Unfortunately, Knoch High School has had some bad luck these past few years. The original plans for construction were beautiful works of art that were going to make this school somewhere truly nice to be, and yet here we are with different colored floors, unpainted plaster walls, and unfinished learning stairs because the cost was just too much.
We persevered, though, and continued on with our… less spectacular plans. The decreased cost was still a bit much for our budget, though, and this time we’ve really done it. Knoch High School has gone bankrupt.
Announced this weekend in a board meeting, Knoch High School has officially run out of money for this year. After the outrageous costs the school has accumulated over the past few years, including the football field turf, the learning stairs, and a personal fitness center, our funds are down to a cool $150,000. That may seem like a lot to the uninformed student, but in reality, that’s nowhere near enough to cover construction, utilities, and staff salaries for the rest of the year.
Now that this information is being made public, some other information has come forward. This bankruptcy is the reason that so many of the teachers are leaving this year.
“With this kind of financial uncertainty, I can’t afford to hang around Knoch anymore,” admits famed biology teacher Mr. Hall. “Since my time was up, I decided to just retire.”
Going with him are English wing legend Mrs. West, gym class favorite Mr. Durand, and many more in both the high school and middle school.
“I decided that I wanted to leave on my own terms,” remarks Mrs. West, “rather than be let go when the school inevitably closes.”
Announced by the guidance department at this meeting, all students who do not put in school transfer requests by June 1st will be automatically enrolled in Knoch Cyber Academy. That’s right folks, Knoch Cyber Academy, where you’ll be doing Edgenuity lessons every day all year.
“This is really upsetting,” says freshman Hailey Allison, “I’ve been waiting for forever to be in high school, and now I won’t get that opportunity.”
So make sure to put in a school transfer request to either Freeport, Butler, Mars, or the private school of your choice before June 1st!
Many students have taken the initiative to transfer even earlier. Junior Caden Hassler has started the process to transfer to Freeport, and will start there on April 14.
“I didn’t want to be thrown into a new school on the first day of my senior year,” said Hassler. “I figured if I could get to know some people before summer I’d have a better time in the fall.”
And he’s not alone. Joining him are freshman Matt Neff and sophomores Liam Avon and Jack McCool.
“Yeah, I mean, it’ll suck to leave all my friends, but this is gonna put me way ahead next year. Everyone else will be getting lost, but I’ll already know the lay of the land,” said McCool.
Make sure to give these four a warm goodbye, and make their last two weeks at Knoch memorable!
Now you might be wondering, what’s going to happen to the building? Well, luckily for you, those plans were also announced this weekend! Superintendent Dr. David Foley and the rest of the administration thought long and hard about the future of Knoch High School and eventually reached the decision to sell the building to Walmart. Walmart has been buying other buildings in the area, including the Monroeville Mall.
CEO Doug McMillan thinks that “This kind of building is perfect for our newest store plans, mall-style Walmarts. Each store section will be in a different room, and this gorgeous new cafeteria will be perfect for a food court. We are so excited for this new move, and so grateful to the Knoch School District for this opportunity.”
So make these next two months at Knoch the best you’ve ever had, because they’re going to be the last. And be sure to put in your transfer requests on time if you don’t want to be cyber next year! It’s been an honor to go to school with everyone (well, most of you), and I hope to see you at Freeport in September!
