The loud 'thud' you may have heard in Russellville late last Thursday afternoon resulted from the collective dropping of jaws of parents whose children attend Mars Hill Bible School's preschool in Russellville.
As parents picked up their children October 10, they received a form letter from Mars Hill Bible School president Nathan Guy informing them the Russellville campus would be closed permanently at the end of 2019.
The letter cited financial concerns as the primary reason for the closure and states the school has been forced to “divert funds” from other programs in order to offset the shortfall caused by the Russellville campus.
Now, parents of the 40 to 50 students enrolled at Mars Hill Russellville must find new child-care arrangements. And more than a dozen staff members will be looking for new jobs.
There was some good news Saturday, as Guy sent out another form letter to Mars Hill Russellville families announcing the school would remain open through the end of the school year, delaying the permanent closure until May 22, 2020.
Guy stated school officials “explored an array of potential solutions,” but he doesn't mention any specific effort in the form letter. When asked by a parent last week what efforts they had made, Guy responded that he “didn't have a list.”
Parents were told Guy and “other school representatives” would be present at the school Monday evening to answer any questions. The Monday evening meeting was cancelled after Mars Hill officials announced the delayed closing date until next May.
Wouldn't it have made sense to have such a meeting before you decide to make a permanent shutdown of the school? Presumably, most parents will ask the question, “Where do I send my child now for daycare or preschool?”
Many years ago, the YMCA of the Shoals opened a Russellville branch and operated it along with a branch in Muscle Shoals and Florence. Eventually, a board consisting almost entirely of Shoals-area residents voted to close the Russellville branch based on it not holding its own financially.
The Mars Hill story is similar. The Muscle Shoals and Florence campuses are “doing well” according to Guy. So what's wrong with the Russellville location? Is the problem that Mars Hill's board prioritizes the Shoals campuses at the expense of Russellville?
Parents we interviewed had only positive things to say about the staff and facility. There wouldn't be such an uproar from parents about the closing if the Russellville location wasn't working for their children.
Have Mars Hill officials advertised to encourage new enrollment in Russellville? As far as this paper goes, the answer is no. The last time Mars Hill advertised in the FFP was in 2014, during a time when the school was holding its own financially.
How much of the revenue taken in by the Russellville campus stays in Russellville as opposed to being pipelined to the Shoals?
There seems to be an unfortunate pattern developing when businesses have interests in both Franklin County and the Shoals. And in the end, it's Franklin County left holding the bag.
When it comes to competing interests between the Shoals and Franklin County, the elephant in the room is Northwest-Shoals Community College, which was created in 1993 with the merger of Northwest Junior College and Shoals Community College. How's that turned out for Franklin County?
That's a subject for another day.
