Scoring Points: My take on CCS consolidation

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The long-awaited vote for the consolidation of the three Cherokee County High Schools was conducted on May 28, where the Cherokee County School Board voted 4-2 in favor of consolidation. Thanks to a $15 million grant that the county received back in 2018, Murphy, Andrews, and Hiwassee Dam High Schools will all be joined as one on a campus in Peachtree, across from the Tri-County Community College. 

There will be 821 total students at the new high school which puts them as of now in the 2A bracket for athletics with the likes of Pisgah, Franklin, and Smoky Mountain. As it is right now, the school should be able to stay in the Smoky Mountain Conference even though they are moving to 2A, as the Western Highlands and Mountain Valley conferences have teams that are in the 1A and 2A classification. 

Conference realignment happens every four years including this coming year so this could all change very quickly, and since the school is not projected to be open until 2025 at the earliest we could see 2 different conference realignments before the school opens its doors. 

In my opinion, this consolidation will be great for the students at each one of these schools. When I attended Murphy High School from 2011-2015 I can remember how run down things were back then. Even worse, when I ask my colleagues and peers who attended the same school 10 years before me, they say that things have not changed in decades. 

This consolidation will cause a lot of tradition to be lost. Kids won’t know what it is like to be a Wildcat, an Eagle, or a Bulldog, but they will know what it’s like to attend the best school that the county can offer, with the best facilities and best coaches. I’m not saying that this consolidation is 100 percent great and for the kids but I can say that I personally wish that I could’ve attended a school like the one that is going to be erected for these future kids.

 

 

Check out more of Jake West’s Scoring Points by reading last week’s article: Texas to allow spectators to return to pro sports. Also, remember, in sports, points are scored by both sides, so send in your opinions on sports to [email protected] and see them in our next Sunday Edition.

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