Last week, the Montgomery County Public Schools made a decision to shut down James Hubert Blake High School due to a “Lack of excellence on all fronts from academics to athletics to student safety” as cited by Assistant Deputy to the Vice-Superintendent Marcus Cranberry.

Blake will remain open through the end of the school year, but will not reopen in August according to school officials.

Blake, which opened in 1998 as a fine arts and humanities school, is now better known for parking lot scuffles and police tape than it is for song and dance. Now, as the school saunters off into the sunset, what will become of the facility, furniture, textbooks, and most importantly the students?

County officials report that the students can apply for admission to any school in the county, but likely would only be accepted by Springbrook and Poolesville High Schools. “Their overall lack of preparation is appalling. Many students will actually be asked to enter at a grade lower than they were in at Blake,” said a county guidance counselor. For example, a Blake junior most likely will now have to enter Springbrook as a sophomore.

The desks and textbooks will be allocated to schools around the county with most materials going to nearby Paint Branch. PB and other high schools have long been held back by the budget drain that Blake has imposed upon the rest of the county. One notable item, the seldom-used trophy case, will be dusted off for use by Paint Branch.

Few plans have been made so far for the building and grounds. The athletic fields will be turned over to the county park system, but the future of the building is not entirely certain. The only surety is that part of the building will be bought by Worldwide Quack, a duckpin bowling company based in London, Ontario. WWQ Chief Executive Officer Karl McPherson said, “We plan to tear out some classrooms on the top floor with the intention of making the best duckpin bowling alley in the Mid-Atlantic.” On the prospects of a new bowling alley, Paint Branch senior Jon Shyu said, “I am psyched. I love duckpin bowling. I can’t wait for it to open.”

There are also plans being drawn up to make the main floor a roller derby track, but that option is considered unlikely right now. Another proposal on the table is to lease the auditorium to touring musicals. If accepted, the first show would be a Saskatchewan dramatic production called “My Day at the Circus with Big Foot” scheduled to start in August.

Among other notable items, the student newspaper, the Blake Beat will become defunct, but archived issues will be stored by the Montgomery County Historical Society. Director Jerome Atkinson said, “We want to keep a record of what went wrong on Norwood Road. How can we avoid repeating our mistakes if we do not know what they are?”

As the historical society remembers Blake, the students there will try to forget it. A current sophomore said, “I can’t wait to get to Poolesville next year.”