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Show Time fo folio Gioed Must consolidation always be a threat to small schools. It seems so, and unless the Beaver School District faces up to this fact, the State School Board may well be looking over our shoulder In the very near future. Bills to force consolidation have consistently con-sistently been Introduced in the Utah Legislature, Leg-islature, but we've had a couple of years reprieve. Most of us thought that would be enough time to allow the growth that is inevitable in Western Beaver County to alleviate the problem. However, environmental restrictions and delays have pushed target dates further away until we must face the fact that consolidation could again become a threat before growth of significance arrives. There is little question that if this happens, Minersville and Milford will be the big losers. However, Beaver will not survive unscathed. Consolidation would place Beaver in the unenviable position of being a small 2 -A school instead of a . large 1-A school. Not as disastrous as loss of schools as Milford and Minersville face, but certainly it would be the end of their dominance of 1-A football. Milford faces the loss of their high school and Minersville the loss of their elementary. The Minersville school has for several years been without state small school funding. fund-ing. This creates an an additional tax burden on county residents. A burden that has been willingly shared by all county residents. res-idents. However, to maintain Milford High School, after the state pulls the rugout, would create an additional burden. A burden, that might possibly in all probability be too large to carry. Consolidation would cost the district approximately $200,000 in small school funds now being received by the high schools, that would no longer be available. Beaver High presently is at the point where they can opt to stay 1-A or go 2 -A. Considering no growth factor, they will be forced into 2 -A by 1983-84. However, Beaver at present is growing and likely would be forced into 2-A classification by 1980-81. Minersville elementary undoubtedly will be forced next year to crowd four . grades 5-6-7-8 into a single class with one teacher. This is too many students in a single room and is too much classroom class-room preparation for a single teacher to do effectively. If no immediate action is takenMilford High School faces the loss of several activities ac-tivities Including football, wrestling, girls athletics and curtailment of the band and music programs. Estimated enrollments show a marked decrease in both high schools through 1982. This accounts for no growth, but we can only use that ploy with the state so long, then they aren't going to buy it any more. Any significant growth is two -five years away. Real growth maybe even farther. The logical solution is to take matters in hand by transferring Minersville seventh-eighth seventh-eighth and ninth grades to Milford next year. This would ensure the maintenance of both the Minersville elementary kindergarten through sixth andMilfordHigh School. It would allow students from Minersville already enrolled at BHS to finish at that school if they so desired. Other alternatives are to close the Minersville school and ship all students K-12 to Milford; or to bus Minersville 7-8-9-10 to Milford; close the Minersville school and ship all students to Beaver and face forced consolidation in the future of MHS and BHS or to do nothing until the state forces consolidation, to Beaver. Beaver High School will continue to be the largest school even with the transfer trans-fer of Minersville students to Milford. Neither school will be forced into 2-A classification at least until significant growth does occur which is probably several years away. Accredidation good curriculum, and varied extra-curricular activities could be maintained in all schools. Consolidation would force expensive construction at Beaver where facilities have no room for expansion. Whereas, Milford presently has facilities to handle Minersville Miners-ville students and any natural growth without with-out expensive construction. This year may be the opportune time for the district to take certain actions that would forestall closing the Minersville elementary, and push consolidation of the high schools back until growth insures the stability and future of all our schools. The School Board has scheduled its next meeting in Minersville and this subject is certain to come up. It's time now for Beaver County residents to take stock. Today the choice is yours -tomorrow it may not be. "Red" |