At the April 5th Alleghany County Board of Supervisors’ meeting, teachers voiced their opposition to closing Clifton Middle School to accommodate the consolidation plan that will result in Covington High School becoming the middle school.
Lorri Saville, a 6th-grade math teacher at Clifton Middle School, addressed the Board of Supervisors from the podium during the public comment segment of the meeting.
She expressed her concerns about closing the newer facility for an older facility.”
Saville also read a number of e-mails that CMS teachers had submitted to her to read at the meeting. All were in favor of keeping CMS open.
Katie Hinkle, a 7th-grade science teacher at CMS who coaches tennis and is the varsity cheerleading coach, noted that not having the close proximity of facilities will work to her disadvantage if she has to drive to Covington High School where there are no nearby tennis courts.
Also, the size of the library and the age of Covington High School were concerns that the teachers addressed.
Another point that was made concerned the plan to rent CMS, once it is closed, to Dabney S. Lancaster Community College that will be renamed Mountain Gateway Community College by the time consolidation takes place.
Security issues were raised in that adult students would be attending the facility next door to elementary school students at Mountain View Elementary School.
Cletus Nicely, the supervisor who represents the Sharon District, was the most adamant of the supervisors in opposing the closing of CMS.
Nicely responded to the teachers, “I am against the closing of CMS.”
He continued, “To lose the school goes against my grain.”
“It’s a beautiful school, and it burns me that the plan calls for closing it,” he opined.
Nicely urged teachers to continue voicing their opinions, by concluding, “Keep plugging away, and don’t stop. I’m not.”
Stephen W. Bennet, the representative of the Jackson River District, commented, “We knew this was going to be a problem.”
He noted, “They gave some on this too; through all the discussions, we made an agreement.”
Shannon P. Cox, of the Boiling Springs District, observed, “You’ve made a lot of valid points, and you’ve definitely opened my mind.”
She thanked the teachers for coming and voicing their concerns.
Cox also noted that all of Alleghany County is being advertised as having broadband access, but she pointed out that a six mile stretch within the county’s limits has no service.
She concluded, “Those people who don’t have service may come here to let their voices be heard, and I’m going to be a champion for them.”
Ronald S. Goings of the Clifton Forge East District, remarked, “I don’t see why we are closing the Clifton Middle School, and I’d hate to think that it’s settled.”
He offered, “I think that we should start over.”
James M. Griffith of the Covington District said, “I was not in favor of shutting the middle school, but unfortunately, the plan has been presented to the state.”
G. Matt Garten of the Falling Spring District observed, “It wasn’t long ago that we shut down schools, and that was done because of cost.”
He noted that Boiling Springs Elementary School and Falling Spring Elementary School have been shut down to cut costs and that it resulted in some teachers losing their jobs.
Garten remarked, “It costs a lot to run schools, and you can’t run two school districts with the population not going up.”
He concluded, “We made the best compromise that could have been made.”
The teachers voiced their opinion that CMS is being closed to appease those in Covington who want the high school to become the middle school.
Gregory A. Dodd of the Clifton Forge West District thanked the teachers for coming and expressing their concerns.
The Supervisors voted 7-0 on all motions made and seconded during the meeting in which authorization to purchase and install restrooms at the Rose Dale Park was approved, a supplemental appropriation was approved to add to the WestRock donation to Alleghany Humane Society and up to $12,000 was authorized for the Registrar’s Office to complete the redistricting process to meet the state’s unfunded mandate prior to the June 21, 2022 primary.
Susan Hammond, the VDOT resident engineer, gave an update on roadwork going on in the Alleghany Highlands, and Deloris Quarles gave a report on progress being made on the Wrightsville project.
Approval of the minutes of three previous meetings were approved at the beginning of the meeting after the invocation was delivered by Nicely who also led the “Pledge of Allegiance.”