Judge approves Valley location for consolidated high school

By John Brice
Correpondent

U.S. District Court Judge W. Keith Watkins ruled in favor of Chambers County School District regarding their plan to build a new consolidated high school in Valley through a court order he issued on Friday, June 23rd of 2023.
Watkins wrote “The court has visited the proposed sites for a new high school, toured Inspire Academy and LaFayette High School, both located in LaFayette, and Valley High School in Valley, and conducted two public hearings and a final hearing on the matter. Moreover, the history of this case, which started in its present form in 1970, and the orders entered over the ensuing fifty-two years, have been considered, along with extensive briefing and motion practice over the last three years.”
Delivering his decision, Watkins went on to continue “Upon full consideration of the record and arguments of counsel, it is ORDERED: (1) The objections of Plaintiffs to the plan for construction of a new Chambers County High School located in Valley, Alabama, are OVERRULED. Defendant, the Chambers County Board of Education, may proceed immediately with plans as presented to the court at the final hearing in January 2023; and (2) The objections of Plaintiffs to Defendant’s plans to merge the student bodies of LaFayette High School and Valley High School on the campus of Valley High School during construction of the new high school are SUSTAINED. Those plans create an undue burden on the black students at LaFayette High School. LaFayette High School shall remain open during the construction of the new high school. A final opinion with detailed instructions for progress reports to the court will be forthcoming.”
Reaction to the news from the community via social media was swift with one commenter remarking on a post from the official facebook page of the LaFayette Sun “That is not right. I don’t have kids in school but I don’t think it is safe for them to be traveling that far each day. Hwy 50 is a dangerous road to travel and then you have young ones having to drive. It’s going to be bad for everyone.”
Another comment read “The kids in the upper part of the county, apparently, weren’t even considered.” One reaction that expressed a mixed blessing stated “Glad we have a Senior this year .. prayers answered .. sorry. But I do think it is unfair to our rural kids.. that will be one long bus ride ..”
Travis Smith, Executive Director at UNITE Inc and a former science teacher at LaFayette High School, expressed the feelings of many in the community through his reaction via facebook post to comments made by Mayor of Valley Leonard Riley during an interview.
Smith wrote “This is beyond sickening. This is what he thought of Lafayette as a superintendent and one of the reasons why the schools in Lafayette are in the condition they are in now.”
Riley’s statements that were quoted included “I’ve waited 30 years for this” and “We got the school and that’s what this county needs and if the school would have gone to Lafayette we would not have grown any”.
Smith concluded his commentary by saying “So much for #ChambersCountyStrong huh? It’s crazy how one sided this ‘reporting’ has been. #MediocreAtBest”.
Striking a resolute tone in a separate facebook post, Smith wrote “I am devastated by the judge’s decision to allow Chambers County School District to build the new consolidated school in Valley. That will not stop the work UNITE Inc is committed to doing in the city of Lafayette. We will fight until hell freezes over then fight on the ice.”