Our View

Jackson school district
to mark proud moment

Tuesday promises to be a memorable day in the history of Jackson Township. School district administrators and other dignitaries are expected to gather and conduct a groundbreaking ceremony for the community’s second high school.

The big event will come just about four decades after Jackson’s first high school opened.

The intervening years have brought much growth to Jackson, which now has a total population of more than 43,000. The town’s K-12 school enrollment stands at 9,122 students in five elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school.

A sixth elementary school, the Elms Elementary School, is scheduled to open in September.

The new high school, a two-story, 288,500-square-foot building, will be built on a 150-acre tract off North Hope Chapel Road, near South Cooks Bridge Road.

A $103 million referendum approved by voters in January 2002 set aside $70.5 million for the high school project. The balance of the funds was to pay for the construction of the Elms Elementary School, a gymnasium at the Holman School, a gymnasium at the Switlik School, and for the purchase of land for a future middle school.

Jackson school board member Gus Acevedo called the impending start of construction on the new high school a dream come true. The building is expected to open in September 2005.

While some residents might concern themselves with the prospect of having their children attend the "new" high school or the "old" high school, we’re confident that the young people of Jackson will excel in whatever building they are assigned to.

Teenagers are very adaptable people and the cream in each school will rise to the top, guided by their teachers, administrators and parents.

It is exciting to think of the traditions that will become a part of Jackson’s new high school and of all the achievements that its students will make in the school and after they graduate.

It’s now up to district administrators to keep the project on schedule and on budget while the community looks forward to the day when the doors of the new building open. We wish the district good luck in this endeavor.