By: Tydus Chase  

     After months of petitioning from community members and local officials, the Warren County School District Board of Directors voted in favor of the closure of Youngsville Middle High School on January 13, in a 5-4 vote. The emotional and controversial vote was followed by months of student-led meetings to ease the merger of Youngsville High School students into Eisenhower Middle High School. During that period, there were also open house events to allow the Youngsville students to become acquainted with their new school. Youngsville and Eisenhower students, faculty, and staff used these opportunities to meet and build rapport with each other. Recently, The Squire interviewed students to see how the students think the transition is going and how it has affected them.  

     The Squire first asked senior, Bowen Lindell, a former Youngsville student, how the transition has affected him. When asked, Lindell shared, “I do not like the 40-minute bus ride, because before I could just walk three minutes down the street and be at school.” Lindell also acknowledged, “My grades have gone down due to lack of sleep from having to stay up later to complete homework and getting up earlier to make it to school.”  

     When Lindell was asked what he likes about his new school, he expressed, “It is a good school, with nice teachers, and it is a nice building.” Lindell also shared many ideas on how the transition could have gone differently. He explained, “There should have been more in-person meet and greets, as well as more students being involved in the meetings…There should have been more support for Youngsville students through the process, as we are the baby that was thrown in the pool, and we were left to drown by the Board of Directors and administrators.”  

     The Squire then asked another former Youngsville student, freshmen, Ben Blauser, how the transition has affected him. Blauser reinforced the words of Lindell saying, “The busing is ridiculous, I don’t get home until after 4 p.m.” Blauser also stated, “The lunch lines are about three times as long as the lunch lines at Youngsville, and my friends are already done eating by the time I get my food…I am also finding it hard to talk to teachers one on one.”  

     The Squire then got Blauser’s view on how Eisenhower is similar to and different than Youngsville was. Blauser expressed, “Ike is different than Youngsville, there are [issues] in the restroom more often here, which ruins my day… although I am happy that I have more opportunities with sports and clubs compared to Youngsville.” When Blauser was asked how the transition could have been handled differently, Blauser explained, “I feel like we were just thrown into a school…and told to figure it out.” He also expressed, “The district should have handled their finances better, so we were never in this position.” 

     The Squire then interviewed students that have been going to Eisenhower on how the merger has affected them. Junior, Michael Palmieri, shared, “The merger has been positive; it has increased the student population which has increased participation in sports.” When asked how EHS has changed with all the new students, Palmieri said, “EHS is about the same, other than the hallways are more crowded now, and the lunch line is much longer.” Palmieri also thought, “The district could have done a better job with handling the busing.”  

     The Squire also interviewed senior, Ella Wiltsie. Wiltsie acknowledged that, “While the merger has been difficult for many, it has not affected my day to day much…My experience has not changed much; my classes are still pretty small with mostly all the same kids from last year.” When asked how the merger could have been handled differently, Wiltsie expressed, “The merger went very smoothly, and there is not much I would change…[Hopefully] The students from Youngsville quickly felt welcome, which I think helped make the merger less painful.” 

     While the merger has been an adjustment for many, there will be many opportunities for growth as the school year continues. The Squire would like to thank Lindell, Blauser, Palmieri, and Wiltsie for their time and participation in the interview.