Jackson residents, former mayor, discuss the possibility of consolidating middle schools

ERIN WEEKS, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·3 min read

Feb. 27—JACKSON — The community gathered at Jackson's Town Hall for a public forum Monday night regarding a discussion about the consolidation of Jackson STEM Magnet Middle School and New Ellenton Middle STEAM Magnet School.

Former Jackson Mayor Todd Etherredge and Aiken County Public School District Board Member Jim Broome, who represents Area Five, listened to concerns about the proposal.

According to Broome, the district's thought process is that a consolidation would solve several Area Five problems.

The district's proposed idea is to move Greendale Elementary, a school Broome says is past the point of renovation, into New Ellenton Middle School's campus; New Ellenton Middle School and Jackson Middle would be combined into one school on Silver Bluff High School's campus; and Silver Bluff, one of the district's high schools that has been waiting for an upgraded campus, would be moved to a new facility.

Opinions on the topic varied, with some forum participants arguing that Jackson Middle should be preserved because it brings traffic to local businesses and gives the town a sense of community.

"Parents like having a school within walking distance from their homes. It gives a community feel that is not in every town," Etherredge said.

Dennis Trotter of Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate talked about how Jackson Middle provides traffic for local businesses.

"The school is an economic driver for the town, it's an economic driver for the new Dollar General Market... an economic driver for future businesses, restaurants, retail," he said. "It's an important piece [of] the town so we want to make sure it stays."

Joanie McCraw, a Realtor at Augusta Real Estate Now LLC who graduated from Jackson High School in 1971, said having a school in Jackson makes the town attractive.

"For us to lose Jackson Middle School would be horrible," she said.

Others contended that the merging of the two middle schools would result in more opportunities for students. Jackson STEM Magnet Middle School Principal Carla Dupert said that the low number of students at the school prevents the retention of specialized teachers, resulting in students losing out on the chance to learn beyond minimum graduation requirements.

"We're losing allocations when we don't have enough students in our building," said Dupert. "Our numbers are dropping so dramatically that I'm having to send teachers to different schools at this point. I'm losing them... I love being a principal at Jackson STEM Magnet Middle School, I love it, but I also see that our students are suffering right now."

Area Five Advisory Council member Ashley Brittain also gave her input.

"I've had the opportunity to visit a lot of these other high schools in our area... I think we can all agree that Area Five children have gotten the last seat, we're never a priority, we're always last," she said. "I love Jackson — this is where I want my kids raised...this is home for me — but I also want my kids to have opportunities that everybody else has...the middle school is a great middle school. It's family, it's close, and I love it, but our children are missing out on opportunities."

Broome highlighted the importance of voting in favor of the one-cent sales tax to help improve the county's education system.

"The bottom line is, Area Five... the whole Aiken County school district, needs this one-cent sales tax [because] it benefits everybody," he said. "Every district in our county has received or will receive benefit from this sales tax."

The decision to consolidate these schools will be a voting item in November, and more official discussion amongst the school board will begin sometime around early summer, according to Broome.

"At the end of the day I'm prayerful that whatever we do, everybody knows that we're going to try to do what's in the best interest for the kids," he said.