At the Feb. 7 meeting of the Macon County School Board, discussions continued regarding proposed building projects that include a new elementary school and a new vocational school.
The new elementary school has been in consideration since the early 2000s, but until roughly two years ago, the project was unable to get off the ground.
“For about 23 years we’ve been trying to get this elementary school,” said Macon County School Board Chairman Dale Hix. “We definitely need a new school. If you look at Fairlane Elementary and Lafayette Elementary, you’ll know that. Central Elementary is the best of the three, and it was built in 1964.
“Everybody wants the new elementary school. It’s just nobody wants to pay for it.”
However, in addition to a new elementary school, the school district is also looking at the need for a new vocational school that will exclusively serve Macon County students.
“Currently, our vocational school students at Red Boiling Springs High School and Macon County High School go to the old vocational school at the intersection of Macon County, Clay County, and Jackson County,” said Macon County Director of Schools Shawn Carter. “It’s Tri-County Vocational. But Clay County pulled out several years ago when they built their new high school with a vocational wing. So, it’s just been us and Jackson County. We send a great deal more students there than Jackson County does. They actually send some of their students to Livingston since it is as close. Plus, they have different offerings.
“Our instructors at the vocational school are supplied by TCAT (Tennessee College of Applied Technology) in Hartsville. TCAT Hartsville wants to pull out of that building. My understanding is that they don’t serve enough kids to justify the amount of time driving there. But they said if that we build a school in Lafayette, they would continue to educate our kids. So, we are going to have to come up with a vocational school as well. TCAT wants to be out in three years counting this school year. So, we’re trying to get something in place prior to that happening.”
Although the county is in desperate need of both new schools, cost is a major factor in being able to commence with the projects.
“We want to build the new elementary school as big as we can afford to build it,” said Carter. “So, we’re working off what money we think that we can make a monthly payment on.”
Hix added, “The county is not giving us any more money than what they’ve already given us in the half-cent sales tax and the impact fee money for the new elementary school.”
But the Macon County Commission is deriving a plan to help alleviate some of the burden on the school district for one of the two building projects.
“The commission voted (at its work session) to send on to the full body for a vote, that if we pay for the elementary school, they’d pay for the vocational school,” said Carter. “They have to vote it in, and there is no guarantee that they will, but they see the need for a vocational school, and they know we are under the wire before TCAT Hartsville pulls out. They also know that not every child is going to go to college, and not every child needs to go to college. With our area being predominately rural, there is a great need for vocations.”
Although there has been no final decision yet, the county commission will vote on the issue at its meeting on Feb. 21.
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