Anderson School Board Chooses Name, Location of High School

By Cristal Patton

ANDERSON, IN - The Anderson Community School Board meeting for January 12, 2010 had a very important item on the agenda, the decision of what building will house Anderson high school students in grades 10-12. The name Anderson High School won, with all but one board member's vote - William Riffe was opposed.

Next on the agenda was where it should be housed. Before the actual vote, Dr. Chow was asked by the school board for his recommendations. He spoke of how he had received many emails and letters that he categorized into four different groups.

• One group he called the traditional, wanting to keep the high school named after the community.
• The next group were optimistic that if they were to combine mascots, colors, names and traditions that everyone could unite as one and start over together.
• The third group wanted to begin completely fresh and adopt a whole new name, all new colors and even adopt a brand new mascot.
• Finally, there were those who thought there should be a little new, and some old thrown in there to round it all out.

In the end, Dr. Chow said it was time restraints that had him concerned. He recommended that the school be named Anderson High School and it be housed in the building on Madison Avenue. The recommendation was quickly accepted by board member Tobi Jones, who asked the board to bring it to a vote. At that time, it was decided that Anderson High School remain the only High School in Anderson and be located on Madison Avenue.

Mrs. Farley, Head of Transportation for Anderson Community Schools, also spoke about the transportation side of the new transitions. She asked the Board to accept the proposed boundary lines for the elementary schools. The board quickly agreed to accept her proposal for the new boundaries. She added that Inter-School Transfers are still available. Mrs. Farley also asked the Board for consideration because the routing system isn't perfect.

After the meeting, President P.T. Morgan shared his thoughts about the crisis of education in our community. Morgan expressed an overwhelming amount of grief that these small neighborhood schools were being forced to close. "My own grandson will have to get on a bus and be bussed across town. I am very upset about the fact that these kids can't stay in their own neighborhoods," he commented

I also spoke with Mayor Kris Ockomon, who asked that we come together as a community and stand behind ACSC. Mayor Ockomon stated he felt this has been a long time coming. As a 1978 graduate of Madison Heights, he said one high school makes sense. He also said he has a meeting planned with ACSC administrators next week to discuss how the City of Anderson and the school system can come together for the greater good of the community.

If you would like to hear more about Dr. Chow's thoughts on education in Anderson, Indiana, he will be sharing them this Saturday on WHBU at 11:00 A.M. He said you can also visit the Anderson Community Schools web site for any information you may be seeking.