WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. -- On Tuesday, the Worcester County Commissioners tasked the school board with exploring combining all schools in Pocomoke and Snow Hill.
The proposal was unveiled towards the end of Tuesday's meeting. Commissioner Joe Mitrecic, seemingly well aware of the weight of what he was about to say, is the one who brought it up.
"I would like to know if the board of commissioners has any interest in asking the school board, and before everybody goes crazy, this is just very exploratory, combining the two lower-end school districts into one," said Mitrecic.
Turns out, Mitrecic read the room correctly. Combining Pocomoke and Snow Hill schools is a touchy subject, mainly because community pride is very real. Especially when it comes to sports.
"As a person who plays basketball at Snow Hill, I would hate, well played, I would hate to, like, combine with them," said J'Aunna Davis, a senior at Snow Hill High School.
It's not just sports that can fuel a sense of pride, though.
"There's a lot of research out there about community schools and the benefits that they have to a community," said WCPS Superintendent Dr. Annette Wallace. "I think that will be the biggest challenge moving forward."
Wallace, who went to school in Snow Hill and served as Assistant Principal and Principal at Pocomoke High School from 2012 to 2018, certainly has a pulse on the southern end of Worcester County.
She said talking with students, parents, teachers, and anyone else with ties to the school system will be extremely important and that the opinions of those people will be taken into consideration.
"We will make sure that in the process, as we always do in Worcester County, that we have the data, but we also have the qualitative information from our communities," said Wallace.
Speaking of that data, that's really the biggest reason Mitrecic pitched this idea. He cited the rising costs of teacher salaries and of building and maintaining schools.
He also mentioned that enrollment numbers in the southern end of the county are significantly lower and said combining schools, should the county wind up going in that direction, could be the more fiscally responsible option.
Still, the county's financial outlook will not, by any means, be the only factor examined during this process. Wallace said school staff will take into account a wide range of factors, including class sizes, transportation, scheduling, and brand-new buildings.
It's also worth noting, as of Wednesday, Dec. 17, this proposal is barely 24 hours old. The Board of Education is just beginning to explore this possibility, and even if it happens, Mitrecic said any combination of Pocomoke and Snow Hill schools wouldn't take place for at least 15 to 20 years.
