Add to that the recent report from the Rhino that Bessemer Elementary located next door is also recommended to be closed along with 9 other Guilford County Schools.
"At a three-hour Thursday afternoon, Jan. 31 meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education, the consultants stated that, based on population trends, facility conditions and efficiency considerations, there are 10 schools that need to be closed. At the meeting, the language the consultants used was that these schools should be “repurposed.” There was some confusion over that word at first, however, the definition they gave soon revealed that “repurposed” meant “closed.” Some buildings could be used for other purposes the consultants said, but the buildings shouldn’t be used as places where students attend school and the 10 schools should not be replaced."
While Erwin located just around the corner was destroyed by the tornado and Guilford County Schools has announced no plans to rebuild despite overcrowded classrooms County wide. That's 3 schools located within 1/2 of a mile of one another.
Have the Guilford County Schools run into money problems since the hiring of Superintendent Sharon L. Contreras? Or are the money problems the result of years of chronic under investment? Is the closing and eventual selling off of school properties the solution? Really?
Bessemer and Gatewood are located on the corner of East Wendover Ave and Huffine Mill Road. The combined properties are part of a much larger piece of property that was first purchased by the county in 1859 for $1140 and have enormous values as commercial properties for shopping centers and office parks. And County owned properties are usually sold for pennies on the dollar.
Is this a plan to enrich developers at the cost of taxpayers?
And what about the 9 other schools recommended for closing county wide? Is Gateway just the first?
Update: 3:10 PM
Current and projected enrollment.
Capacity per facilities report:
No changes recommended:
