Meeting With the Superintendent....Another NEW School Coming to Beulah?

I had an excellent meeting with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tim Smith Yesterday.  New Schools, School Discipline, Concurrency, possibly a Boarding School--the conversation was wide ranging...

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit down and speak with the Escambia County School District's new Superintendent of Schools for about an hour at my office.

The meeting was facilitated and organized by District 1 School Board member Kevin Adams.

It was good to meet Dr. Smith and hear some of his ideas for the future of the district.  And discussions soon turned to the topic of the need for another school out in the fast-growing Beulah community of District 1.  The school district has shown interest in the OLF-8 property for a school site--however the ask of a minimum of 25 acres seems high.

Kevin Adams stated he is interested in constructing a K-8 facility on OLF-8.  (Ironic, I also thought a K-8 was the right move for Beulah and on OLF-8 back in 2013--but I was over-ruled and the middle school in Beulah was built instead, after which the students from the closed Woodham Middle School were "zoned" into the new Beulah Middle School--which I did not support doing.....oh well, win some and lose some--it happened and I lost that one 8 years ago....)

According to Superintendent of Operations Shawn Dennis, whom we briefly  conferenced into yesterday's discussion--a minimum of 25 acres would be needed for such a facility.  The Superintendent asked Mr. Dennis to look into vertical designs for such schools--in an attempt to lower the required number of acres.  Dennis indicated he would do so.

In the background of this meeting, I see a growing chorus of online posters who want "Beulah High School."  Would the district build a new K-8 and then "repurpose" the huge Beulah Middle School as a High School?  Who knows?

But does the student population (which has been declining steadily for over a decade for various reasons) even justify construction of another, a brand new, high school--if all of the existing ones have excess capacity (with the exception of Tate, WFHS, and B.T. Washington High?)

I mean--what is the % Capacity for PHS, Escambia, and Pine Forest?

I want to assist with the school district in every way I can from my current position as a commissioner.  I attended and graduated from these public schools, as did all of my children.  I am a MASSIVE public school supporter.  So this was my pledge to Superintendent Smith at yesterday's meeting--to be a big