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Choices For The Walker County Schools
At one time Rossville had four schools within its city limits, a
high school, a junior high, and two elementary schools. Today only one
school still resides in our city, a middle school. It appears that the
county school system has abandoned Rossville. How did this happen? I
perceive the answers to be, state wishes of consolidation, past school
officials with no vision, and county politics.
Years ago just before Georgia Highway 2 sliced the peach 0rchard
from Fairview and cut through Missionary Ridge and plunged across
Happy Valley, short sighted school officials sought to fulfill state
wishes to consolidate schools. And without thinking through the
actions of consolidation, they decided to combine rural Chattanooga
Valley High School and suburban Rossville High School. The new high
school was built just south of the Rossville city limits within the
Rossville community. Then what appears to have been county politics,
the high school ended up with a generic name that carried no community
identity. Our high school was more or less hijacked. Then school
officials preceded to consolidated North Rossville Elementary and
South Rossville Elementary, moving them just west of the city limits
but retaining the Rossville Elementary name.
The future consequences of a new relocated Georgia Highway 2 were
ignored by school officials at the time. The construction of a state
highway from Fort Oglethorpe to Chattanooga Valley spawned new homes,
subdivisions, apartments and mobile home courts. School officials
should have been aware that a major road construction would warrant
long range plans instead of an ad hoc approach to school
consolidation. If the effects of a relocated Georgia Highway 2 had
been taken into consideration by school officials, Chattanooga Valley
and Rossville would still have a high school today.
With the elimination of our beloved high school, and no elementary
school in the city, the citizens of our community now face the
possibility that Rossville Middle School will soon be leaving the
city. I truly hope this does not happen.
But if it does, I challenge the school board to do the following.
1. Keep the Rossville Middle School name.
2. Ridgeland High School has a Rossville mailing address and is part
of the Rossville community, change the name to Rossville High School.
A Rossville High School would get the total support of the Rossville
community. Ridgeland High School has never had the total support of
the Rossville community and after 10 years of existence I don't think
it ever will. I don't mean to sound harsh, but it's true.
3. Rename Rossville Elementary to North Rossville Elementary and Stone
Creek to South Rossville Elementary. Some will say, "You can't change
the names of those schools." Sure you can, a precedent has already
been set for this, school officials in the past changed Happy Valley
Elementary to Stone Creek Elementary, and for no good reason. So
changing a name can be done. Especially for a good reason, building
stronger community ties.
4. Implement long range plans to build a high school in Chattanooga
Valley. Then when the school budget can accommodate this action, do
it. Chattanooga Valley deserves a high school in their community as
much as Rossville deserves the proper naming of the schools already in
our community.
5. In the future instead of generic names, schools should be named
after the communities where they reside. The generic naming of schools
diminishes the communities where they are located and alienates the
school from its natural source of support.
At one time Rossville had four schools within its city limits, a
high school, a junior high, and two elementary schools. Today only one
school still resides in our city, a middle school. It appears that the
county school system has abandoned Rossville. How did this happen? I
perceive the answers to be, state wishes of consolidation, past school
officials with no vision, and county politics.
Years ago just before Georgia Highway 2 sliced the peach 0rchard
from Fairview and cut through Missionary Ridge and plunged across
Happy Valley, short sighted school officials sought to fulfill state
wishes to consolidate schools. And without thinking through the
actions of consolidation, they decided to combine rural Chattanooga
Valley High School and suburban Rossville High School. The new high
school was built just south of the Rossville city limits within the
Rossville community. Then what appears to have been county politics,
the high school ended up with a generic name that carried no community
identity. Our high school was more or less hijacked. Then school
officials preceded to consolidated North Rossville Elementary and
South Rossville Elementary, moving them just west of the city limits
but retaining the Rossville Elementary name.
The future consequences of a new relocated Georgia Highway 2 were
ignored by school officials at the time. The construction of a state
highway from Fort Oglethorpe to Chattanooga Valley spawned new homes,
subdivisions, apartments and mobile home courts. School officials
should have been aware that a major road construction would warrant
long range plans instead of an ad hoc approach to school
consolidation. If the effects of a relocated Georgia Highway 2 had
been taken into consideration by school officials, Chattanooga Valley
and Rossville would still have a high school today.
With the elimination of our beloved high school, and no elementary
school in the city, the citizens of our community now face the
possibility that Rossville Middle School will soon be leaving the
city. I truly hope this does not happen.
But if it does, I challenge the school board to do the following.
1. Keep the Rossville Middle School name.
2. Ridgeland High School has a Rossville mailing address and is part
of the Rossville community, change the name to Rossville High School.
A Rossville High School would get the total support of the Rossville
community. Ridgeland High School has never had the total support of
the Rossville community and after 10 years of existence I don't think
it ever will. I don't mean to sound harsh, but it's true.
3. Rename Rossville Elementary to North Rossville Elementary and Stone
Creek to South Rossville Elementary. Some will say, "You can't change
the names of those schools." Sure you can, a precedent has already
been set for this, school officials in the past changed Happy Valley
Elementary to Stone Creek Elementary, and for no good reason. So
changing a name can be done. Especially for a good reason, building
stronger community ties.
4. Implement long range plans to build a high school in Chattanooga
Valley. Then when the school budget can accommodate this action, do
it. Chattanooga Valley deserves a high school in their community as
much as Rossville deserves the proper naming of the schools already in
our community.
5. In the future instead of generic names, schools should be named
after the communities where they reside. The generic naming of schools
diminishes the communities where they are located and alienates the
school from its natural source of support.
Teddy Harris th@beechwoodnet.com 10/26/2004
Page last revised
04/20/2008
04/20/2008
