In May, I attended a meeting at Wheeler High School which I thought was intended to let the parents of the school know what would be done with the $9 million allocated to Wheeler in SPLOST III. Instead, we were given a presentation showing a complete $23 million renovation to the old school, raising our hopes that finally Wheeler would be brought up to the 21st century like most of the other Cobb County schools.
Unbelievably, after the presentation, the CCSD representative told us there was now no money to do what was just presented to us! Apparently, the $14 million additional from excess SPLOST II money had been pulled by the CCSD lawyers that morning. The CCSD then listed some of the things the SPLOST $9 million would go for by itself, giving us a list of things that couldn't amount to more than $1 million. The CCSD then told us the current $9 million would only be a Band-aid for the school and that if we would wait for SPLOST IV, we could "probably" get the extra money then (in four to five years). Otherwise, if we spent the $9 million now, we would get nothing in SPLOST IV.
This is the most brazen con job I have ever witnessed in the school system. Wheeler is in dire need of renovation. We have a serious mold and rat problem and the library, classrooms, auditorium and cafeteria are substandard and unhealthy. The football stadium wouldn't pass an OSHA inspection and is very unsafe. The baseball stadium has a retaining wall on the verge of collapse, possibly on parents and fans sitting below. It is embarrassing when comparing Wheeler's facilities to most other CCSD high schools. But SPLOST III money is down in 2010. What better way to get the Wheeler parents and community to buy in on again not doing anything for Wheeler than to promise something four or five years from now in SPLOST IV, as if SPLOST IV was even a certainty.
This will be our 11th and last year having at least one student at Wheeler. It has been 11 years of being ignored, except for new facilities built primarily for out-of-district magnet students. The rest of the school is in shambles. It's partially because of the lack of political power in our district but mostly because of the CCSD's continual neglect of older and minority schools. We couldn't even be one of the first to get field turf, but the CCSD made sure Walton and Pope were taken care of.
This is a public school system, for crying out loud. There should at least be some semblance of equality in facilities. But once again, Wheeler gets the shaft and even if SPLOST IV passes, there will be more excuses four to five years from now that will result in Wheeler again getting nothing. Maybe they'll need a domed stadium at Walton then.
Randy Grachek
East Cobb
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I am truly sorry for what you feel was a con job by the CCSD. Wheeler is somewhat of a a "dump"...but so was Pope! Until the recent renovations, Pope was disgusting, and had been for years. And a very poor design for a school to begin with (little to no windows, narrow halls, extremely inadequate space, etc.). Time will tell if the renovations at Pope are truly improvements or just lipstick on a pig. So please don't whine that Wheeler is the only school in need of cleaning and updating....you aren't. Public thanks to Rick Bealeiu and his staff for taking the effort to imrpove Pope...gosh knows the previous administration sure didn't.
With multiple children at Pope over the years and with my wife and I as very active parent volunteers, I speak from experience.
Please, give me a flippin' break. Have you once considered that a lot of people prefer Walton because their average SAT is superior to a lot of private schools in the metro Atlanta area. Is it a bad thing for "type A" parents to want the best for their children?
Personally, I'm in the North Cobb district and I don't want my child going to school there either. It has nothing to do with the schools racial demographics. It has more to do with the fact that a lot of these high schools have mediocre test results and numerous discipline problems. They've become discipline factories, where very little learning is going on because the teachers are too busy with crowd control. We wouldn't have this problem if there were more responsible parents around. Sorry, all of the tax money in the world is not going to make up for the fact that kids are coming from lousy homes with little parental involvement or supervision.
At this point, if I can't find a house in the Walton or Harrison district then private school is the only other option. It has very little to do with race, it's more of a socioeconomic thing, so get the chip off your shoulder. If people would take personal responsibility and raise their kids we would be having the discussion in the first place. But that will never happen, so get over it.
I don't have children, but if I did, I wouldn't want them to go to Walton.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Case closed!
I walk the halls of Wheeler everyday. There are ants, roaches, bugs everywhere. And not to mention a rat or two (even in the Magent building). The ceiling tiles are disgusting and old. The paint is coming off a lot of the walls, there is mold in the main hallway of the school. The bathrooms are pitiful. Toilets that are practically falling apart, sinks that drip constantly, and stalls that are ready to fall over.
If you have ever walked into Wheeler you would understand. The "old gym" is ready to collapse. Nearly half the tiles in the ceilling are gone, you can smell the mildew and the stands are barely safe to stand on. The cafeteria is no better. Yet there are classes held here day in and day out. Not to mention the football stands or the field.
Wheeler depserately needs a renovation. Just another coat of paint isn't going to fix anything..
I guess it's pretty embarrassing when I helped the Walton folks get aid to injured middle school football players, or when I helped the Walton Baseball Parents by cooking burgers and dogs at their stadium during a Wheeler-Walton game when none of the Walton concession workers showed up.
As far as doing positive things for Wheeler, my contributions need no defense. Try not confusing "scenes" with someone just having the guts to stand up for kids who very few will stand up for. Perhaps you should walk a mile in our shoes, and listen to the arrogance and insults thrown at us by many in some of these other schools, Walton included, before you judge. Maybe you should walk through a handshake line at an 8th grade football game we just won between Wheeler and Walton and listen to the Walton players say "you suck" or "when we grow up, you'll be working for me...if you work at all". Maybe you should go to a basketball game where the Milton fans yell to our players as they shoot free throws, "He can't read". Maybe you should walk away from from a Wheeler/Walton varsity football game where your my son separated his shoulder and listed to a Walton parent say that he hopes that the injury is bad enough that he won't be able to play baseball in the spring. The list goes on and on.
Perhaps most folks choose to just ignore these things. The fact that I don't and choose to defend our kids is not a negative.
Someone should write a book on how envious he is of that school, and how many times he has caused a scene at various sporting events and embarrassed himself and his family. He should channel that energy into something positive because that's what is needed. The fact this is his last year as a parent is sad because he could've done good things. Now he'll be known as a negative whiner. What a shame.
Before you start on the class envy nonsense, maybe you should know a little of the history between Wheeler and Walton. The western portion of the Walton district has lobbied hard over the years to stay in the Walton district, even though evening out the numbers between Wheeler and Walton would have made more sense and facilities would be better at both schools.
The result, Walton has 2,600 students and Wheeler only has about 1,600 students who live in district with an additional 300 or so out of district magnet students. The motivation was clear from the get go. The predominately white areas on the western Walton district didn't want their kids going to school with a lot of black kids. Political bigotry to the nth degree.
With the added students came more and better facilities for Walton, period. Remember, this is a public school system, not your little political playground where you can manipulate tax dollars to you and yours.
Call it class envy all you want, but none of you did anything to get the school facilities you have. You're just benefiting from your own bigotry and the CCSD is letting you get away with it. Your selfishness is astounding.
BTW, you have no idea what "class" I am in.
Keep Walton and Pope out of your repetitive and whining letters. You try and take a shot at these schools every chance you get and you've worn out your welcome.
You're going to get turf. All of the schools will get turf. Walton only recently got much needed SPLOST monies for updating the 1975 school that was built after a California model of open classrooms for 125. Pope needed improvements, too, and they're finally getting them.
People like you always jump to the wrong conclusion that Walton, Pope, Harrison and KMHS get all these extras when they are often low man on the totem pole in many regards. It takes hard work and manpower to get things done. Stop being so negative all the time and get out and do some positive things for Wheeler. You've got a lot going for your school.
The CCSD has given WALTON in the last 3 SPLOST's CRUMBS. Walton like everyone else got the turf, but look at SPLOST figures and tell me what else have they gotten? A new science lab? NO. Classrooms to remove the trailers? NO Music Practice rooms, NO - what has Walton gotten from the CCSD that you want. If you are looking to the sports programs, look to the families and businesses of Walton's school district. since before my kids went to school I have been making donations to that school. I have purchased items, given money, donated items, all because the foundations, teachers and parents have organized the fund raising. My oldest kid will be at Walton next year. I made a financial commitment way back.
What CCSD did to you is wrong, but blaming Walton will get you no where with me!