Our future depends on how we respond to change

Change can be wonderful. Change can be painful. It can be embraced or ignored, defended or fought.

Regardless, change is inevitable. And how a community responds to change can have a tremendous impact on its future.

The decision to close Moon Lake Elementary School in 2021 was a financial one, made by a board of elected officials charged with being good stewards of DeKalb County’s public education dollars. The history of the school wasn’t a factor. Nor were the decades of stories from people who attended classes and worked there. The high standards and performance metrics were secondary. It was simply no longer fiscally sound to continue operating a school there.

Unwelcome change came to Mentone.But what happened next made all the difference.

The Town of Mentone received what may go down as the most expensive “gift” in Lookout Mountain history when the board of education deeded the campus to the town. The structural and infrastructural needs have cost quite a bit of money. What has that netted?

First, let’s look at the alternative. The campus could have ended up in private hands. It could have been developed into a private space no longer accessible to the public. It could have been transformed into a commercial endeavor with such changes made that we would no longer recognize the school for what it was. It could have been abandoned, left for decay and vandals and the elements to slowly destroy the landmark.

Instead, Mentone Mayor Rob Hammond and the Town Council took on the challenge of not only saving the structure, but also of ensuring that it would continue to be accessible to the public. By transforming it into a space for artisans, shops, and galleries, it is in keeping with the creative spirit of Mentone.

And now look at what’s happening. The campus has become home to the Mentone Fall Festival (another change to talk about at another time). A new restaurant is coming so that the community can once again enjoy a meal and fellowship in the former school’s lunchroom. The public art exhibit in front of the school will draw visitors from miles around while encouraging citizens to reflect on our history and ponder our future (and our roles in it).

And education is returning to campus. As you’ll read in our Page One story, Dr. David Campbell, president of Northeast Alabama Community College, announced that NACC will begin offering classes at Moon Lake in the fall.

None of this would have happened without the efforts made by the town’s leadership and the countless volunteers who saved the school. To do so, they had to face the challenges brought by change in order to turn bad news into a positive future.

I had lunch recently with a new friend who said something profound. It’s not a matter of whether change is going to come, he said. Every town faces change. The question is, what will the town do with that change? The answer to that question determines its path forward.

That truth is illustrated in what we’ve seen at Moon Lake. And I join the many others who are excited about the future of the campus and Mentone as a whole.