<i>EDITOR'S NOTE: The Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce sent this letter to Clover School District Superintendent Dr. Marc Sosne and sent it to the </i>Lake Wylie Pilot <i>for publication. It has been edited for brevity. </i></p><p> Dear Dr. Sosne,</p><p> Thank you for attending the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce Board meeting April 16 to discuss the Clover School District board's plans for our school system, particularly with respect to the expansion of the high school facilities. As you're aware from the discussion that followed your presentation, there are some substantial concerns among both our Lake Wylie business community and residents about the high school expansion.</p><p> Chamber board members, expressed unanimously, that the school board should be planning for a Lake Wylie high school as a short- and long-term solution to absorbing the necessary growth in high school facilities, rather than expanding the current facility on S.C. 55 in Clover. Our major concerns are as follows:</p><p> 1. It is of concern to many -- from the perspective of safety, cost and property values -- the Lake Wylie area already is disadvantaged by the current high school location, and growing competition from southwest Mecklenburg County, southern Gaston County and from residential areas in the York, Rock Hill and Fort Mill school districts, will make the situation increasingly undesirable. Having our high school at a 20-mile round trip has a negative impact on property values, has to have a impact on transportation costs to the schools, and is a significant safety concern for our children, parents and others who go often to the high school for classes, meetings and athletic events. Expanding the current facility addresses none of these concerns. A new high school in the Lake Wylie area addresses all of them.</p><p> 2. The existing property tax load falls heavily on the business community. Setting aside the nuclear plant, a large and rapidly increasing portion of the commercial property tax revenues of the school district come from Lake Wylie. The impact of the nuclear plant has long been understood and should have been factored into planning years ago. In addition, the economic level and viability of the residential community is important to businesses. To the extent that property values in the residential community are negatively impacted, the business community is likewise affected. We believe it's reasonable to assume Lake Wylie's lack of high school is having as much as a 3 percent negative impact on property values. Mitigating this impact would pay for a new Lake Wylie high school several times over.</p><p> 3. We were told from more than one source on the school board and district staff that the capacity of the current high school is about 2,500 students and the addition of the junior high school to the mix will increase the high school's capacity to about 3,500. In our collective opinion, a 2,800- to 3,500-student high school is much too large. We look at the Fort Mill School District, for example, and see about four times the Advanced Placement classes in substantially smaller school facilities. We look at how fewer students will have a chance to compete in varsity athletics, senior class plays, debating teams, in one high school vs. two. We look at the increase in social problems related to gangs and drugs that seems to go with bigger schools. We believe quantity doesn't necessarily produce quality, and have seen studies [showing] larger high schools tend to have lower educational quality. Quality teachers will be attracted to quality schools, not necessarily to big ones.</p><p> 4. During the last school bond consideration, the chamber was assured by then school board chairman Jeff Seigrist, superintendent Vickie Phelps, district business manager Ken Love, and other school board members that the next step would be a second high school in the Lake Wylie area, and the planning and funding for this direction were being put in place. The chamber supported the last bond issue partly on the basis of these assurances. To have the direction changed based on a few hour retreat on a Saturday without input from the Lake Wylie community seems unwarranted. To then be told maybe Lake Wylie might have a high school 10 years from now amounts to writing off a substantial piece of the future of the Lake Wylie community, possibly indefinitely or permanently.</p><p> Dr. Sosne, on behalf of the business community in the Lake Wylie area, we ask the Clover School Board and the Clover School District administration do what is necessary to change the current direction and to meet the responsibility we believe the board and administration have to the taxpayers, residents, children and businesses of the Lake Wylie community through an immediate and effective plan for a high school facility in Lake Wylie.</p><p> Sincerely,</p><p> Ed Stewart, LWCC chairman</p><p> <i>WHAT DO YOU THINK? E-mail your opinion about Clover School District's high school plan to <a href="mailto:news@lakewyliepilot.com">news@lakewyliepilot.com.</a> Please include your name, city and phone number.</i>