An Educational Experience -- of Sorts

I thought the public meeting about the future of Fayetteville High School would be enlightening, and it was, but not in ways I had imagined. I had hoped to hear what citizens thought about appropriate class and school size, about how we can do best by our children and advance their educational endeavors, about how to connect high school students with the resources of the UA and Walton Arts Center, about how to have our school facilities enhance our sense of caring and community. Silly me.

I was truly amazed when Bill Ramsey showed up and said the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce wanted the district to build a brand new school out west of the bypass to promote economic development. Steve Rust said he and the Fayetteville Economic Development Council did too, because constructing a new school several miles from the present one would encourage more development in the sprawl ring. Ramsey even tried to tell everyone that the present school wasn’t built in the downtown area in 1951, as if moving the location six blocks south from the old one on School Street was the same as moving one to a pasture four miles away. It wasn’t about education; it was all about how their members could make more money on the deal. It was about greed.

These two jokers were leaders in the fight against road impact fees to pay for new development, and now they are pushing even more sprawl. Neither suggested raising taxes on their members to pay for the new school or its associated development costs. I was embarrassed for them, although I am certain that they were not.

The school board members denied that it was already decided to build a new school out at Deane Solomon and West Howard Nickell roads, the scheme being pushed by the Chamber, the real estate speculators, and the developers. Maybe some in the audience believed them.