Breaking News: Knox County School Board and Capital Priorities

I have just witnessed a workshop meeting that lasted more than 4 hours of the Knox County School Board. The only consensus is that there is NO consensus. The Superintendent’s plan that has changed since January 30, 2006 has changed a few times within the past 24 hours.

The interesting part of the plan is that the plan to consolidate and close New Hopewell, Gap Creek and Bonny Kate and locate those three schools into the South Doyle High School Annex has been proposed without identifying the functional capacity at the main campus of South Doyle High School. So the school district doesn’t know if all of them high school students can fit into the high school building or not.

The Powell Middle project was moved from FY 08 back into FY 07 just hours before the 5:00 p.m. meeting. The Superintendent said the reason is that the county has a real interest in Powell Middle.

The problem that is emerging here is that communities are being told that they are on the capital plan in three years and the year before they are to see activity they get jerked out of the capital plan, this is the worst kind of politics.

The Inskip community got ripped out of the capital plan tonight. The Pond Gap community got ripped out of the capital plan tonight. The Farragut community got ripped out of the capital plan tonight.

Being a resident of Southwest Knox County, let me respond to the assault on Farragut. When the new high school was approved, Farragut was given $4.0 million in PPU (Physical Plant Upgrade) dollars to repair the strain, stress and damage with the overstressed, maxed out school campus.

Chuck James asked where’s the money? The Superintendent said the money was moved into PPU’s managed by the department directed by one Jim French. Robert Bratton asked Jim French how much money is there and what are you doing at Farragut. Jim French said “I am drawing a blank” Doesn’t that give the public confidence in the guy from Blount County? Upon some searching it was revealed that the money was stripped out from Farragut and it ain’t even there. The Superintendent said it was not done intentionally, which Chuck James asked well since some money has changed in 24 hours, will the Farragut money come back in the plan in another 24 hours? To which the Superintendent in essence said by the end of the night, this may be a completely different plan.

The bad news is the school board will meet again. The good news is hopefully they will commit to doing their homework so that they don’t look like they did tonight.

It appears the next meeting will be a workshop on 2/27/2006 at 5:00 p.m. in the first floor conference room of the Andrew Johnson Building 900 South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. The voting meeting should occur on Wednesday 3/1/2006 at 5:00 p.m. in the Main Assembly Room of the City-County Building on Main Steet in Downtown Knoxville.

You may want to pack a dinner and breakfast, if your committed to stay to the end of the meeting.

Call the School Board Office at 865-594-1630 to sign up to speak. Here are the school board members contact information.

District 1 Sam Anderson 4735 Plymouth Drive, Knoxville, 37914 865-525-1681(h) or
865-215-2090(o)or email: sanderson@ci.knoxville.tn.us

District 9 Robert Bratton 2005 Switchyard Lane,Knoxville, 37920 865-579-9999(h)or
865-595-0220(o) or email: rbratton@etptv.org