Comments on: School Board Votes To Close Carver/Century

By: Think

Think — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:28:11 +0000

What can we do to keep Alabama students from entering Escambia County Florida Schools? Atmore has experience the shifting of students to private and Florida schools. Can this help reduce the crisis we are experiencing?

By: Think

Think — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:21:36 +0000

Can we truely love God and demonstrate our love for him this way?

By: Concerned Former Resident

Concerned Former Resident — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:34:29 +0000

Today I visited an old friend in Century and was gravely disappointed after hearing the news that the last school is Century was closing. Currently I am employed with a major manufacturing company in Alabama. A major part of my duties is recruiting new employees; one of the main concerns of young parents is the school system. I have several questions for the school board:
1. How do you ever except to attract industry if there is not an adequate school
system for the employees’ children?

2. Do you realize the tax dollars which a school system would benefit as a result
of industry tax dollars?

3. Are your aware of the infrastructure of Hwy 29 versus that of Hwy 4?

4. If there was a new industry interested in locating in North Escambia, Florida;
which infrastructure would they prefer a two lane or a four lane for shipping
and receiving goods.

5. Is there any concern regarding busing a 5 year old at 6:30 a.m. for school?

I have lived both in Florida and Alabama, the education which in received in Century prepared me for the future. If I had a choice between Alabama and Florida I would chose Florida’s education every time.

By: Working Mom

Working Mom — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:09:38 +0000

If this closure were in my community we would have already been on the road to trying to form a charter school or private school. Communities make schools, schools do not make communities. Stop the blame game and legal injunctions.
Work together to find a solution. I am in a group of moms that help each other. One might pick up a sick child from school and this weekend I babysit for her for a couple hours. We all need help, but it is our responsibility to find it. It is not the government or school districts responsibility. They are offering your children the best educational opportunity possible and all I have read are complaints. Afterall, don’t you want your children to have a better life than you have had? Education is the key!

By: Former Century Resident

Former Century Resident — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:32:23 +0000

Some of you are saying that it’s immature of others to say that it will be a hardship for some parents to pick up their child if they become sick if they are in school way out in the middle of nowhere. Well, immature it may seem to you, but it is a fact that when you don’t have a vehicle or gas money for someone else’s vehicle, you most likely aren’t going anywhere far and certainly not all the way out there.

This will offer plenty of opportunities that most of the Century kids will NOT be able to use. They won’t be able to be in the band or after school clubs because it’s too far and too expensive when they are so far below the poverty level and in many cases, don’t even own a vehicle to drive them back and forth.

I understand that the school board wants to save money. We all do, but if they had truly tried everything possible to make this school succeed and to bring back the kids whose parents had moved them, they would have given the school the same funding and help that they gave others. This didn’t happen. They caused the sorry state that the school was in just a few short years ago when parents first started sending their kids to other schools. That’s what happened to these kids, NOT white flight. It was wanting to give their kids a better education and they knew it wasn’t going to happen at Century. Now that they have a decent principal there who can turn it around (and yes, I am a former student of his), they pull the rug out from under him.

The school board will no longer need any Century votes, obviously, because they won’t be getting anymore.

Btw, someone said that nobody stood up to fight when they closed Century High School, but that isn’t true. We ALL were very vocal about it, but we were told that the building was no longer safe for students and that we would have to have a new building and that it was the same situation at Ernest Ward, so they were going to save money by combining the two schools into Northview (which we vehemently opposed, with good reason as it has turned out) whether we liked it or not. We were never given the choice of keeping it since they told us the building would have to be condemned. That’s very interesting since they later used it for Carver Middle and even now it is in use. But, oh, we can’t have high school kids in it, just middle schoolers and church goers.

By: me

me — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:06:40 +0000

Delane, yes we all make mistakes on here and wish there was an edit button but even you have to admit that alisa j, well that was just plain ol’ sad!!

By: J.O

J.O — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:15:37 +0000

Tell me what makes this any differant than when they closed century high.Century is the same now as then.Looks like to me kids get to Northview with no problem.What about kids getting sick there,that don’t have transportation.It’s all what you make of it.We should of had all this support mybe we would have a high school.That’s when the ball started rolling down hill for Century.

By: Delane Garrett

Delane Garrett — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:06:01 +0000

Excuse me “harsh judge” but there is their not thier, if you are going to correct someones’s spelling you need to learn where the check spell on your own computer!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:33:48 +0000

I’ve been keeping up with this, even though this isn’t my school district, or even county for that matter. Even if it were, we’re a homeschooling family and it just doesn’t apply to us. Yes, I realize school closures would apply if something unforeseeable happened and we had to enroll them in public school. I don’t think that the closure of the school is fair. I believe it will have a negative impact on the town. I wouldn’t want my kindergartner getting on the bus before sunrise. I agree with many of the negative points brought up thus far.

That said, those who ardently were in support of keeping Carver/Century open put up a good fight. But what’s done is done. It’s really time to move on and make the transition easier on the children. Many times when parents have a bad attitude toward something, it trickles down to the children. That’s something that no one needs. If you just can’t move passed the closure then, as “!” said you have two other options: move, or opt for private or homeschool. For a lot of people, neither of these are feasible, so that brings us back to the first option of going to Bratt/EWMS.

It just seems like the right thing to do at this point is to move on with a good attitude.

Agreed with a.nicole: what “A harsh judge” said bordered on breaking comment rule #1 (be nice). (S)He chose is screen name well.

By: O

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:24:29 +0000

Renea,
I think you really need to take a look at your comment. Dont feed anyone that junk about having to make your kids ride the bus earlier….get over it! Lifes not fair and if they dont learn now they wont ever learn. And I completely agree with the Flomanton parent, why should Alabama residents pay for Florida residents coming in to their state just like why should Florida residents pay for Alabama Residents? They shouldnt. And it is a race thing…it always has been. And honestly its getting old and it needs to stop. So before you go around trying to point fingers get your facts straight. And about kids being sick……if they are sick before they leave then dont send them and if they get sick while at school you need to make arrangements now in case of those situations. And parents need to better their lifes for thier children. So maybe its not about the kids anymore its about the parents. Carver is closing and thats the end so lets quit fighting about it and try to improve our communities but being positive.