School pride, tough choices

The recent outpouring of concern over potential school closings in Charleston County sent this encouraging signal: Many local residents take deep pride in their communities' schools. District officials and school board members should take that public input into full and fair account when making the hard decisions to come.

Lots of people have been making their voices heard on this issue at public meetings across the county over the past few weeks. But while the passionate objections to suggested closings provide welcome evidence of interest in education, they can't erase the difficult financial and academic realities forcing the district to chart a more efficient path toward better schools.

This obligation would exist regardless of the economic climate. However, with a rough recession taking a cruel hold and tax revenue waning, the Charleston County School District must take particular care to get the most educational bang for its limited bucks. That's Superintendent Nancy McGinley's goal in advancing several "restructuring" alternatives that include some closings of "underutilized" schools.

The label "underutilized" predictably stirs resentment among defenders of schools tagged with it — and threatened with possible closing due to that branding. Yet the term is sadly accurate for some schools in the county.

Over time, population shifts affect enrollment levels. So do parental choices. When any school's enrollment shrinks low enough, and its long-term academic results stay low enough over an extended period, a district and its trustees should review whether resources are being responsibly used by keeping the school open.

Those who want to keep a closing-target school open shouldn't simply protest the possible elimination of that school. They should present alternative solutions that would keep the school open while also helping to solve the district's fiscal and educational problems. Some residents of Johns and Wadmalaw islands are doing just that in their effort to save St. John's High School.

And as reported in last Sunday's Post and Courier, an informal survey found school board members receptive to options that limit the number of school closings needed — especially of schools that have long served as focal points for rural communities.

But as new board member Chris Fraser told our reporter: "We are faced with economic issues that we can't deny, and I'm hoping the public has gotten this — we really are put into a financial box. We're not in a position to do nothing."

That almost certainly means the district isn't in a position to avoid school closings.