Knox school board to consider building new school

[Lola Alapo]

By Lola Alapo
Monday, June 15, 2009


Knox County school officials may build a new elementary school or perform major renovations at four existing schools to alleviate expected student growth in the county's southwest section.

The Knox County school board today will discuss both options during its 5 p.m. midmonth work session.

Superintendent Jim McIntyre has prepared an analysis comparing the benefits and costs associated with each scenario.

"What we know is we'll see substantial growth of 500 to 800 students in the western part of the county in the next five to seven years," he said.

Building a new elementary school would cost an estimated $19.8 million, including land purchase, construction and furniture, according to McIntyre's analysis. He and his staff have been in talks with the owner of Northshore Town Center near Pellissippi Parkway about purchasing land. No offers or deals have been made, McIntyre said.

The construction option also takes into account $5.5 million of additions and renovations to Ball Camp Elementary School. The money for Ball Camp was approved in last year's capital plan. Altogether, the plan would cost $25.3 million and provide a capacity for 1,050 students.

The second option calls for $24 million in renovations and additions at Ball Camp, Blue Grass and Hardin Valley elementary schools and Farragut Intermediate School, and provides capacity for 1,000 students.

Read more here

[Cathy McCaughan]

Are they talking about the area that looks like it was abandoned by the developer?

[Jamey Dobbs]

Yes. Basically near the intersection of Northshore and Pellissippi Pkwy. You can see the open land on the right off Pellissippi as you travel south from the Kingston Pike exit toward the Northshore exit. It is Knoxville's first property with a new mixed-use zoning designation. It's likely not abandoned. New schools attract residential development, so that would definitely appeal to the developer in this climate. I would expect a VERY good deal to be offered. But what other properties are also in this state? Buying additional land now while costs are low --land banking-- makes sense. But so does investing in existing schools and neighborhoods. We need to pay attention to these decisions.

[Debi]

I accept growth requires attention. I've been clamoring on here for over a year the poor condition and lack of handicap accessibility of schools such as Norwood. Last year I understand the ceiling was leaking so bad tiles were falling from the ceiling, there is mold in the bathrooms, and all that is being done is new ceiling tiles being replaced to give the appearance of no mold in the roof. When will schools like Norwood see substantial overhauls that make them accessible, healthy, and provide enough space? Why do other parts of the county get the newest buildings/renovations? If you were a parent using a wheelchair how would you feel to know you could not see your childrens' classrooms? Or go to Norwood where in the past I was denied access to the lifts when I had a disabled child in a stroller? Why are these schools not getting the attention?

[Jamey Dobbs]

Debi, have you seen the building condition index on the facilities website? I would like to hear your perspective on the ratings. Get to the Facilities website here We will need to find ways to fund our maintenance needs along with our academics. Buildings matter to learning.

[Debi]

Jamey, I may be missing it but I didn't see any specific building condition index. If you could provide me a little more detail I'd be happy to look at it. I did see a listing of "KCS Facilities Report" that does not mention anything about Norwood's roofing or mold issues.

[Jamey Dobbs]

Sorry...the one I meant was on the Knox County Metro Planning Commission website. They host the website for the collaboration between schools and local government, PEFA (Partnership for Educational Facilities Assessment). The school facilities study, published in 2006 is at link :http://www.knoxmpc.org/pefa/ (description below).

Individual schools are profiled at this link:
http://archive.knoxmpc.org/pefa/assessments.pdf#profiles

The School Facility Assessment is intended to provide assistance for the decision making process of the Knox County Commission and School Board with respect to the design and construction of school facilities. The standards and guidelines presented herein are not intended to be prescriptive to the degree of restricting creative thinking. Rather, it is intended that the information provided would assist in the development of facilities that represent the best value for expenditure while creating an appropriate environment for learning. This document is part of a compendium of information that provides supplemental data to the Knox County Commission and the School Board.

I've heard that KCS is planning to develop an even stronger facility tracking system, linked maintenance needs and facilities planning. I believe deferred maintenance is a political issue, not an issue of KCS neglect. It's a citizen organizing issue.

[Cathy McCaughan]

Did the same group score all the schools? Rocky Hill scored slightly worse than BMS, but BMS needs significantly more repair and upgrade than Rocky Hill. KAEC is scored too gently as well.

[Debi]

Cathy, I never expect a special education facility to be more than a sloppy left over from a general ed building that wasn't good enough for general ed kids. I don't mean that to sound provocative, just honest. That's how every non-traditional school has been created so far. I would love to see the ACLU get involved in that one.

I agree maintenance is a political issue. Remember Brickey a few years ago? It got created when parents organized, same with Hardin Valley. The problem remains parents will not organize at Title One schools, at special ed schools, etc. Therefore the neglect continues.

Norwood had a higher ranking than Powell Middle, yet Powell Middle is having an incredible renovation. Why are lower-ranked schools getting the attention first?

[granma2]

I'm glad to see far West Knox may be getting a new elementary school! A. L. Lotts is way over crowded. However, this site doesn't seem too far from Lotts or Bluegrass. Is there no land farther southwest?

[Cathy McCaughan]

How many Farragut parents are willing to be rezoned from their current elementary school? I'm willing to switch elementary schools, if it's at Northshore and Pellissippi, even though I love, love, love Rocky Hill.

[Cathy McCaughan]

I understand that new is easier and more economical than bringing old up to code, but we can't keep letting older schools crumble.

[Jamey Dobbs]

No, we can't let older neighborhoods crumble...we can't afford the costs of neglect of existing school buildings and roads and eventually the home values in those neighborhoods. We rely on those properties and the taxes paid on them to fund our schools! And no, it is not more economical to build new. All the costs are not accounted for in a school budget...it doesn't include the costs of road improvements, off-site drainage, utilities, etc. And we don't need huge sites and land costs...there is NO minimum land standard in Tennessee. We can use the new updated CEFPI standards that promote smaller sites and shared parking lots and parks.

The question is where do we want people to move and send their kids to school, where to we want our growth to occur? We do have some influence over that. We can support "Smart Growth" strategies and "Smart Schools" location strategies that give preference to walkable, compact neighborhoods, lower busing costs, reduced emissions, healthier active kids, community involvement, shared recreation space with parks, and less sprawl development on virgin land outside the city.

In the Northshore site case, many site improvements have already been made, the infrastructure already extended. It's not like building on farm land where new roads must be built and water lines laid. Neighborhoods are nearby. However, schools and neighborhoods are joined at the hip and studies show schools influence home values. We need to consider the value of maintaining and expanding existing schools to maintain the viability of our communities....and enhance communities in the interest of drawing families into the city instead of further out into sprawl developments.

We can lobby for a school board policy to give preference to renovation over new. Give incentives for buying and rehab-ing homes in town. Even though school districts and boards aren't legally required to consider the community impact of schools, and consider only the costs of the facility, taxpayers foot the bill for all the rest of the necessary improvements. We can push all parties to pay attention to the FULL COSTS and FULL BENEFITS: financial (including bus transportation), environmental, social, and health. I believe we'll all pay less and achieve more in the end.