Wondering the same thing, especially since she said it wasn't good policy.

The other 2 things she said she considered were practice and politics.

And she didn't think it was a precedent setting vote. Tell that to New Hopewell and Adrian Burnett.

So I wonder, do these other school communities appeal to Kincannon, or to Burchett?

Has "mayoral control" of schools arrived in Knox County?

I think she did the right thing by accepting a new school that probably otherwise would not have been built given all the other needs.

I don't think it negates the other needs at all and I agree totally that other schools are deserving. I do disagree with the premise that the school could have been renovated with $2.5 million to make it as good as a new one. The renovated school would not have brought it up to the "program standards" and would have added no new classrooms. It is shameful that we have schools in Knox County that are not equal to the others and I would support any effort by another community that is willing to work hard as Carter has to make a school happen for them.

I just wonder if all the people who have been making nasty comments about her for months will apologize for it now.

I doubt it.

Ok, I know this is naughty, but I just can't resist:

Tim Burchett went all out to get East Knox County a new elementary school - but he couldn't even give South Knox County one single MPC Commisisoner. :)

There are ways to raise money other than just selling surplus property. We need innovative thinking.

You think buying high and selling low is innovative thinking? What happened to the promise of saving money by lease/purchase? That seemed to vaporize without a whimper.

I'm pissed because I, as a city resident, get damn little for my county tax dollar. Hell, Burchett says he can't afford $90K to help impoverished senior citizens ride the bus because the buses don't go outside the city limits and he can't ask county taxpayers to pay for that.

And I thought Conley Underwood's "Our kids are better than yours because our teachers love them more than other teachers love their kids" was offensive.

I think she did the right thing by accepting a new school that probably otherwise would not have been built given all the other needs. I don't think it negates the other needs at all...

Why was it "the right thing" to allow the county mayor to usurp a capital plan that the school board had already approved in three separate votes?

More to the point, how can you suggest that it was "the right thing" while acknowledging that the new school "probably otherwise would not have been built given all the other needs?"

And how can you possibly suggest that spending nearly $14 million on a project that might have been completed for 1/4 that amount doesn't "negate other needs?" Of course it does.

The renovated school would not have brought it up to the "program standards" and would have added no new classrooms.

I don't know what these "program standards" are, but the 541 students at Carter Elementary had a building. About four times that many elementary students countywide don't. They're in rusty trailers on back parking lots.

Furthermore, we don't generally build "new classrooms" onto schools that aren't expecting any "new students."

It is shameful that we have schools in Knox County that are not equal to the others and I would support any effort by another community that is willing to work hard as Carter has to make a school happen for them.

If it is "shameful," you might have explained that to the Carter community. Aside from these 2000-ish students who don't have any building at all, these are also thousands of elementary students in 16 schools older than theirs.

And it should never, ever be about how hard a school community is "willing to work," if that's what you're calling this year-long investment in lobbying and lurid tee shirts.

It should be about tackling our capital projects in a strict priority order, for the least amount possible, so that all may benefit from our scarce dollars.

Knox County Schools can't absorb Tim Burchett's brand of "fiscal conservatism" for too damned many years.

(Duplicate post from KNS. Reference to "MGH" is some troll over there threatening to replace every school board member who did NOT support a new facility for Carter Elementary.)

Hmmm. I see one school board member who wasn't looking very far ahead...

What one school has been on and then off the KCS capital plan more than any other school in the county?

Adrian Burnett, in Kim Sepesi's district.

What one school has had more rusty trailers (13 classrooms) on the back lot housing more students (300) for more years (30) than any other school in the county?

Powell Elementary, in Kim Sepesi's district.

What do two schools now on the KCS capital plan and asked to be content with just $2 million and $3.8 million respectively in scheduled renovations have in common?

They're Fountain City Elementary and Gresham Middle, both in Kim Sepesi's district.

With at least four of her own school communities furious with her, MGH will want to start looking for a replacement for Kim Sepesi first--and she'll be glad for the help.

That poor woman can run, but she can't hide.

What do two schools now on the KCS capital plan and asked to be content with just $2 million and $3.8 million respectively in scheduled renovations have in common?

They're Fountain City Elementary and Gresham Middle, both in Kim Sepesi's district.

I should have pointed out that Fountain City Elementary and Gresham Middle are both older than Carter Elementary, too.

Look, Lisa--
I respect the fact that you are an advocate for east Knox County. That being said, these justifications are weak to anyone who is not. Holston and Fulton are many times bigger, building-wise, than Carter Elementary, so I cannot see that those comparisons are useful. This was an emotional issue for folks out there and they won, although the wheels could fly off this deal at several pressure points.
I hear it's real hard to sell a golf course nowadays...

We did not get a "new" school for Powell Middle. The school was renovated.

They had to add enough new classrooms (12-ish?) to move 300 kids out of the trailers they'd been in for 30 years.

They also had to renovate every last existing classroom to turn 6 or so "quads"--housing over 100 kids each and lacking both doors and permanent walls to separate them into smaller groups--into classrooms (another 24-ish?).

They also had to add a cafeteria, as the school had lacked both cooking facilities and any area where tables could remain set up. Previously, meals had been delivered from the high school twice daily and a wheeled serving line/wheeled folding picnic-type tables had been unfolded/folded back up twice daily. The whole kaboodle had been stored along the walls of the front lobby.

By necessity, it was an extensive renovation. But it WAS a renovation.

For twice as many kids as attend Carter Elementary.

The next steps include acquiring the remainder of the money — with the school district's $2.5 million, the county already has about $9 million in the bank for the project, Burchett said.

It would appear the county has $6.5 million in the bank after subtracting the $2.5 million in school district funds from the total of $9 million. Other than the Bigfoot/Greenwaste sale, has the county sold any other assets to fund the school?

there was also a settlement that went into the carter fund. here's the breakdown: (link...)

"Looks like Burchett will pass up the opportunity to pay off that $3.4 million with the proceeds of the refinance, instead direct the proceeds to a new Carter Elementary, and claim the new school is being "built without debt?!"

That's how I read it, too.

Oh, Indya, I am a friend of yours but...

Not only did this vote perpetuate the "old way of doing things" (whose turn it is, who is most vocal), and to great financial cost, it also invited the county mayor and the county commission to once again try and usurp the school board's statutory authority in decisions of this sort.

You didn't live here in Knox County through the years that school board lawsuit against commission was open, but it was an exceedingly important issue in which the school board ultimately prevailed (they really lost just one of four points they raised, namely that they weren't able to hire their own attorney, after all).

Embattled former superintendent Charles Lindsey did leave this one legacy behind: He succeeded in demanding the school board's authority under statute.

Concerns for the school system's woeful funding aside, I'm now worried that even Lindsey's baby step in the right direction has been ceded.

This vote had implications beyond just whether Carter Elementary would be renovated or built anew.

One last point about this "old way of doing things" regarding capital projects:

It has been a longstanding assumption on the part of school board members that, following completion of a school renovation or construction project, any residual balance remaining in a given school's "construction account" remains with that district's board representative to dole out to other schools in that same board district.

Frankly, my own community recently benefitted from this same questionable process for allocation of capital funding. A $1.2 million residual balance from the completed Brickey-McCloud Elementary project in the Seventh District gravitated to Powell Middle in the same Seventh District, so that Powell Middle could jumpstart its renovation with just the addition of its new cafeteria. I nevertheless objected to the process for the allocation to former Seventh District board member Rex Stooksbury. I had also objected to the process to former superintendent Charles Lindsey and to Third District board member Cindy Buttry.

It's a process that sometimes causes the school board to tackle its projects in other than a strict priority order across all board districts.

It's also a process that is sometimes used to dole out capital monies, albeit in smaller amounts, in a manner well-coordinated with the re-election of incumbent board members.

So it stinks two ways and you see why all residual monies need to go back into the systemwide "pot" for thoughtful redistribution.

Concerning Lisa's (and Conley Underwood's) objection that a $2.5 million renovation budget was too little to accomplish what Carter Elementary needed, I called them both to suggest that they confront the school board about the manner in which residual balances are sleathily distributed from these "construction accounts." I suggested that they could possibly demand the end to the practice and, in the process, "find" additional amounts available for a more extensive renovation of Carter' school. I spoke first with Lisa's husband directly, then with Lisa, and left two messages for Conley Underwood.

This community's leaders had no interest in ending the "old way of doing things" and they had no interest in obtaining monies adequate for more extensive renovations to their school, either.

The "old way of doing things" has worked very well for them so far.

We should fully expect to see more of this same approach from both this school community and every other to have observed their success.

And I'll make this pitch one more time, too:

The Knox County Board of Education needs a formula to aid them in these "apples to oranges to tangerines" comparisions they have to make (old schools versus overcrowded schools versus too small schools) in preparing their capital plan.

If TACIR can develop a formula for distributing the state's billions to school districts, surely they're a party who could assist in a much smaller effort of this sort.

Short of TACIR's help, CTAS is another agency that comes to mind.

All that's been missing has been the will to do it.

It's past time for the school board to be able to explain and defend its capital planning decisions.

I'd say bringing the fee offices to heel was Job One.
The Great Severance Debacle came first, chronologically, but it kinda snuck up on him.

Sorry to be late to weigh in, but the school board members -- each of them -- wrestled with this issue and ultimately made the best vote in their mind for the kids of Knox County.

The Carter parents advocated for their school and community. That's their democratic right.

Where were those of you who now write to condemn Indya and the others when the Carter School issue was being discussed (for about 3 years)? Come on down to the school board and sound off. The Carter parents sure did. -- s.

I can respect Indya's choice to just get out of the way and let the kids have a new school. Burchett's stance has been 'I don't have the authority, but I've got the money. Can I please?' This is clearly not how the county is supposed to operate, but a lot of people have been willing to overlook that because they support what the outcome. That's a shame, but I'm not sure it's the school board's place to enforce the Charter.

The real questions with this money are still in Burchett's lap. Does he have the authority to dedicate proceeds from a legal settlement to a specific school? Does he have unilateral authority to declare land holdings as surplus? Can he hold an auction prior to Commission voting to sell? I'm not sure the answer to any of those questions is yes.

Thank you to all that were involved.

The 911 center, etc. votes are supposed to take place at the end of the month.

Rubber stamp.
Like the early days of Ragsdale. He was elected with 100% of the vote.

Yes, my apologies, it was an renovation instead of a new building - for about $15.5 million dollars, which is about six times more than was allocated for Carter Elem. And the enrollment isn't twice Carter's either. In November 2010, Powell Middle had 909 students to Carter's 521.

I do realize it is a middle school instead of an elementary school, but the school needs shouldn't be THAT different.

Lisa, like I twice explained, the Powell Middle renovation/addition project entailed gutting the entirety of the existing building (to renovate classrooms for 600) and nearly doubling the size of the building with an addition (to create new classrooms for 300 in trailers), all in the interest of creating 36-ish classrooms total.

I believe the Carter Elementary project proposed just four classrooms?

Seeing as how the Powell facility required 9 times the number of classrooms as the Carter facility required, I would expect those costs alone to run 9 times--not 6 times--the Carter costs.

Then too, the Powell facility required a cafeteria the Carter facility already has.

To be sure, all new construction of the extensive changes required at the Powell facility would have doubled the project's cost, from $15 million to more like $30 million, I'd guess.

Given the scope of work required at Powell, then, the renovation/addition was much more thrifty than would have been all new construction.

I suppose this topic of relative thrift is lost on the Carter community, though, and has become a moot point since last night's vote.

Look for me to begin counseling the county commission on the same subject, as relates to the creative financing Mayor Burchett apparently intends to propose.

Although KNS did not share in any recent news story Dr. McIntyre's five-page August 4 memo to school board members, in which he rather reluctantly suggested to them that they approve construction of a new Carter Elementary, a KNS poster linked the memo in a comment thread.

I had read it there previously and meant to search it out yesterday, to link it here, but got around to it only tonight.

Dr. McIntyre's justified distaste for the process leading to his recommendation is apparent.

Here are his concluding paragraphs:

Therefore, the new and substantively different question that has been posed to the Board of Education is essentially this: “Will you accept a new Carter Elementary School building for the same cost of a renovation?”

This is an incredibly difficult decision, and I suspect some Board members will come down on either side of it. To his credit, the Mayor has consistently acknowledged that the construction of school facilities is the School Board’s prerogative and cannot move forward without the Board’s approval. In addition, Mayor Burchett has committed to a funding strategy which addresses the Board’s expressed requirement that this potential school construction project have absolutely no additional impact on current or future budgets for the Knox County Schools.

At this point in time, as I think about the question of whether the Board should accept the parameters of the Mayor’s proposal, I consider whether the history, context, and evolution of this situation (as described above) should be grounds to reject this proposal. Should the deficiencies and challenges of this governmental interaction be reason enough to decline more than $13 million dollars that would otherwise support the children of our community?

Ultimately, as I have carefully considered this issue, I do not believe that an unappealing public policy process is sufficient reason to withhold a potential benefit to our children. Therefore, with the reservations articulated in this memorandum, I respectfully recommend to the Board of Education that you approve the proposed agreement to authorize the construction of a new Carter Elementary School, to be paid for primarily by Knox County.

The School Board’s counsel, Mr. Michael Kelley has worked diligently to ensure that the proposed agreement has appropriately memorialized the Mayor’s current proposal, and protects the vital interests of the Board of Education and the children of the Knox County Schools.

Personally, I hold no hope whatsoever that the decision will have "no additional impact on current or future budgets for the Knox County Schools."

I get a sinking feeling about the manner in which those future budgets will likely be adopted, too.

Yes, that 8/6 story is the one in which "AnInformedOpinion" posted McIntyre's memo in comments (at 10:33 a.m.).

On reading the memo, I did conclude that "Opinion" is correct that McIntyre was still working diligently to uphold the board's statutory authority, and I did agree with her assessment that he wasn't any co-conspirator in trying to assert "mayoral control" of schools locally via this issue (nor through any other issue, as best I can tell).

Mayor Burchett's own motives in this mess, though, are much less clear.

I'm afraid "Opinion" is quite mistaken, though, about the background of Broad Superintendents Academy grads more generally. His/her assertion that 75% of them are education porfessionals is exactly backwards. Until very recently, the bios of members in each and every Broad "class" over the last decade were available at their site and a truer picture emerges that more like 75% of them are not education professionals.

(Within their Broad Residents program, which produced our two new Broadies here locally, more like 100% are not education professionals.)

I have to say that I like Jim McIntyre on a personal basis and I can't at all find fault with his decisions to date--excepting this one.

It's only since I've learned so much lately about Broad's role in this "education reform" effort that I've scrutinzed him so much more closely, trying to discern motive.

In this particular decision, I'm afraid he was just sorely lacking in institutional knowledge about the school board's historic relationship with commission and the mayor.

And he was painfully naive.