It's always amazed me how quickly we denounce what we don't know.

Central High School is another example of a strong program for kids. Pride and tradition is more than a slogan in the fieldhouse.

How many people yelling about rezoning will be around to support the budget the school system just submitted? Probably none. -- s.

Yes, folks need to stick to the zoning issues and take that other crap somewhere else.

Oh, and re: your work with the Austin-East students: thanks.

I just hope no Farragut kids have to go to horrible, horrible HVHS. Their poor little lives would be over, with no hope for tomarrow.

The Farragut insult has little to do with this thread. If a student planned on spending 4 years in High School varsity football in order to get a college scholarship, going to HVHS before it has been running for two years would eliminate that possibility. Can we please attempt some modicum of respect for ALL neighborhoods.

I'm just saying I don't buy all this crap from Farragut about wanting to keep their neighborhood together and/or community united. It's all crap. These parents want their children to go to Farragut so they can tell everyone "my kid goes to Farragut (and my family is better than yours)." It's an elite issue. I think people in Farragut should keep their mouths shut and be happy they have good schools. Its McMansionville; you know your children are going to get a good education.

And, Cathy, my last comment was not an insult. It was a sarcastic observation. These parents are acting like life is over, when students in other districts, with no overcrowding issues, are forced to move just so Johnny can go to Farragut and help the town from burning to the ground.

So the people in Farragut can't talk about their community and not wanting to split it up -- but everyone else in Knox County can talk about their community.

Get a clue -- you are putting down people you don't know.

Wow Dude, I guess it's true that ingnorance is bliss.......

Farragutians need to understand that Dude's feelings are shared by many Knox Countians. A rezoning for HVHS that didn't affect nearly as many people countywide was scuttled earlier this year when Farragut parents protested, and non-Farragut residents who have been impacted by this new plan are resentful that they are being sucked into a situation they had no part in creating.

Here's how it looks from outside the Farragut area:

Farragut High was badly overcrowded. Parents wanted relief. FHS was already too big, so the only practical way to deal with overcrowding seemed to be to build a new school in the deep west end. Many of us who live elsewhere see the Farragut area as a trendy McMansionville with a heavily transient population, and we are somewhat bemused that people choose to move there and immediately start bitching about overcrowding.

Meanwhile, Mike Ragsdale (AKA "Farragut Mike") was in serious political trouble because of the unpopularity of the wheel tax he'd rammed through County Commission. His downtown library plan was not well-received out in the 'burbs, and a referendum movement aimed at repealing the wheel tax succeeded -- mostly due to the efforts of people who lived in other areas of the county than deep West.

This meant that Ragsdale's tax was about to be repudiated at the polls until he came up with the notion of giving voters a choice -- make the vote an either/or deal-- so he muscled commission into authorizing a property tax increase that would take effect if the wheel tax vote went against him. At the same time, he promised a new high school to relieve overcrowding at Farragut, even though an already-planned expansion at Karns was proceeding full-steam ahead.

The wheel tax, which is regressive and unduly burdens the poor, passed thanks to an overwhelming 'yes' vote in west Knox County, which demonstrated that folks there wanted a new school and didn't want an increase in property taxes. And now, after the first rezoning plan was rejected because of protests from those in the Farragut area, those who live in areas that are not as trendy and developer-driven are being forced to share the pain.

Many, many of those who voted against the wheel tax and are still POed about it being forced on them by the heavy vote out west are now being told they must be rezoned to help populate a school that the people for whom it was built now say they do not want to attend.

And while it's true that rezonings need to happen every once in a while to accommodate natural population shifts, they are always wildly unpopular. This one is even more unpopular because it spreads the misery all over the county, and the hard feelings are magnified because the catalyst was a shiny new school out west that the west-enders now say they don't want.

Beanster,
Many of us are painfully aware of Farragut's reputation in the rest of the county. Our kids pay for where they live on the soccer fields and in other activites involving folks from other parts of the county on a daily basis. Most of us fighting this are folks that do not live in the McMansions and are looking to keep a sense of community for their kids just like everyone else in the county who has complained about the proposed plan. Because of forgone conclusions about Farragut, it seems as if no one is willing to listen to our REASONS as to why taking 7 (5 small) neighborhoods out of the mix and putting them at HVHS is a bad idea. (This equates to 150 kids) Lindsey's proposal last fall did not affect the whole county-this one comes out of left field. Robert Bratton says that on January 23rd, the Board announced publicly that county wide rezoning would be looked at. Most of us missed that. I would love for SB meetings to be televised where the ENTIRE county can watch and get this info. The live stream thing online does not work for all and I have been round and round w/the county about that one...but I digress. Our contention is that 10% of our kids will be taken out of a Middle school where they have gone to school w/those kids all of their lives and put in a community where they know no one-and we don't know families. It would be different if they went to school with those kids in elementary school where parents volunteer together and get to know families-but this won't happen until 9th grade where volunteers aren't utilized in the classroom, so parents can't get to know the other kids or parents of those kids. I'm sure that small percentages of schools are split up, just can't get an answer on if there is an instance where it is that small a percentage. We also worry, because of Farragut's perception, that our kids will be targets as they are in extra curricular activites and there won't be many of them to help each other out. That is our reasoning. Like all other folks in Knoxville, we are just trying to be the best parents we can be in a world that is vastly different from what it was when we grew up. I appreciate your honesty about perceptions-we are aware. Sadly, the TOF has had an older generation of leaders in place that don't conduct business in way that many of us like, but because they are the town leaders, we, as citizens get stuck w/the label of thinking like them. A lot of us are transplants, so we weren't around for elections, but we are now. Let me assure you many of us are trying to change that. Again, I appreciate your candor and I just want you to understand I'm trying to be honest about where we are coming from. Hardin Valley is going to be a great school-what a leader that has been chosen to lead it! She's phenominal and we don't discount that. We're already ostracized and just don't want a small portion of our kids to be on a daily basis.

I'm so pasty white, I'm practically translucent. I am neither a Farragut resident nor wealthy. The insults and attacks are divisive and unproductive. This re-zoning plan is intended to help with an overcrowded Farragut and under-utilized Austin East. It does neither. Taking students from the parent responsibility zones (prz = walking distance of school) and sending them across town is economically and environmentally ignorant. We need to work together and build doors instead of describing the walls.

I saw you Sunday morning on the WBIR discussion. Translucent is being a bit hard on yourself. ;)

Betty,

What happens when you lump people together, generalized, and stereotype them?

You create Blacksburg.

Please don't encourage the DUDE or defend him. He is just being mean.

Beanster, The earlier HVHS zoning recommendation wasn't scuttled because Farragut parents protested; it was scuttled because the school board didn't think it made HVHS big enough. Farragut parents DID like the original proposal, although I admit I didn't understand why the Westland Dr/Northshore area was zoned for HVHS instead of Bearden. I assume that the people in that area are happier now. Farragut parents are guilty only of trying to keep their community together, just as we are hearing from Powell, Holston Hills, etc. There are areas that feed into FHS that are not part of the Farragut community. Our main point is why not keep our feeder school progression intact, and fix the feeder school progression in the other areas as well? And I am well aware of areas such as Northwest Middle that feed into multiple schools - my hope is that those can be fixed as much as is possible, as well. We'll never have a perfect feeder school progression everywhere, but there's no point in tearing apart one that works. Thanks.

Didn't you hear the video tape. The madman lashed out at others because he detested the "rich". Dude described everyone in Farragut as an elitist. My point is that it is uncalled for and unproductive. We all live in Knox County.

I hope you plan to come to the community forum on Thursday. Six people met today from all over county to work on this forum. We plan to ban together as a knox county community to push our leaders to allow for more citizen input. Maybe that is why I hate all the finger pointing at Farragut. We are part of this community and some want to make us feel excluded

Rocketsquirrel-- I think renaming schools is a good topic for discussion. Maybe post on another thread.

Sorry if Farragut feels excluded. But, when it comes to its course offerings and extra curricular activities, I'd say a lot of parents around the county wish their school was included:

(link...)

Submitted by PT

Get a clue -- you are putting down people you don't know."

They have every right to have their opinion, just as much as I. But the overcrowding is out west, correct?

Submitted by EML

"Many of us are painfully aware of Farragut's reputation in the rest of the county. Our kids pay for where they live on the soccer fields and in other activites involving folks from other parts of the county on a daily basis...Because of forgone conclusions about Farragut, it seems as if no one is willing to listen to our REASONS as to why taking 7 (5 small) neighborhoods out of the mix and putting them at HVHS is a bad idea. (This equates to 150 kids)..."

Farragut has won a National Title in soccer in the last 5 years, so I don't see how they pay on the soccer fields, like the refs are out to get them or something. Please! And yes, I do think forgone conclusions do hurt Farragut's cause. I generalized Farragut as "McMansionville," and that was wrong. But Farragut is just as guilty as wanting the impossible to happen, even at the expense of other schools. The situation is what it is. Knox County, in retrospect, should have expanded FHS. But that is not what happened. A new high school was build, and adjustments are going to have to be made. I think these adjustments should exclusively impact the overcrowded areas, not schools zones like Central, AE, or West.

Dude, I agree that this ridiculous plan need not affect the entire county and I think most people feel that way. There was a plan that only affected out West last fall, but for some reason (we don't know why-I suppose outcry from Farragut zoned people along Pellissippi) it was tabled in December, then THIS ridiculous plan showed up. Granted, Farragut is overcrowded, but the reason the new school was built was to relieve overcrowding at Karns and Bearden as well. The addition to Karns was sold to us as a cafeteria improvement, not classrooms to squash that argument. I think adding on to Farragut was considered, but many were trying to look ahead at the population explosion that is going to happen in Hardin Valley, plus there isn't much room for portables at FHS and building a third story there was a concern for kids trying to get to classes on time. We tried looking at the vacant Kmart building across the street to expand to, but the owners were only willing to lease it for 10 years at a cost of 4 million-not cost effective. So several areas are to share the burden; Farragut is willing to do that, not take sole responsibility. Also, keep in mind this county wide rezoning was asked for by the School Board on January 23rd. I know I missed that one as I"m sure a lot of people did since we were all so focused on the upcoming County Commission fiasco.
As far as the soccer comment-I'm talking AYSO, not high school. I have younger kids, so I don't attend high school games, but I hear that our parents get out of hand too-didn't know and that is an emabarrassment. I just hope I can be a better parent and teach my kids that real grown ups don't behave that way.
Anyway, thanks for being more civil in your last post and I hope I've been able to explain a little about what I know about the course of events as they happened over the last couple of years.

The original proposal to recommend a new high school as the solution relieve overcrowding was based on overcrowding at FHS, Bearden, Karns and West. The first zoning proposal only moved students from Karns and Farragut. That is why it didn't pass -- it also didnt' align feeder schools.

The affected group is about third of the high schools, but about half the student population.

Parts of the new plan seem to work, but it is hard to tell from the press coverage that focuses heavily on personal issues that are only temporary, until the system adjusts. I have tried to attend several forums to get a feel for what each community likes and dislikes.

It seems all the folks zoned to Hardin Valley are happy but those on the west end who do not like the feeder school split it will create. Splitting a middle school 90/10 isn't good. That is why we are complaining.

Last, I don't agree with EML that the school board was planning for future growth by building in Hardin Valley. I think the decision to build there create a new market for developers and therefore more sprawl.

This is a great case of penny wise and dollar foolish. They should have paid more for the land at George Williams or went for eminient domain. That area is now another subdivision.