Separate and unequal high schools

Can the Wilson County Board of Education get away with leaving two high schools overcrowded while the third county high school has vacant space? Perhaps it can.

The board voted this week to leave high school attendance zones alone. Those current attendance lines, along with explosive growth in the north and west of the county have left Fike and Hunt high schools overcrowded while Beddingfield, in the southeastern part of the county, dwindles in enrollment. Because of these disparities, Hunt and Fike will remain 3-A schools for athletic competition while Beddingfield drops to 2-A. The Beddingfield supporters who have long complained that their school is treated like a despised stepchild are seeing their complaints validified. Beddingfield will be second-class in enrollment and athletic standing regardless of its academic and other achievements.

The biggest problem with the board's refusal to shift attendance lines to even up high school populations is the waste of taxpayer money. At Beddingfield, where space is under-utilized, money is wasted on space (brick and mortar) that is not being adequately used. At Fike and Hunt, temporary classrooms and overcrowded buildings will cost taxpayers money. Rather than making optimal use of space at all three high schools, the school board has decided it's better and politically safer to waste space here and add space there. Only Eunice Lindsey voted against keeping the current high school lines.

Unless Wilson County voters rise up indignantly over this poor stewardship of the public's money, the lines will not change. And since most parents seem to prefer keeping the Fike and Hunt lines as they are, the waste of tax money doesn't seem to bother them.