A High School for Enon (Part 2)

The recent proposal for closing Chester Middle School once again brings into focus the abject failure of the County's leadership in planning for, and building, the sort of schools we need.

Past school boards have, in defiance of all reason, moved toward building larger and larger high schools. The overwhelming weight of research shows that comprehensive high schools should not be larger than around 1000 students. And that is precisely what is needed right now - in Enon - a small, compact high school to take the pressure off Thomas Dale and to serve the increasingly important Enon area.

A small high school for Enon would be relatively inexpensive to build. Land is still relatively abundant in Enon - though it will not be for long - and the School Board could adopt plans which would limit the size of the parcel needed for a new school to far less than the 75 acres they deem necessary for a mega-school.

For one thing, a small school could be built on a two- or three-floor plan - as most secondary schools once were - with a few elevators for the use of students and teachers unable to manage stairs. An Enon high school could also do without its own football stadium - by working out an agreement to use Thomas Dale's facilities on "away" Fridays and/or Saturday mornings. (If the New York Giants and Jets can share a stadium, surely, to public high schools can.)

Many people think that small high schools are less efficient than large ones, but this is far from obvious. Smaller schools save money on transportation, because - serving a smaller attendance zone - they are considerably closer to their students' homes. This means a reduction in bus mileage - a considerable factor in an era of rising energy costs - and a greater possibility that parents can conveniently transport non-driving students to school.

Moreover, smaller schools tend to be more coherent and less troubled with disciplinary problems, drop-out problems, etc. Students who are in trouble are more easily recognized and dealt with at the teacher-student or teacher-parent level, rather than through administrative intervention. This, in turn, reduces the need for front-office personnel.

But the greatest savings afforded by smaller secondary schools is realized in the increasing number of students who experience success, rather than dropping out or drifting through. Bean-counting bureaucrats seldom count the cost of students who become lost or alienated in the soulless atmosphere which characterizes many super-sized high schools.

All these considerations militate toward building a right-sized - i.e., 1000-student - high school in Enon. Such a school would immediately relieve the pressure on Thomas Dale. It could be built on a smaller parcel - perhaps 20-25 acres - at a time when land prices have fallen and developers face an uncertain future. And it could be built more cheaply - at a time when engineers, architects and constuction companies are hungry for work - than it could be in another decade.

I fervently hope that the School Board will save Chester Middle School, but any step they take will be of little long-term value unless immediate steps are taken to build a right-sized high school in Enon.

Enon needs a high school.