Single public high school eyed for JC

Buses leave the Jefferson City High School campus after school dismissed for the day Monday afternoon. Photo by Kelley McCall.

By Bob Watson

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

It will be at least a year before Jefferson City School District patrons are asked to approve a bond issue and tax increase to change the public schools’ high school operations.

Read additional details in our newspaper or e-Edition. Newspaper subscribers: Click on an e-Edition article and log in using your current account information at no extra charge. For e-edition help, e-mail circ@newstribune.com. Click here to purchase the full version of archived articles.

But Superintendent Brian Mitchell told the seven-member school board Monday he’s not proposing a second public high school.

“With all of the feedback from our community, from our staff, from our students (and) from you, I believe we need to continue to investigate a single high school campus in its current location,” Mitchell said during a 70-minute work session Monday night.

And, although it has not been among the options discussed for most of the last year, Mitchell suggested the district also explore another option, “to look for an alternate purpose for our high school facilities, and to investigate a new location (that) would have an appropriate amount of acreage to develop a brand new facility to serve all of our kids.”

Mitchell said the costs of building a completely new complex to house grades 9-12 and the Nichols Career Center would be about the same as the expansion-and-renovation plan for the current high school complex that’s been discussed for months.

No site has been identified as a location for a new complex, he said, but “80 to 120 acres would be ideal.”

More like this story

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

"Progress? We don't need no stinkin' progress!"

Change is so hard in this town.

viktorkowski 1 year, 5 months ago

it's all about the foozball. this town is a joke. everything those in power do are very predictable

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

The elites send their kids to Helias or Blair Oaks, or else they homeschool their kids. In their opinion, JCHS is just for the cretins.

asb 1 year, 5 months ago

And if they move to another location, who will move the $5Million football stadium?

gofish 1 year, 5 months ago

Time to annex some more land...

AaronS 1 year, 5 months ago

I understand that there are some very promising students and athletes that come out of JC, but they are just the few. There really needs to be more than just one public high school in this town with the huge number of students that are in that 1 school. There are many children that are set up to fail because they can not receive the attention that they need due to the large number of students in each classroom. our children can not continue to suffer because they want to keep strong sports programs or other reasons.

Gotigers 1 year, 5 months ago

Aaron, with all due respect... Your arguement is outdated--JCHS has not won a state title in football, basketball, baseball in over 15 years. The sports program (while once powerful) is average at best. Whether we have 1 high school or 2 high schools-- there will still be the same student to teacher ratio.

JMO 1 year, 5 months ago

The fact that they haven't had a title in years doesn't make this town less fanatical about the football team. I know people who don't even have kids who go to every home game and think the Jays are the best thing ever. Outdated or not, there is an element of truth to Aaron's statement.

But they don't have to have a second "school". They could just have a second campus and draw their teams from both. More classrooms, more teachers and the same number of students would definitely change the student/teacher ratio for the better.

burner_t 1 year, 5 months ago

This whole bond issue should fall on its face. The only reason improvement of any sort is even being considered is so the school board can pass in this entire "academy" BS. Let's have our 7th graders decide what they want to be when they grow up and then force them down a path with a curriculum designed for that particular field. Nonsense.

I think the two high school scenario scares the board et al as it would create a situation of "haves" and "have-nots" in the quality of the student and the facilities in which they learn. Don't fool yourselves, this was never really an option.

Realitycheck 1 year, 5 months ago

Tell me again why would I want to give a bunch of ghetto kids better facilities at my expense? I went to a few of the football games and seen the heathens that walk the halls at JC. THANK GOD! my kids have never been, and will never have to be part of that hell hole. I say put bars on the windows, give the kids bologna sandwiches, and make them wear gray uniforms to get them ready for prison LOL! I will never support spending money on that place as long as it's run the way it is now!

JMO 1 year, 5 months ago

Excuse me, but MY son goes to JC, and I resent your attitude and your remarks! He is NOT a "ghetto kid". My husband and I both have college degrees (I have three), work for the state and own our own home in a good neighborhood, thank you very much! My son gets good grades, stays out of trouble and is a good kid in general. I know where he is and what he's doing and I stay in contact with his teachers. My son has friends who's parents are even more involved than we are, along with some who are not so fortunate in their families. But I'd put any one of them up against your kids when it comes to manners and integrity. Not everyone can afford private school. But at least ours are learning to not be snobs.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 5 months ago

Wanna bet Realitycheck's kids are grown or gone, or the poster never had any? Maybe we're all heathens and not good enough to be in the same general area as Realtycheck.

Gotigers 1 year, 5 months ago

Reality...your post is ridiculous and mean spirited. There are some wonderful JC kids who come from very supportive families. A child has educational opportunities (honors, college prep) that you can't get anywhere else. I am not blind, I know that JC does have its problems-thank Larry Rice. Every successful community has a successful educational system. If JCHS goes down the drain then the community will suffer as a result.

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

Uh, wake up! This town and its public school system has already gone down the drain.

Jefferson City will never be a decent town with good-paying jobs and a great quality of life until it fixes its schools. Our schools should be the #1 priority of any civic progress plan. Unfortunately, the only thing our so-called "leaders" can see to do is to raise our tax dollars to get a convention center, a mud tunnel, and restore a bunch of old buildings.

A world-class school system would be such a better investment. Excellences needs to be expected. If we didn't tolerate all the ghetto kids, we wouldn't have any. However, Jefferson City has become a capital for ghetto kids everywhere, and many of them hang around here when they get older. The sucessful kids move out of town and never look back as soon as they can.

wcywing 1 year, 5 months ago

define ghetto kids? i think its wrong to condemn one generation because of some bad apples. the demographics might have changed, but its part of life.

yea, JC has often neglicted public school funding. it took forever to get the new middle schools back in the late 90's. would be nice to build a youth center. most state capitals have something, except here of course.

most of the good teachers are retiring or in the retirement age.

interested_party 9 months, 1 week ago

It's time to put your money where your mouth is...if we want better schools systems, we have to be willing to approve bond issues that would help get them there.

Please review our Policies and Procedures before registering or commenting

Or login with:

OpenID

News Tribune