Letters to the editor

More questions than answers

LITTLE ROCK — In reference to the future fate of Fayetteville High School, I hope that some very important aspects of the decision are analyzed thoroughly, with the public being well-informed of the results of that analysis prior to the next millage election.

One of the most important things that I think needs to be researched is the two high school option for Fayetteville. As a community, we need to make sure that the future student population projections in the next five, 10 and 20 years will make the two-high-school option economically sustainable. As a district, if we move from one high school to two, we will most likely see an increase in operating costs. Some of these operating costs associated with a two-high-school option will continue year after year even if the population/tax base declines.

Questions that I think need to be addressed include: Will we have two band rooms? Two choir rooms? Two performing arts facilities? Twocafeterias? Two sets of administrators? Additional janitors, etc. Will Fayetteville High School be able to continue to offer the broad and excellent course choices, such as the Advanced Placement courses and foreign language courses? What about clubs? Will there be enough demand and support for the various clubs that are currently available? Assuming that the current high school remains as one of the two high schools, there may be increased maintenance and utility costs since it is older and not as energy efficient.

Finally, how will the boundaries be determined for these two high schools? Will each high school accurately reflect the overall community's student population? Will there be a perception that one high school is better than another? Is it not possible to build a reasonably sized high school to house all of Fayetteville's 10th-12th graders? Although the justification for including the ninth graders has been academic-based, it has beenmy perception that Fayetteville High School students perform exceptionally well, despite, or possibly because of, their extra year in junior high.

In closing, with the current economic situation the way that it is, I sense that many are eager to build one new high school that is relatively inexpensive and capable of housing approximately half of the near future student population. While this seems the cheapest way to go, I wonder what the additional long term costs to the community could be. Some of the costs would be in dollars and some of the costs could be in community morale. I know that some districts have no choice but to expand to two or even more high schools. I just hope that we are sure that is the best option for Fayetteville's future. I am willing to support the two-high-school option, but only if I feel that these issues mentioned have been given adequate consideration.
Kelly Wempe / Fayetteville