[The Professor]

1 hour ago, gchs_uk9 said:

I think Floyd Central's name was chosen because it combined South FLOYD and Allen CENTRAL. So they took part of both names for the combined school.

Okay. That’s understandable.  

 

[The Professor]

What is the new Hopkinsville/Christian County school going to be named? Have they got that far yet? 

[gchs_uk9]

40 minutes ago, The Professor said:

What is the new Hopkinsville/Christian County school going to be named? Have they got that far yet? 

Its awful. Something like Christian County Hopkinsville Academy (or some variation of those words).

[sumoroyal]

Mason County and St. Patrick

 

[gchs_uk9]

On 5/31/2022 at 7:44 PM, sumoroyal said:

Mason County and St. Patrick

That isn't necessarily a school merger, though. The diocese controls St. Patrick and would just close it. Some kids would certainly go to Mason County but the district wouldn't absorb anything from the Catholic school.

[se7ens]

Renewed discussion has been ignited in Northern Kentucky with the cancelling of Bellevue's football season. 

 

I'll be honest and say that although I think mergers should happen with greater frequency and we need an overall reduction of schools and school districts, I really don't see it happening in urban and suburban areas anytime soon, Bellevue and Dayton included. And I still chalk that up to the competitive jobs lost, at least as the primary factor. A superintendent is going to fight like all get out to prevent a merger if they think it will cost them their job, not too mention all the support staff below.

[The Raven]

5 hours ago, se7ens said:

Renewed discussion has been ignited in Northern Kentucky with the cancelling of Bellevue's football season. 

 

I'll be honest and say that although I think mergers should happen with greater frequency and we need an overall reduction of schools and school districts, I really don't see it happening in urban and suburban areas anytime soon, Bellevue and Dayton included. And I still chalk that up to the competitive jobs lost, at least as the primary factor. A superintendent is going to fight like all get out to prevent a merger if they think it will cost them their job, not too mention all the support staff below.

I always have mixed feelings when things like this are brought up.   I understand that people need to make a living.  But almost any educator and admin you talk to tell you it's all about the kids.   The kids would benefit from consolidation and access to more and better resources.   If it's about your pocketbook and not the kids, look for a different line of work.