NELSONVILLE-YORK / TRIMBLE CONSOLIDATION ?

[buckfan84]

I assure you there is a lot of truth behind this "rumor." This is not going to happen overnight, but I have heard that it WILL happen sooner rather than later. You only had to read between the lines on the town meeting regarding school funding to hear what was actually being said.

Now as far as school colors go, I can's see NY changing the field that was just installed so I think that is a moot point. The mascot may be another issue.

Athens could swallow the Trimble school district also, though I dont see that happening. The kids in Trimble will have the option of attending either NY or Athens without either school district being able to say no. Miller (Southern Perry Local, I think is the new name) could take the students from Trimble but are not required to as they are seeing budget shortfalls and are not in the black as NY and Athens are.

As I have said before, while it may be exciting to think about the two schools consolidating, I hate to see any community lose their identity and having a school in your community is a great thing to have. I think it is a sad state to think that the state may have to close districts in order to ensure fair school funding, but in budget shortfalls I dont know what else they can do.

With the current state of the economy and NY's school being renovated I think on a state level it will be an easy sell. I just wish we had more of a voice in Columbus so that it wouldn't. Having said that, when the school is completed is when you will see things start moving in the direction of consolidation.

[NYBuckeye96]

As far as mascot goes, its hard to argue against Buckeyes. Afterall, we are all Buckeyes in the Buckeye State!

That is actually how NY became the Buckeyes - to avoid argument over the mascot between the Nelsonville Greyhounds and York Bruins. Buckeyes was picked because we are all Buckeyes.

[MTSWNGRVSG]

Fight to stay in the smaller schools as long as you can. Bigger is not always better-Been there done that. It can sometimes take up to 30 years or more to get over the problems that consolidation brings with it.

[grizzlynatural]

So from a Nelsonville Buckeyes perspective do you NOT want Trimble to consolidate?

[MTSWNGRVSG]

To be honest I am talking from experience and I truly feel that for the good of the kids in both schools it would be best to stay as they are. The grass is not always greener on the other side. There is a very good post on the OVC topic by Sandman that says it better than what I can say it. As for class side there is the tech. to do distance learning for upper level classes where it is hard to find teachers for the class.

Sandman posted:

What you see at RV is a bungled attempt at consolidaton that began around 1974. The county was united under a county board which began to redistribute tax monies that were heavily concentrated in the old Kyger Creek district because of the presence of two power plants. Originally the newly formed district attempted to maintain four high schools, Kyger Creek, North Gallia, Southwestern and Hannan Trace. All were good schools independently and had strengths in various areas. In the 90's they could no longer afford that arrangement and put all of the students in the Kyger Creek facility and renamed it River Valley. A few years later they reopened Hannan Trace as South Gallia.

The RV facility was constructed in 1957 and for a long time was completely state-of-the-art. Over the past 10 - 15 years it was basically maintained at a sustenance level while waiting for a new, more centrally located school. This went on for many years and the communities would not vote the levies and because of the power plants, state participation was practically non-existant.

Under the recent funding formulas that resulted in the construction of new schools in SE Ohio, three of the old schools would have had new facilities with very little local participation. KC would have been the only exclusion. It has taken 35 years for the event to even begin to heal in the communities and the results have been obvious. Now they appear to be turning the corner and hopefully things will begin to get better.

The moral of the story for the rest of the OVC, do your best not to let it happen to you in similar fashion! If it someday becomes unavoidable, make sure that there is alot of planning, community support, agreement and funding in place. These sound like impossible requirements but the last post testifies to the results if they are not met.

[NYBuckeye96]

So from a Nelsonville Buckeyes perspective do you NOT want Trimble to consolidate?

I think it could work if it is done correctly. These communities are all very close to each other geographically. In fact, a consolidation of NY and Trimble would still cover less land than most area districts, including: Alexander, Federal Hocking, Vinton County, Logan, Meigs, Warren, or River Valley.

If this were proposed by the state, instead of fighting it tooth and nail, NY and Trimble communities should work to NEGOTIATE perks for the consolidation - working WITH the state and not against the state. Strive for funding that would broaden the curriculum and add AP courses for those students who want to strive for advanced degrees. Strive for funding for special education for those students who require those services. Strive for funding to reinstate programs that have been cut at lower levels such as art programs.

If there were an academic benefit to a consolidation, I would be all in favor of such a move.

[buckfan84]

For me, it has nothing to do with wanting to consolidate or not. I am sure some people are thinking that because they think NY does not want to compete in a larger division, which isn't true. Remember sports are only one aspect of High School. The more important issue is education and while this is a sport site, the bigger issue about consolidation kind of makes sports a moot point.

My argument against consolidation would be that a community loses it's identity when it loses it's school. What other event brings out a large part of the community for an entire school year? That would be your high school. Whether it be band, music, quiz bowl, language fair, science fair or whatever event may be going on, high school brings a community together.

In this current economic downturn, I am afraid that argument wont hold up. I know there was a long period before Nelsonville and Buchtel ever really consolidated. Heck, for some that chasm still exists. It really wasn't until the late 70's/early 80's that NY really consolidated and I think the State Championship team had a lot to do with that.

So, can it be done? Yes. Should it? Not at all. Will it? Again, sooner rather than later.

[mister b]

A couple of points here...

If districts were to consolidate, the district with the highest voted mills is the tax rate that is used for the new consolidated district. So, if NY, with 40 mills, merges with Trimble at 45 mills, the voted mills at Trimble of 45 mills is used. The people of Nelsonville have their property taxes raised without there being a vote. Even in a state forced consolidation.

Many smaller schools use online learning to offer classes that they cannot otherwise afford. Foreign language is one of them. If you do your higher math and science classes right, at smaller schools like Belpre, Nelsonville etc, you will not have many kids in those classes, 9 or 10. Lets face it, not every student belongs in chemistry, physics or calculus class and it would be a disservce to put most students in these classes just to justify paying for a teacher.

I have not heard anything around any type of consolidations in Washington County. I would think that only those schools that are in dire straits financially would be considered. From what I read, Frontier has the most money problems in the county and would be the closest that qualifies at this time, but I do not know that they would be forced to consolidate with anyone at this time.

[grizzlynatural]

So from a Nelsonville Buckeyes perspective do you NOT want Trimble to consolidate?

I think it could work if it is done correctly. These communities are all very close to each other geographically. In fact, a consolidation of NY and Trimble would still cover less land than most area districts, including: Alexander, Federal Hocking, Vinton County, Logan, Meigs, Warren, or River Valley.

If this were proposed by the state, instead of fighting it tooth and nail, NY and Trimble communities should work to NEGOTIATE perks for the consolidation - working WITH the state and not against the state. Strive for funding that would broaden the curriculum and add AP courses for those students who want to strive for advanced degrees. Strive for funding for special education for those students who require those services. Strive for funding to reinstate programs that have been cut at lower levels such as art programs.

If there were an academic benefit to a consolidation, I would be all in favor of such a move.

Thank you. So do most people in Nelsonville feel this way? That they'd like to see a consolidation. Are the Trimble faithful against such a move? Who hates who worse here? lol Or is there any "hate" ? I can tell ya, theres hate in Logan for Ironton Tigers and the same goes for them so im just tryin to get a feel on this whole arguement.

[1987chieftains]

i think alot of school districts in the athens area will consulidate. mostly for operation and $$$$ issues. let face it, its easier to keep 3 high schools going instead of the 5 or 6 that are in athens county has. unless we see a major population growth in that area (which i don't see happening) this is what going to happen down the road as the school buildings get older, ppl contiune to move away and over all cost keep raising.

[sandman]

Don't let it happen and start right now!

[wowhesfast]

Don't let it happen and start right now!

Would the nelsonville bypass help any with busing if the schools would consolidate? I don't think it would be much of an issue because of the proximity, just curious.

My argument against consolidation would be that a community loses it's identity when it loses it's school. What other event brings out a large part of the community for an entire school year? That would be your high school. Whether it be band, music, quiz bowl, language fair, science fair or whatever event may be going on, high school brings a community together.

In this current economic downturn, I am afraid that argument wont hold up. I know there was a long period before Nelsonville and Buchtel ever really consolidated. Heck, for some that chasm still exists. It really wasn't until the late 70's/early 80's that NY really consolidated and I think the State Championship team had a lot to do with that.

So, can it be done? Yes. Should it? Not at all. Will it? Again, sooner rather than later.

Sure, consolidation of schools can be tough on a community and the micro culture that exists in that community. Yet, as time goes by, the move strengthens the community. Decades ago, the townships of Hocking County had their own high schools. Today you would never know that because of the cohesive strength of the Logan-Hocking district.

[NYBuckeye96]

Would the nelsonville bypass help any with busing if the schools would consolidate? I don't think it would be much of an issue because of the proximity, just curious.

The bypass wouldn't be an issue. Both the NY school complex and Trimble Twp. are north of the bypass, so that wouldn't be a factor.

[M0TIVAT0R]

I just hope the NY umpire who cheated our softball team doesnt become a rallying cry to avoid consolidation in the Trimble community. I am close to having contract negotiations finished for my job at the new "Trimble-York" High School...

I like the new name.

[wowhesfast]

Northwestern Athens County Buck-Cats

[M0TIVAT0R]

How about the Trimble-York Buck-Rutters?

[NYBuckeye96]

How about NTYHS Nelsonville-Trimble-York High School.

Although, if you look at other cities in Ohio, most simply go by the name of the city.

Logan, Athens, Jackson, Wellston, etc. Those districts all have smaller communities in the system too. So an arguement could be made to simply call it Nelsonville High School.

You could also call it Northwest High School or Nelsonville Northwest.


So here is my idea:

School Name: Nelsonville-Trimble-York High School (NTYHS).
District: Nelsonville-Trimble-York City Schools
School Nickname: Buckeyes
School Colors: Scarlet and Grey (Brings in Trimble colors, but also the colors of The Ohio State Buckeyes!)

Compromise - NY keeps the Buckeyes name in the new school. Trimble keeps their school colors in the new school. Both sides should be happy because it would create a high school sports team version of the Ohio State Buckeyes in terms of name and colors.

The new school would be large enough to start competing against larger local schools in sports on a consistant basis. (ex. Logan rivalry could be renewed, as it would be a Division II school vs. a Division III school). We could start playing Jackson, Warren, Marietta, Gallia Academy, New Lexington, and Morgan as nonleague games as well.

[M0TIVAT0R]

96, seriously, I like your ideas.

[wowhesfast]

How about NTYHS Nelsonville-Trimble-York High School.

Although, if you look at other cities in Ohio, most simply go by the name of the city.

Logan, Athens, Jackson, Wellston, etc. Those districts all have smaller communities in the system too. So an arguement could be made to simply call it Nelsonville High School.

You could also call it Northwest High School or Nelsonville Northwest.


So here is my idea:

School Name: Nelsonville-Trimble-York High School (NTYHS).
District: Nelsonville-Trimble-York City Schools
School Nickname: Buckeyes
School Colors: Scarlet and Grey (Brings in Trimble colors, but also the colors of The Ohio State Buckeyes!)

Compromise - NY keeps the Buckeyes name in the new school. Trimble keeps their school colors in the new school. Both sides should be happy because it would create a high school sports team version of the Ohio State Buckeyes in terms of name and colors.

With Buckeye stickers and everything! How about you try to rip off the states predominant college team a little bit more, i bet you can't do it.

NTYHS is one of the more awkward names I've heard in a while. It should just be Nelsonville High School. Or Northwestern. There isn't a Northwestern in anybody's district name round here I don't think.

If it all goes through i would like to see the Logan Nelsonville Rivalry Back. Heck maybe Nelsonville could dump the TVC and come to the SEOAL. That would make the league instantly more competitive. Nelonsville-Trimble combined would just be ridiculous in the TVC. Too good.

[WitnessProtection]

96,
I agree ... you have some very good ideas from a public relations standpoint, which is extremely important when any talk of consolidation comes up.
In the case of Gallia County Local, I think there were some PR problems as well as some territorial issues.
However, with the continued school funding problems facing Ohio, I can see the day when former Gov. Voinovich's idea of "88 counties, 88 school districts" may become a reality.