Teams that’s should consolidate

[nolebull813]

@Joshua Wilson I would like to hear your input on this too. So there are 67 counties in Florida. The bottom 24 counties in terms of population start with Levy County at 45,000 people. Gadsden County is next with 43,000. 
 

So why does Gadsden County have one high school, and Levy County have 3?? 
 

Chiefland and Williston are on opposite ends of the county with Bronson right in the middle. Why can’t Bronson students split between Chiefland and Williston? 
 

Also Gilchrist County has only 18,000 people and they have 2 (Bell and Trenton). Now Bell is smack in the middle of the county, whereas Trenton is on the very bottom. Why couldn’t they just merge into one school in Bell? 
 

And finally Gulf County comes in with 15,000 people. And they have 2 ( Port St Joe and Wewahitchka). Why in the world do they need to high schools? 

[nolebull813]

Just pulled up the square miles of each county. These are the square miles of land for each of these counties who only have 1 high school 

 

Gadsden 516 sq miles (43,000 Pop.)

Baker 585 sq miles (27,000 Pop)

Wakulla 606 sq miles (31,000 Pop.) 

Desoto 637 sq miles (34,000 Pop.)

Hardee 637 sq miles (37,000 Pop.)

Okeechobee 768 sq miles (39k Pop.)

 

 

Now look at these counties with 2 high schools and see if this makes any sense? 
 

Gilchrist 349 square miles (16,000 pop.) 

Gulf 582 square miles (15,000 Pop.)

Washington 582 sq miles (24,000 Pop)

 

 

[SportsFan]

In theory it makes sense though in practice it would likely make the already smallest class in Florida even smaller so for once I would say the poorly planned actions of Florida was actually a good thing here

[SportsFan]

It's also worth mentioning Gadsden County up until a few years ago actually did have two high schools before they merged but I couldn't see any of the counties listed consolidating even if it would be a good decision

[nolebull813]

26 minutes ago, SportsFan said:

It's also worth mentioning Gadsden County up until a few years ago actually did have two high schools before they merged but I couldn't see any of the counties listed consolidating even if it would be a good decision

Gadsden County had 4 high schools in 2002!!!! They merged into 2 high schools in 03 and 04, then merged into 1 in 2017. 
 

There is no reason those county’s don’t merge 

[SportsFan]

2 minutes ago, nolebull813 said:

Gadsden County had 4 high schools in 2002!!!! They merged into 2 high schools in 03 and 04, then merged into 1 in 2017. 
 

There is no reason those county’s don’t merge 

Ever considered digging into the counties to see why they added new high schools when they did? Would be interesting to see the justification for such a small county needing additional high schools

[Perspective]

3 minutes ago, SportsFan said:

Ever considered digging into the counties to see why they added new high schools when they did? Would be interesting to see the justification for such a small county needing additional high schools

One thing to keep in mind is that, when it comes to building new schools, counties have to plan for future growth based on population trends.   The process of identifying a projected need, finding a good site, acquiring the land and building the facilities takes time - sometimes years.  If you wait until the need is actually there, it's too late and you end up with an overcrowded school doing double-sessions.  Sometimes the county school boards gets it right and sometimes they don't.   When they anticipate growth that does not happen, you end up with two relatively under-populated schools.

One other thing to point out:  if you merge schools, there's a chance that a good number of people are going to lose their jobs - something that has a greater impact on a small community than a large one.  All of a sudden, your neighbor is no longer a high school principal and the your kid's best friend's dad is no longer head football coach because two schools merged into one.    

[Hwy17]

1 hour ago, nolebull813 said:

Just pulled up the square miles of each county. These are the square miles of land for each of these counties who only have 1 high school 

 

Gadsden 516 sq miles (43,000 Pop.)

Baker 585 sq miles (27,000 Pop)

Wakulla 606 sq miles (31,000 Pop.) 

Desoto 637 sq miles (34,000 Pop.)

Hardee 637 sq miles (37,000 Pop.)

Okeechobee 768 sq miles (39k Pop.)

 

 

Now look at these counties with 2 high schools and see if this makes any sense? 
 

Gilchrist 349 square miles (16,000 pop.) 

Gulf 582 square miles (15,000 Pop.)

Washington 582 sq miles (24,000 Pop)

 

 

Where did you get Hardee County having a population of 37000? The 2020 census says we lost population from 2010 and are around 25000.  I disagree with the accuracy of the census and think the actual population is probably around 30000. I find it interesting that we've always have a slightly smaller population than Desoto but we seem to always have more kids enrolled in our schools.  

[Hwy17]

36 minutes ago, Perspective said:

One thing to keep in mind is that, when it comes to building new schools, counties have to plan for future growth based on population trends.   The process of identifying a projected need, finding a good site, acquiring the land and building the facilities takes time - sometimes years.  If you wait until the need is actually there, it's too late and you end up with an overcrowded school doing double-sessions.  Sometimes the county school boards gets it right and sometimes they don't.   When they anticipate growth that does not happen, you end up with two relatively under-populated schools.

One other thing to point out:  if you merge schools, there's a chance that a good number of people are going to lose their jobs - something that has a greater impact on a small community than a large one.  All of a sudden, your neighbor is no longer a high school principal and the your kid's best friend's dad is no longer head football coach because two schools merged into one.    

Some small counties, like Gadsden or Glades for example can't grow much because the government owns large portions of land that is off limits for development.

[SportsFan]

1 hour ago, Perspective said:

 If you wait until the need is actually there, it's too late and you end up with an overcrowded school doing double-sessions.  Sometimes the county school boards gets it right and sometimes they don't.   When they anticipate growth that does not happen, you end up with two relatively under-populated schools.

One other thing to point out:  if you merge schools, there's a chance that a good number of people are going to lose their jobs - something that has a greater impact on a small community than a large one.  

So what is typically the deciding factor when deciding cutting the number of schools is the better of the two options?

[nolebull813]

1 hour ago, Hwy17 said:

Where did you get Hardee County having a population of 37000? The 2020 census says we lost population from 2010 and are around 25000.  I disagree with the accuracy of the census and think the actual population is probably around 30000. I find it interesting that we've always have a slightly smaller population than Desoto but we seem to always have more kids enrolled in our schools.  

My screw up. It was 27

http://www.usa.com/rank/florida-state--land-area--county-rank.htm

 

[Perspective]

23 minutes ago, SportsFan said:

So what is typically the deciding factor when deciding cutting the number of schools is the better of the two options?

I don't think there's a single deciding factor.   It's likely a combination of several factors, including politics, economics, retirement of key players, etc. 

[nolebull813]

Apalachicola and Carrabelle high merged in 2006 to form Franklin County. 
 

it can be done. There is no justification for Gilchrist County to have 2 high schools and 18K in population when Gadsden has 43k In population and only one high school 

[SportsFan]

6 minutes ago, Perspective said:

I don't think there's a single deciding factor.   It's likely a combination of several factors, including politics, economics, retirement of key players, etc. 

So the same kind of things that typically lead to decisions being made when certain people hold enough power?

[Dr. D]

The Florida Department of Education uses school capacity as the basis for Controlled Open Enrollment (i.e. school chioce).  If actual enrollment at a school is below 90% of its available capacity, that school is available for open enrollment ("transfers" as we call them here).  Likewise, if two adjacent schools are at 95% of capacity, it would make little sense to consolidate them, assuming the physical plants are sound.  Now if those two schools are each operating at 50% capacity, then there may be some benefit to consolidate them.  From a taxpayer's perspective, the same logic applies not just to rural schools in small counties, but in suburban and metropolitan school districts as well.

[181pl]

Community pride. That's why.

[gatorman-uf]

On 8/9/2023 at 7:04 AM, 181pl said:

Community pride. That's why.

Many people feel that without a "school" in the town, that the town fades away or that a school brings the town together in a community pride that few other civic institutions can. For Levy County, Williston just built a new school within the last 5 years and Bronson had a new school built in the mid 2000s. 

[Perspective]

11 hours ago, gatorman-uf said:

Many people feel that without a "school" in the town, that the town fades away or that a school brings the town together in a community pride that few other civic institutions can. For Levy County, Williston just built a new school within the last 5 years and Bronson had a new school built in the mid 2000s. 

There are a bunch of "Dillons" spread around Florida. 

[BigBoyBall]

Pahokee and Glades Central..... They are only 10 miles apart and would have a population of around 1700 students.

[nolebull813]

17 hours ago, BigBoyBall said:

Pahokee and Glades Central..... They are only 10 miles apart and would have a population of around 1700 students.

I like it. Muck High 

[gatorman-uf]

On 8/14/2023 at 8:51 AM, Perspective said:

There are a bunch of "Dillons" spread around Florida. 

It took me a second to get the reference (because I didn't watch the show)... It is one of the few "franchises" that has done well in book, movie, and TV form. Interesting chapter in the book that was that the town actually racially gerrymandered to make sure that the "football" playing neighborhoods go to a certain school and the "futbol" playing kids went to the other school. 

[Perspective]

12 hours ago, gatorman-uf said:

It took me a second to get the reference (because I didn't watch the show)... It is one of the few "franchises" that has done well in book, movie, and TV form. Interesting chapter in the book that was that the town actually racially gerrymandered to make sure that the "football" playing neighborhoods go to a certain school and the "futbol" playing kids went to the other school. 

Yeah, I thought they did a good job of capturing small town, USA life and particularly high school football.  Even my wife enjoyed the TV series. 

[Nulli Secundus]

On 8/7/2023 at 10:44 AM, Hwy17 said:

Where did you get Hardee County having a population of 37000? The 2020 census says we lost population from 2010 and are around 25000.  I disagree with the accuracy of the census and think the actual population is probably around 30000. I find it interesting that we've always have a slightly smaller population than Desoto but we seem to always have more kids enrolled in our schools.  

Maybe Hardee has a younger demographic than DeSoto.  

[Hwy17]

15 hours ago, Nulli Secundus said:

Maybe Hardee has a younger demographic than DeSoto.  

I suppose.