My son goes to North High, is an excellent student, member of the band and baseball team. He wants the harder courses that are offered at other schools. He’s been told that because of enrollment, North can’t offer them. Part of the problem is our School Board not standing behind its decisions. It redistricts students into North’s district, parents complain and the board says, “we don’t redistrict. We’ll build a new school instead.”
Then the school gets so small it has to go to the A conference. It looks like the School Board doesn’t care what happens to students academically or athletically. It is not North’s fault that there aren’t enough students for the courses listed in the High School Guidebook to be offered or that they have to give up on goals of having courses they want and sports to play.
Students shouldn’t travel more than an hour one way on a school night to play sports. Does the N.C. High School Athletic Association care about the children’s education? Students are getting shafted from both sides, and that’s not fair to them.
There’s an annexation fight going on between residents and the city of Salisbury. Let School Board members decide the issue, and they’ll vote for the residents because they’re complaining about not wanting to be part of the city. That’s the way they handle redistricting.
My son loves his school and wants it to survive. He isn’t sure the county views it that way. He feels that when he becomes a junior, he’ll have to choose between academics and athletics, and that isn’t fair to him.
Why did it take complaints for the School Board to finally back North, like it should have done earlier? Would we even have these problems? We need the School Board’s support, without reservations.
ó Kathy Price
Salisbury