By a unanimous vote, the Macon County Board of Commissioners approved the “school within a school” plan for moving Union Academy into the new Franklin High School when that project is completed.
Commissioner Gary Shields requested the vote, mentioning consolidation will help the county’s application for the $50 or $60 million (depending on the state budget) maximum grant available from the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund program.
The consolidation was first recommended on Feb. 9, when it was part of architectural firm LS3P’s recommendations for the new FHS project, specifically to attain that grant. Retiring superintendent Chris Baldwin said in February that serious discussions about the consolidation happened starting in January.
In June, the Macon County Board of Education unanimously voted to support consolidating Union with FHS. New Superintendent Josh Lynch said at the July 11 commissioners meeting that Macon County Schools is in “full support” of the merger.
“There is a barrier that Union Academy currently has to navigate in terms of proximity and distance,” Lynch said at the July 11 meeting. “If we are to offer programs for our current students at Union Academy, transportation becomes an issue…as well as loss of classroom time…and loss of instructional time.”
Lynch said this would include a rebranding and keeping Union Academy pride, “but also have Panther pride as well.”
New Union Academy Principal Brian Moffitt also spoke to the commissioners about the history of Union Academy going back to the early 2000s. Moffitt said students go to Union because of out-of-district credits that can’t transfer because of the semester block scheduling model MCS uses, parent/student requests for smaller class/school size, attendance and behavior.
“Out of all those things, behavior is the lowest reasons students are [at Union,]” Moffitt said.
Moffitt said a new FHS would be a “multi-generational impact” and said he’s behind the consolidation 100%.
Commissioner Danny Antoine said he supported the move.
“Those kids at Union, I’ve had the opportunity to work with you guys out there, they deserve just as much as any other child,” Antoine said, adding that the parents of Union Academy kids pay taxes as well. “They’re going to have access to everything that they didn’t have access to before.”
School Board Member Diedre Breeden said regardless of the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund program, the consolidation and new FHS are in the best interest of the students.
Commissioner Josh Young said there’s a “hole” in the new school design that Union can fit and that it will help those students not be labeled or branded. Later, Commissioner Gary Shields said Union Academy is included in the new FHS renderings he received that morning.
Commissioner John Shearl asked if the consolidation is a make or break for the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund program. County Manager Derek Roland answered that it’d help the application gain points. Lynch said they still expect to hear back about the grant in September.
Shields said spending $100 million on a new school and “isolating” students at Union without access to certain programs is “morally wrong.” Shields also predicts that the “school within a school” idea of Union at FHS will “dissolve within three years” of implementation, saying the students will make a choice.
Board Chair Paul Higdon added that he doesn’t think Union should be a separate school but is fine with the plan for now.
Where does the FHS project stand?
While there were no FHS project updates on July 11, the time draws near for multi-million-dollar decisions.
Earlier this year, MCS found out it finished #11 in the 2022 Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund program application rankings. The top nine received funding, although one of those systems, Cherokee County Schools, declined the grant that would have merged their three high schools into one. That action by a fellow WNC county is one of the reasons the school board and commissioners previously passed a memorandum of understanding committing to the new FHS project if the county receives the grant funding. Additionally, LS3P’s Paul Boney said on Feb. 9 that the state is tired of school systems receiving the grant, then not spending it for multiple years as the engineering and plans aren’t ready.
Boney told the commissioners on May 30 that he and Emily Kite will be back in either July or August to give an update, including potentially a new cost estimate for the entire project. However, on July 14, Boney said there isn’t anything planned in August for an update on cost at this time.
On Feb. 9, when LS3P recommended consolidating Union Academy into the FHS project, the commissioners authorized LS3P to proceed with the design development of the main campus (Phase Two), which is one all-encompassing building, and move forward with preparing construction and bid documents for the stadium complex (Phase One).
If the commissioners move forward with the FHS project, the current plan would be to have shovels in the ground for Phase One sometime after the 2023 football season. There were two different timelines proposed for the project, one where the stadium complex work would begin right after the football season and another where it would start in February/March 2024.
Regardless, the stadium work would mean the FHS football team couldn’t play or practice on campus in 2024.
Boney previously said Franklin High is preparing to play an “all-away” 2024 football schedule. The stadium work would take 15 months and, in both timelines, be completed in time for the 2025 season.