By Amelia A. Pridemore
The Register-Herald
July 16, 2008 10:31 am
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The battle over Nuttall Middle School moved to a new front late Friday evening and a final decision on whether or not the institution will have a future will now be decided in Charleston, not Fayette County.
Fayette County school board members voted 3-2 to reverse the closure approved by the previous school board earlier this year.
Newly installed board president Dave Arritt, vice president Leon Newman, and board member Leon Ivey voted in favor of the reversal. Board members Steve Bush and James “Jock” Workman voted against the reversal and to keep the building closed.
Bush said the original plan would have sent most Nuttall Middle students to Ansted Middle School. Some who live in outlying areas could have opted to attend school in Meadow Bridge.
Arritt cited the distance some students in more rural areas like Corliss, Clifftop and Hilton Village would have to travel to Ansted Middle.
He said some students would have a bus ride of an hour and 34 minutes. High gas prices and bus wear-and-tear from such drives, combined, would mean the school board would save no money in the long run, he believes.
“I don’t see how we could save any more,” he said. “...I don’t think we’d save any money by going to Ansted. There are so many more miles. An hour and 34 minutes is a long way to go.”
Arritt said traveling such a distance could violate state laws regarding how long a middle school student could be on the road to school.
However, Bush says the state’s school board will make the ultimate determination on whether or not the Nuttall Middle School closure reversal will stand — and he does not know how the school could be ready to operate by the time classes resume in August.
In February, board members originally voted to close the school. Then, Bush, Workman and former board president Peggy Farmer voted for the closure, and Arritt and Newman voted against it. In May’s elections, Farmer lost her seat on the board, and Ivey was elected.
“We had elections to the board,” Arritt explained. “One person got beat, and another individual won. No one else changed their votes.
“One got voted on, another was voted off and it 3-2 went the other way.”
The school is the former location of Nuttall High School, and the students have a football field and gymnasium, Arritt said. It is a “good, solid structure” that the school board has let run down. He believes work such as painting, patching the auditorium ceiling, fixing the auditorium seats and repair to the lockers needs to be done before opening.
“With a little work, it will be a real good school,” he said.
While the state board rarely overturns local boards’ decisions — and Arritt believed the board would let Friday’s decision stand — Bush said he does not know how Nuttall Middle could possibly be ready to reopen by the time the 2008-2009 school year begins for students Aug. 26. He cited structural issues at the 82-year-old building, plus logistical and financial issues like staffing and bus routes.
“There are a lot of needs that are very costly to meet,” he said. “They’re not simply cosmetic.”
Nuttall Middle has structural issues that make safety questionable, according to Bush. The building has no sprinkler system. Because there is no cafeteria, students must eat in the gymnasium. Nuttall Middle is not handicapped-accessible.
Also, staff members have been either transferred to other schools or let go, Bush said. Bus routes have already been reconfigured.
“I don’t see how we fiscally could — and physically,” he said. “We would have to hire contractors... It would take considerable financial resources and human resources.”
Nuttall Middle School may not have a sprinkler system, but this is probably true of other school buildings in the county, Arritt said.
“You can dig and pick any school apart if you want to,” he said. “...I think the board made the right decision this time. The last one was the wrong decision for the students in Nuttall.”
During two nights of public hearings before the board originally voted to close the school, parents and other citizens had safety concerns about Ansted Middle, citing problems such as mold. Bush said all safety issues at Ansted Middle, built in 1950, have been addressed, with state officials inspecting the building and approving it for use. This building, he noted, is handicapped-accessible.
Bush said he and Workman also timed the drive between Nuttall and Ansted middle schools and said 10 minutes separate the buildings.
Once Nuttall Middle was closed, the board originally estimated it would save $300,000 the first year alone, Bush said. That money could be put into an escrow account — then be used for a new building somewhere on Midland Trail High School’s campus. The state’s School Building Authority does not often fund older buildings.
Arritt said he would also like to see a new building.
Bush noted Nuttall’s closure would have brought Ansted Middle to 90 percent occupancy.
Bush did not have an exact financial estimate for how much a reversal would cost but said school officials would have to examine what their needs are.
“There’s going to be a cost increase with operations,” he said. “It’s not going to be limited to overhead costs, like utility bills. There’s staffing issues, too.
“In your overall formula, you have to make up for the money lost. You can’t just write an IOU.”
The Register-Herald contacted Ivey, Newman and Superintendent Chris Perkins Saturday and left messages. Calls had not been returned as of press time.
— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com
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