School proposal concerns Lenoir

Officials with Lenoir City Schools have concerns about a proposed new county high school.

First Baptist Church in Lenoir City voted last month to approve the sale of 35 acres for $1.85 million to Loudon County Schools for construction of a school for grades 7-12 that is located near Lenoir City High School.

“It will affect us having another high school within two and a half miles of our current high school,” Jeanne Barker, Lenoir City director of schools, said. “I don’t know anywhere else that that exists. We’re a small city and have two high schools within the same footprint. Is an oddity, let me just say that.”

Barker said she spoke with Mike Garren, county director, a year and a half ago when the county district began looking for land. Although Barker knew of the search, she did not realize the county was also looking at property within city limits, she said.

Both school systems are experiencing growth, particularly in elementary and middle schools, as a new wave of development has come to the area.

Barker said she has been told about crowding at Eaton Elementary and North Middle schools and agrees the matter needs to be addressed. She said the main concern is over a second high school in the area and what it could do to programming at both schools.

“High schools are much more than just the number of students and the capacity, it’s how can we provide services,” Barker said. “The middle college program and all the CTE programs, all of our AP programs. All those things are provided based on the funding that we receive and that comes from your student body.

“So, with that said, if our numbers decrease then we will have to look at what programs we can provide based on the number of students,” she added. “… It would split resources for both of us in being able to provide some of the programming that we currently are providing.”

LCHS offers 10 career and technical education programs with additional tracks, such as HVAC, scheduled to come soon through funding from Gov. Bill Lee’s Innovative School Model. Such programs give students a chance to gain experience through work-based learning before graduation. Some students can even earn certifications.

The current LCHS student body of roughly 1,200 is compromised of students from the city and county.

Matthew Coleman, chairman of the Lenoir City Board of Education, said some members of the community are concerned their kids will be forced to go to one school over the other.

Coleman also said he worries what might happen to LCHS programs if students are pulled.

“I understand one of the (Loudon County) commissioners is talking about pulling 500-600 kids from Lenoir City High School out to this new school,” Coleman said. “The concern would be what does that do with the programs that the high school has running? Now, the flip side of that coin is how long does it take them to build it, and what’s the population size look like by the time they get finished?”

Brandee Hoglund, LCHS principal, said the school has a solid CTE program she hopes would be a draw. While she doesn’t see opportunities changing for students, she is concerned how a new school will impact traditions such as Battle of the Bridge and sports programs.

“I do think it’s going to hurt some programming, for example, sports-wise, athletics at the middle school with our football program, that will probably go away,” Hoglund said. “We wouldn’t have a feeder, and some of the joint sports that we have at the middle school level I think would go away.”

She said she has spoken with some educators over concerns about staffing.

Like county schools, Lenoir City is experiencing growth. The elementary school has seen a 12% increase alongside the middle school’s 15% over the last decade. The high school has decreased 1% in the past two years as more students have graduated through the district’s virtual school, The iLearn Institute.

The BOE in the past two years has approved over $6 million in improvements and expansions at LCHS, including renovations of the gym for locker rooms, bathrooms and additional classrooms for $2.79 million.

Alternative school has become a night school, allowing for additional classroom space for the CTE program. Three classrooms have been added to Lenoir City Intermediate/Middle School by moving special education offices.

“One of the things that we have for future growth is to address a facility for grades three, four and five,” Barker said. “That would relieve the stress on our elementary and relieve the stress on our intermediate school and allow us to grow in the middle grades.”

Barker said by opening another facility, the space previously occupied in the elementary and intermediate school can be used as extra classroom space. Additional corridors for the middle school have also been considered, she said.

When the project was discussed in February 2021, an architect gave a cost of $200-250 per square foot, Barker said.

The project would need approval for funding, design and then begin bidding and construction schedules. The project would likely take at least two years to complete after approval, Barker said.

Coleman said when the district was looking places to build the intermediate facility, he did call Chris Wampler, who serves as a deacon at FBC, about the possibility of buying the 35 acres for Lenoir City. He said Wampler told him the church was already in discussions with county schools and wanted to see it through but would speak to Lenoir City if the deal fell through.

Barker said she only spoke with one church member on whether or not Lenoir City Schools had been asked about the property and received the same information as Coleman.

“At the end of the day, we’re a small community,” Coleman said. “Our purpose is to serve the community and serve the kids, and everybody involved has that same goal in mind. It’s just whether there’s some differencing of opinions on the back end on exactly the best way to do that.”