How will building more schools and buying land increase test scores and improve learning?
Building more schools in fast-growing Bluffton will alleviate classroom crowding that has some courses at Bluffton High with more than 35 students. That same crowding has more than half the students at Bluffton Elementary attending class in outdoor portable units, apart from the media center, computer labs and cafeteria. This crowding creates school management issues, decreases the sense of community and safety that children need to flourish academically, and increases behavior problems. Buying land at todays prices is a good business decision. We expect to pay upwards of $20 million for the 70 acres well need for another high school in Bluffton. In 2000, we built the entire McCracken Middle School for less than that. Saving tax dollars by good land investments can free up future dollars for other student-achievement needs.
