Blount school board discusses cost, benefit of community schools

When the Blount County Board of Education discussed its budget proposal for 2024-25 this week — including a shortfall of nearly $4 million in revenue — one member noted that one way to save money is closing schools.

As school board members discussed program cuts already planned in the budget for the coming school year, Robby Kirkland said, “I can solve your problem. No system operates like Blount County with these very small community schools.”

He estimated the annual operating cost of a school as $1.2 million to $1.5 million and said, “You can have it all, but you have to start shutting schools.”

Board members Fred Goins and Vandy Kemp immediately voiced objections to to the idea.

“Our community schools are treasures,” Kemp said.

Goins noted that Blount County Schools consolidated its high school programs in the late 1970s with the opening of Heritage and William Blount. “They’re wonderful places, and it’s been great for the kids, but I think Walland high school and Porter high school and Friendsville high school really had something to offer the students in that community,” he said.

When Kirkland mentioned the low enrollments in some Blount County elementary schools, Goins said, “They’re worth every penny of it.”

The numbers

Some BCS elementary schools, which include kindergarten through fifth grade, have enrollment numbers comparable with the city school buildings.

Enrollment for kindergarten through second grade at Alcoa Elementary is currently 486. Enrollment at Maryville City Schools’ three elementary schools, with classes from kindergarten through third grade, ranged from 485 to 641 last September.

In September 2023, however, Blount County’s Townsend Elementary had 101 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. Porter Elementary had 201, Friendsville 212 and Union Grove Elementary 241. Walland was just shy of 300 students, with Montvale, Fairview and Lanier less than 320 each.

BCS has 14 elementary schools across a county that covers nearly 560 square miles, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, although a portion is within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

In 2019 The Daily Times reported buses were driving 1.2 million miles a school year to transport about 8,000 riders to the county schools.

When BCS began planning in 2019 for the transition of Eagleton Middle School to serve grades 6-12, one of the reasons given was creating a community school. Another was to quit losing students who had come from Rockford and Eagleton elementary schools and then opted to attend — as tuition students —Alcoa High School, which was much closer for them than Heritage High.

Choices

“You can’t have it all,” Kirkland said during the school board’s budget work session Monday, March 25.

“I think there’s only three schools in the state of Tennessee smaller than Townsend,” he said.

“That’s a treasure up there,” said Goins, who was principal at Townsend when it opened and stayed there for 15 years.

“It is a treasure, but it is an expensive treasure,” Kirkland said.

“It’s worth every penny of it,” Goins responded.

“I think so too,” Kirkland said.

“I will never vote to close Townsend,” Goins asserted.

“I wouldn’t either,” said Kirkland, whose term on the school board is expiring this year. “I’m just saying that’s the way we operate, so somebody needs to pay. It is very important in these communities, and it is very important to the county commission, these small community schools, it’s important to the school board, but nobody wants to pay the bills.”

“So far Blount County has, and I thank the commission for that,” Goins said.

Kirkland said school board members have been told by commissioners not to expect additional revenue for at least the next five years. If people want small community schools, there has to be enough funding to pay for them.

“Somebody’s going to have to fight for them,” said Kemp, whose term on the school board also expires this year.

“We built these mega schools and destroyed school community,” she said.

Kirkland said, “Eventually somebody is going to have to make some terrible decisions if there is no additional revenue.”