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understand; but, some zoned schools may be deficient, incompatible, etc with their children as they age (mine were); if parents live "north" of I-85 and receive snow/ice, and then have to drive to a school in the southern region that is open - not sure what I would do - chance it?
^^^This illustrates how our school district is elitist.^^^ (Not blaming drfranklin for doing what's best for his/her kids, just saying the decisions we make as a community are controlled by and benefit the people with means)
We have "choice" here in Greenville, but if you're poor there really isn't much of a choice because your kids probably need to take the bus, even if that school is "deficient."
And when the schools close at the mere thought of the possibility of snow, it's the poor who suffer most. These are the people who can't afford last minute daycare and end up losing work to stay home and watch the kid(s). One day's work lost can make a very difficult budget even harsher. 3 or 4 in a month can mean there's not enough food for people at the end of the month.
If you choose to send your kids to a school outside your zone, one of the acceptable consequences is that on one of the snow days, your kids might fall a day behind or you have to take some risk in getting them there. Our choices have consequences.
Something has to change. The school closing decisions this year have bordered on the absurd.
It’s a waste of money to have more school districts. They should all be by county. It’s one of the few things I agree with governor about. Administration costs for multiple districts are a waste. People are going to have to accept that sometimes you will have a snow day with no snow. Not a big deal.
This website has some cool info on school districts: https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_scho...South_Carolina. There are 103 school districts in 46 counties so the state could more than half the administrative cost by consolidating.
A county having two or more school districts is debatable. School districts in Anderson, Laurens, and Spartanbuirg counties do well in being fiscally responsible, having greater local governance, and being able to do more when the countywide Greenville County Schools cannot.
Could Greenville County benefit from having two or more school districts? Yes, it could. First, Greenville County had several school districts in the past. Each district had schools that fed into one another. Schools were under greater local governance and accountability. Second, busing would be eliminated. If my child resided in Simpsonville, he would attend school in Simpsonville instead of being bused all the way to Greer. Third, school choice would continue. If you think another district educates better than your home district, you can go through the proper means to enroll in that district.
What could work against Greenville County Schools dividing into smaller districts? The magnet school program from a district wide level would be eliminated. Smaller districts should be able to offer similar classes through their schools. Schools dependent on tax dollars from better income school attendance zones would be accountable for their finances.
^^^This illustrates how our school district is elitist.^^^ (Not blaming drfranklin for doing what's best for his/her kids, just saying the decisions we make as a community are controlled by and benefit the people with means)
We have "choice" here in Greenville, but if you're poor there really isn't much of a choice because your kids probably need to take the bus, even if that school is "deficient."
And when the schools close at the mere thought of the possibility of snow, it's the poor who suffer most. These are the people who can't afford last minute daycare and end up losing work to stay home and watch the kid(s). One day's work lost can make a very difficult budget even harsher. 3 or 4 in a month can mean there's not enough food for people at the end of the month.
If you choose to send your kids to a school outside your zone, one of the acceptable consequences is that on one of the snow days, your kids might fall a day behind or you have to take some risk in getting them there. Our choices have consequences.
Something has to change. The school closing decisions this year have bordered on the absurd.
This is one of the rare instances where Art and I agree 100%. If Spartanburg County, a less populace, less prosperous and smaller county than Greenville County can break up into several school districts then surely we can at least break up into two. North Greenville County by the North Carolina border and South Greenville County close to Laurens have literally nothing in common, so why make the kids and parents suffer by forcing one school district upon us?
This is one of the rare instances where Art and I agree 100%. If Spartanburg County, a less populace, less prosperous and smaller county than Greenville County can break up into several school districts then surely we can at least break up into two. North Greenville County by the North Carolina border and South Greenville County close to Laurens have literally nothing in common, so why make the kids and parents suffer by forcing one school district upon us?
If your biggest concern is the southern end having to close when the northern end gets snow, typically counties with multiple districts get on the same page anyway when it comes to bad weather and the calendar. Anderson's 5 districts all get out on June 7th. Richland 1 and 2 both started August 22nd. York 1 and 3 are done the same day. If one district is closed, the other is typically at least on a delay at minimum.
You also have to keep in mind that many teachers don't live in the district they work in. A few counties have been trying to consolidate rather than break apart. Greenville is so large both land and population wise, just splitting it in two would probably be pretty complex for various reasons and tax bases would probably not be evenly split.
If your biggest concern is the southern end having to close when the northern end gets snow, typically counties with multiple districts get on the same page anyway when it comes to bad weather and the calendar. Anderson's 5 districts all get out on June 7th. Richland 1 and 2 both started August 22nd. York 1 and 3 are done the same day. If one district is closed, the other is typically at least on a delay at minimum.
You also have to keep in mind that many teachers don't live in the district they work in. A few counties have been trying to consolidate rather than break apart. Greenville is so large both land and population wise, just splitting it in two would probably be pretty complex for various reasons and tax bases would probably not be evenly split.
Don't all of your excuses apply to Spartanburg County? Yet they have seven school districts. How can they get it done yet we can't? But again I think you're being extremely unfair for reasons I don't know, towards students in the southern part of the county that have to pay the penalty of snow in the northern part of the county. We probably will not have any more snow for the year so it is a moot point but believe me when the exact same thing happens again next year this debate will come up once again. I'm not sure I'm understanding where your anti-progress stance is coming from. It's like those people 15 years ago who were against widening Woodruff road, and now the chickens have come home to roost and it's too late to do that. We have to be forward thinking, but you are entitled to your opinion.
I've mentioned this before as well. Maybe instead of splitting it up into another district, establish a zone 1 and zone 2. I grew up in PA and of course we had bad snow storms. I remember, when going to school, even if school was in session and if the roads were very bad, it was excusable if you couldn't make it. That being said, if you go to the zone that is still in session and live where the one that is not, it could be excused. Problem solved If days would need to be made up, it would be by zone.
This argument will never go away. Leave it the way it is. The cost of shutting down a few days a year is minimal compared to having 5 or 7 district offices throughout the county. Do you want to pay more taxes for schools administration?
Don't all of your excuses apply to Spartanburg County? Yet they have seven school districts. How can they get it done yet we can't? But again I think you're being extremely unfair for reasons I don't know, towards students in the southern part of the county that have to pay the penalty of snow in the northern part of the county. We probably will not have any more snow for the year so it is a moot point but believe me when the exact same thing happens again next year this debate will come up once again. I'm not sure I'm understanding where your anti-progress stance is coming from. It's like those people 15 years ago who were against widening Woodruff road, and now the chickens have come home to roost and it's too late to do that. We have to be forward thinking, but you are entitled to your opinion.
Who decided Spartanburg is doing it better? It was forward thinking that created the change from several districts to one.
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If days would need to be made up, it would be by zone.
