Lenoir City BOE approves turf field

Lenoir City High School athletes will soon play on a turf football field.

Lenoir City Board of Education approved Oct. 7 the $626,999 project with Baseline Sports Construction, the same company that installed Loudon High School’s field earlier this year. News Herald
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Lenoir City BOE approves turf for baseball field

Three weeks after Lenoir City Board of Education gave the nod for a new turf football field, board members Thursday unanimously authorized a turf baseball infield.

Baseline Sports Construction will install the turf for $227,220, Jeanne Barker, Lenoir City director of schools, said. News Herald
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There's one big difference on how the turf field competition came to be. While Loudon High School is actually Loudon County High School, Loudon City has no schools, Loudon City actually paid for the turf for the county high school. Unfortunately, Lenoir City officials didn't step to the plate as Loudon City officials did. The Lenoir City school board is having to pay for their own turf.

This story isn't so much about turf or no turf, this is about looking back just a few years ago to the need for higher taxes.

Back in 2018, Lenoir City council voted to raise the local sales tax by a half cent. Fortunately for the citizens, city officials couldn't increase the sales tax on their own. They voted to add it to the election ballot where the voters would make that decision.

City officials and city school officials touted the need for the sales tax increase was all for increased security measures and additional staffing for such at the high school.   

Estimates given by Barker showed LCHS security fencing and upgrading all fencing costing about $500,000-$750,000, upgrading electronic doors and video security in schools costing $100,000, SROs costing $260,000, social/emotional professional support through social workers costing $150,000, behavioral and health professional support through registered nurses costing $200,000 and additional background checks on all staff and visitors with new requirements based on state law costing $175,000. Barker noted that all items are ongoing expenses except for building upgrades for fences and initial installation of electronic doors and video hardware. News Herald

So, just a little more than three years ago, city officials were pressing for a two million dollar sales tax increase for vital security upgrades. That sales tax referendum ultimately failed when voters soundly defeated the measure at the polls.

I don't know if all those absolutely, necessary safety measures were ever implemented after the sales tax increase failed, but a look at the past few budgets doesn't seem to indicate they were and for sure the must have security fence all around the high school never happened.

But, at least they will have turf on their football and baseball fields.

Stuff like this right here is why people don't trust politicians.