Overheard on the Web: Destin High School Edition

Talks of building a Destin High School have been circulating in city hall lately, and the news created a lot of chatter on The Log’s Facebook page. Here are what some people had to say on the matter.

Linda Phillips: It's ridiculous that Destin doesn’t have a high school. Unfortunately the last time we were active with this was pushed aside by the economic depression in 2008.

Brandon Fields: Why waste the money they will get waivers to whatever school they want anyway!

Kathy Delconte: I couldn’t believe when I moved here that there wasn’t one. But they always seem to find room for another restaurant shop or hotel.

Karen Parrish: There are not enough kids to fill our middle school. We now have 5th graders at the middle school.. If the parents were not allowed waivers to send their children to whatever school they wanted then I would support it.

Connie Wilbur: There are not enough children in Destin to warrant a High School. Take a look at the elementary numbers in Navarre, FWB and Niceville. Ours don't come close to their numbers. Besides everyone is going to Niceville anyways no other school has a chance.

Cheryl Rhoads: My son was in school when they still got bused to Bruner for middle school. I've come to realize it did him a lot of good being thrown into the "bigger pond" of FWBHS. Yes, after school activities would have been much easier, but Destin is too small and too clique-ish in my opinion, and a lot of kids do better at the bigger school.

Layne Reynolds- Bonanno: Why should our children have to leave the city they live to attend high school? It's crazy! I've never understood why they haven't built a small high school in this area? We had plenty of land to build LuLu’s, in the area behind the middle school, could have been a perfect spot for a high school. Our children are traveling great distances to go to schools in other cities, when they could be kept here in town!

Steve Vainio: I don't believe that Destin has enough high-school age kids, nor the funds to need a high school in Destin. Yet, I graduated in 1998 and when Opal hit, had to take the two-plus hour trek around Niceville to attend school. I think it's fine as it is, but in case of a hurricane that closes the island, have a temporary facility setup in the city so waking up at 4:30 or 5 a.m. is not necessary.

Kevin Cicik: Horrible idea. There's no land. It will make Destin more crowded and appealing. Went to FWBHS from Destin and never once complained.

John Boykin: I am an old retiree with no school age relatives here. I would love to see Destin build a high school. The city is totally focused on tourism and is missing the boat on not keeping these kids in Destin. I could write pages about the benefits to the city, and yes, I would expect to pay taxes for it.

Velva Marler: By the time they decide to do it there will be no real estate left to build it on; just saying.

Wendy Lowrimore Henley: I totally agree that it's needed. That was pretty much our deciding factor when we bought our home was deciding on where my child went to school. I opted for SWHS because it made me very nervous having a new driver in the family driving over the bridges & the traffic going to FWB.

Greg Porch: Not enough students to support such a ridiculous idea. It would be another "YMCA", sitting empty and abandoned, with the Okaloosa County School District, and us taxpayers, out millions of dollars!

Stephanie Roberson: Please secure the land before it's too late. Then see what happens. Small school for small town would be fine. And Niceville is turning down waivers with all waivers for destin residents ending after next year.

Ashley Kilpatrick: As a graduate from FWBHS, in a class pushing 600, the biggest they'd seen, I feel Destin needs a high school. Would it be a 5A, no, but why would that matter? Let it be a small school. Laurel hill is small, SWHS is small. FWBHS needs to be smaller in size, there is too many kids in one building to try and control. Kids in Destin need their own school, so they don't have to commute all the way to FWB. I think it'd be a good idea to build one!