Repton High School was established in 1885 having its first graduating class in 1918. It had a long history and reputation for excellent academics and athletics. Although, Repton is a small town, the Repton Bulldogs were feared on the Football Field and Basketball Court all over the state.
However, in 1989, the Conecuh County School Board decided to consolidate all the High Schools in Conecuh County. The citizens of Repton and Castleberry fought against this consolidation but with no success. They were told that the school would provide more opportunities for the students and that it would be located between Repton and Evergreen (County Seat). In the end, the opportunities did not out weigh the cons of consolidation. And, the school was not moved to the location promised but to Evergreen instead. Our fist high school student gets on the bus at approximately 5:45am and reaches the High School in Evergreen at approximately 7:00am. We feel that consolidation was not a wise decision and not in the best interest of our children or our town.
The State of Alabama thought consolidation would be an improvement for our state’s education system. The state offered incentives to counties who would implement consolidation. But, very few counties have actually participated. Solutions to issues may look good on paper but when implemented don’t always work in reality. The Conecuh County Superintendent in 1989 pushed for this consolidation and then abruptly left the county. I have to say that our current Superintendent fought against consolidation at the time.
Within the past few years, we approached the School Board about re-instating Repton High School. But as with everything else, once things are taken away they are very hard to put back especially if the funds are not available. We were told, however, that if we could raise One Million Dollars + (+ because if you look at the full picture, we would also need about 2 Million in reserve to provide matching funds each year until enrollment increased), this could become a reality. Repton is a small town with extremely limited funds.
We are starting a campaign for 3 Million people to donate $1 each to raise the funds. The Repton Restoration Society will be sponsoring this campaign. If you would like to be a donor, please make your check payable to the Repton Restoration Society stating that it is for the Repton High School Campaign and mail to the following address;
Repton Restoration Society
C/O Terri Carter
51 Burnt Corn Street
Repton, Alabama 36475
