In 1975 the City of Hartselle formed its own school system and pulled out of the Morgan County system, district lines were drawn and where you lived determined where you would most likely attend school. This was even more so if you relied on transportation to get to any of the schools.

But as of last Friday those lines that were drawn many years ago have become less distinct and even in some instances will disappear completely. The Hartselle City School System and Morgan County School System will work together to ensure that all students are able to receive the education needed for their future.

Morgan County Schools have one of the best vocational centers in the state, located at Brewer High School. Courses in auto tech and collision repair; cosmetology, heating and air conditioning repair plus others are offered at the high school. Upon graduation students may only need a few more hours in their field to be certified Hartselle High School is recognized throughout the state as having one of the best academic programs available to high school students. With the large number of Advanced Placement (AP) classes taught, many students are not only prepared to enter college, but with a high enough grade on the AP finals they may be able to take a higher level of course work once they reach college. Instead of starting in Pre-Calculus they may qualify to begin with College Calculus. Also college credit can be earned with a certain final grade. This not only saves time for the students, but also saves money for parents financing college education. Also for those who rely on student loans, less money needs to be borrowed for education.

But if you are a Hartselle student who may lean towards technical education there were few opportunities If you were a Morgan County Student and wanted to take AP classes, you choices were very limited as well.

Last Friday, an Academic and Career Technical Consortium was signed by Dr. Vic Wilson of Hartselle and Bill Hopkins Jr. of Morgan County. This agreement will allow Hartselle students to take technical classes at Brewer High and enable Morgan County students to take AP classes at Hartselle High School.

This agreement worked out by directors for both school systems will go far in giving students in Hartselle and Morgan County the best opportunities to be successful in their chosen career fields, whether that be academics or technical training. Thanks to both systems for stepping up to the plate and putting the needs of the students first. Both are great systems and as the cliché says, “we are stronger united than we are divided.” This program will prove to be successful for all of the students in both systems.

Randy Garrison is the president and publisher of the Hartselle Enquirer.