03/29/2024
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Bladen County Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor is expected Monday to recommend closing a middle school and two primary schools during the Board of Education’s monthly meeting.

Taylor will propose closing Clarkton School of Discovery, Booker T. Washington Primary in Clarkton and Plain View Primary near Tar Heel, School Public Information Officer Valerie Newton confirmed Thursday afternoon.

“The superintendent will be presenting a consolidation proposal to the board at the Monday night meeting,” Newton said. “The proposal will also include reconfiguring the grades for East Arcadia Elementary.” Newton said it’s uncertain if East Arcadia would have kindergarten through fourth grade or kindergarten through fifth grade, if the board approves consolidation.

The board has the final say on any consolidation plan, Newton said. Any decision to consolidate schools wouldn’t be implemented until next school year at the earliest.

If a consolidation plan is approved, students at schools that will be closing would attend the school in their home area, Newton said.

Bladen County has about 5,000 students in its 13 schools. There are two high schools, four middle schools, one elementary school and six primary schools.

“If the board decides they want to move forward with the consolidation plan, whether it be as presented or with amendments made to the proposed plan, there will be an opportunity for community forums,” Newton said.

The Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the central office on U.S. 701 across from Elizabethtown Middle School.

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5 thoughts on “Superintendent expected to propose closing 3 Bladen schools

  1. The Superintendent told us at the meeting Monday, September 15 that there will be forums for the Community to attend to speak out. When is this going to be? Hopefully before the next Board of Education meeting in October! Closing of these schools is really going to hurt the children! The most important thing IS the children! Get your priorities in order!

  2. My Grandson’s attend Plainview Primary School in Bladen County. I can’t believe you are considering closing this school! I think this a very bad decision! This school is a great school, the teachers and students have a great relationship! The students are learning and progressing thanks to the staff at Plainview Primary! It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, we are all treated the same. We all feel like one BIG FAMILY! To close this school and farm the students throughout the county is a terrible thing to do to them! My Grandsons get up in the morning on school days at 5:30 AM to catch their bus between 6:30 – 6:45 AM. What happened to NC Schools getting a large portion of the NC Lottery? I’ll tell you what happened, when the politicians saw how much revenue was coming in, they changed the ratio of how much the schools received and how much state received! What a shame! The schools should be receiving the money for repairs and to build more schools to accommodate all their needs. To close schools and consolidate is not the answer! What’s best for the children is most important! What is most important to you? Why do you want to disrupt these children from their family at school? And what about the teachers? Will they be out of jobs too? The children feel safe at Plainview Primary! Yes, as you can see I am terribly upset! I would love to address the Board of Education on this matter!

  3. Since when did we become so willing to undermine the futures of all the children in Bladen County? When did the mental and physical well-being of the students get circumvented in favor of political and monetary gain? How can the immediate gratification of our school board and leaders take precedence over the creative and intellectual growth of the fledgling generation? These are the questions that rack my brain every time I hear of news regarding to our waning education system here in Bladen County. I think about these issues, and silently observe the dwindling performance of the local schools, and have come to the conclusion that “we are afraid of success.”

    First, as an alumnus of both Clarkton School of Discovery and West Bladen High School, let me work my way up to the theme of “fearing success.” The proposed closings of not only Clarkton School of Discovery, but also Booker T. Washington and Plain View Primaries, would put added strain to an already bleak situation of overcrowded classrooms, minimal teaching materials, and inadequate student attention. More so, Clarkton School of Discovery is one of the very few schools in the region that truly represents an enriching, stimulating learning environment worthy of being deemed an institute of excellence. From a multitude of imaginative electives for students to select from, to skillful instructors, to the invigorating atmosphere of scholastic prosperity, Clarkton School of Discovery is a hallmark of academia, and both it and Bladen County would be dealt a great disservice if closure were to ensue.

    Secondly, it is apparent that Bladen County is content in watching the gradual decline of the academic abilities of the student body. From the quenching of the in-class Honors and Advanced Placement programs at West Bladen, to the virtual snuffing out of the science fair at both the school and county levels, we are effectively dousing the flame of inquiry in the minds of our students. I have experience with the importance of both of these programs, as taking numerous Honors and AP classes granted me the opportunity to attend college with a full semester’s amount of credit under my belt. The Science Fair sparked the love of science in numerous children my age at the time and enabled me to win all the way up to Internationals, so I was shocked when I volunteered at UNCP this past spring to notice that there was not one project from Bladen County attending Regionals. But apparently none of this matters unless you are adept at kicking or throwing a ball for your school’s team. I first handedly witnessed the partiality given towards sports team (from new uniforms annually, to needlessly cycling of new equipment and seemingly endless sports trips) while art, science, and humanities teachers struggled to pay out-of-pocket for materials and educational outings. There is a stark disparity that needs to be addressed between athletics and academics, especially given that job prospects predominantly favor the latter. Evident from the dwindling of the Honors and AP programs, to the near extinction of the Science Fair, and the discrimination against intellectual growth, the county school system is succeeding in what can be termed “The Dumbing Down of Bladen County.”

    Finally, the misguided priorities of the school system and county as a whole have us spinning downward into an already festering pit of ignorance and stagnancy. From riding Principal Todd Finn out of the county on a rail, to the blatant favoritism demonstrated towards East Bladen High School, and even the failed 0.25% school tax referendum of 2014 demonstrate the county’s desire to fight the success of our students at every turn. The tax would have simply meant that on your occasional trip to the grocery store, if you purchased $100 worth of tax applicable items, the total increase in regards to the “school tax” would have been 25 cents. Magnify that by the number of purchases made every day of every year in the county, and our schools would have benefited greatly from such a small tax increase spread across the entire population. But if the rumors are factual that the Board of Education is truly spending money on new office buildings and employees, instead of investing in the schools in the wake of a “financial and scholastic crisis,” the money might have been spent on pristine new office furniture anyhow, as opposed to the students’ growing scholastic needs.

    From the triviality of ensuring that East Bladen remains the epicenter of pride and accomplishment, in spite of numerous tales to the contrary, to the widespread disinterest of cultivating centers of intellectual advancement, the board of education (and Bladen county to an extent) have strikingly failed in their duty to advance the upcoming generation’s competency in anything besides athletics and stagnancy. Again, instead of supporting our fellow man in the hopes of their rising far above where we have achieved, we are afraid of the success of others due to the shadow that it may cast on our own accomplishments. This is why, when all is said and done, and the misdeeds have been sown for the students of the future, there is a mass exodus of the bright and accomplished among us, and the only thing those remaining can expect to come into Bladen County is the next Taco Bell.

  4. BC is too interested in new fire trucks and ambulances to care about their schools. Yes we need those services but look where all the dollars go.

  5. The Bladen county school board is pathetic. Clarkton School of Discovery is one of the only ways many students get the AIG resources they deserve. Bladen County has always been discouraged. The staff of Clarkton School of Discovery is excellent. I attribute my success as a NC Space Consortium Scholar and National Art Education Association University Coordinator to the amazing education I received at Clarkton School of Discovery. The goal of the board of education is to shoot itself in the foot at every turn. Until we have board members who show that they are more than politicians, and actually care about the quality of education students in their district receive, nothing will improve. And no, I am not just some random person from another part of the state commenting on the affairs of my hometown. I am Clarkton School of Discovery Alumni, West Bladen High School Alumni and a K-5 Art Teacher in Durham County PUBLIC Schools. I lived in Bladen County for 18 years, I have seen how little education and GREAT teachers are valued there. The entire county owes it to the students to provide them with a top quality PUBLIC education. Public schools have social workers to ensure students go to a safe home at night, resource officers to provided students with a safe learning environment, speech therapists to help identify and treat speech disorders, support for students who have special needs, teachers who differentiate their lessons to reach every single student that they teach and dedicated art and music teachers who inspire students to unleash their creativity. If you are waiting for the “great charter school” to swoop in and save you money, don’t hold your breath. And private school options in Bladen County are severely limited and lack many resources that students need to be successful. You can ignore my comment if you’d like, but I know what I am talking about. I am highly knowledgeable in research based education practices as well as the practices of the Bladen County Board of Education.

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