The Loudon County School board has been asked by county commission to come up with a building program. After much debate and many public meetings the board majority  voted for phase one of the building program. The board prioritized the three major areas in need of immediate work.  We have around 200 kids in learning cottages (trailers) at Loudon Elementary School.  A couple of  weeks ago when it was below freezing for a week they had to walk out in the weather to go eat lunch and use the restroom. 

Go to Fort Loudoun Middle and see how they use their  locker room/band room/ ell room.  They have teachers working in closets and sharing rooms.  The Principal and Vice Principal are sharing a office and oh yeah they have one cottage (trailer).  That Building has not been touched since it was built in the late seventies. Going to Philadelphia their cafeteria is so small that kids are eating lunch at 10:30 in the morning.  Then there is Greenback who knows what tomorrow will bring over there.

We continue to flow money into a building and at the end of the day it is still run down.  This is just a brief summary of the problems at these four schools. Phase one consist of building two new Schools (Greenback and Fort Loudoun) fixing Philadelphia cafeteria and combining LES and FLMS.  We have cottages (trailers) at Highland Park, Eatons and North Middle. Steekee School has cafeteria issues of it own and is in need of some class rooms. Loudon High School has Two Cottages of its own.

These schools have yet to be mentioned in any discussion.  I point these problems out for one reason, every school in this system is effected by phase one being held up.  Can you imagine if the parents, grandparents and guardians of all these children came out raising cane about each of the schools problems. Maybe it is time for these parents to start dropping their commissioners a line.  

It is time to move forward and fix the problems at hand.  I too am a tax payer in Loudon County and it is my belief that good schools bring good jobs and good neighborhoods.  I may be totally out of line, guess I will find out  when I come up for re-election.  I will be the first to say the Loudon County School Board is not perfect (far from it) but we have done what has been asked of us.

Robert Scott Newman
Loudon County School Board Chairman