CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW)- The increase of the student population in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System has led to school officials proposing innovative ways to address the growth quickly and provide adequate learning space for students.
The Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board reviewed five proposals to partially address an ever-growing student population during its Tuesday, Nov. 5 study session.
Chief Operations Officer Jim Sumrell presented the Board members with a report on the school system’s current state of building capacity and recommendations for them to consider during their voting session on Nov. 12.
There are currently 36,627 students enrolled in the CMCSS, a 1,184 student increase from the highest reported enrollment in October 2018. The growth is expected to continue to increase over the years.
“We’ve been sharing consistent and factual data for four and a half years. These numbers are not fictitious. They are not made up. They are numbers we report to the state every 20 days,” Sumrell said when pointing to the staggering increase of students. “This presentation wasn’t a surprise to the Board members, or to the County Commission.”
Sumrell explained that the Operations Department does a “break-even analysis” so they know what the capacity is in any school zone and what the growth trajectory is.
“We then look at the past growth trends in that building and project for the future,” he said. “We develop our building plan from that.”
Elementary School additions
Of the 24 elementary schools, eight schools are at 100 percent capacity or more, with Rossview Elementary being at 124 percent, West Creek Elementary being at 111 percent and Oakland Elementary being at 114 percent.
CMCSS has spent over $1,036,000 on portable classrooms since building Oakland Elementary in 2015.
A proposal to build a new wing to Rossview Elementary that would include 12 additional classrooms, two restrooms, mechanical, technology, connector, and minor site and transportation modifications are estimated to cost $4.3 million dollars. The County Commission already appropriated architect fees for this project.
A similar 12 classroom, two restroom wing is proposed to be built at West Creek Elementary School, which would replace the six portable classrooms.
The school currently uses six portable classrooms and is in need of additional classrooms to provide a capacity for 1,040 students. The design selected for this project would be similar to the one for Barkers Mill Elementary’s expansion.
Oakland Elementary would also have a 12 classroom wing built on to the school. The estimated cost is $4.6 million.
A $155,000 architect fee would be needed to expand Oakland Elementary School, which is now at 114 percent of its capacity with six portable classrooms located at the site. The design selected for this project would be similar to the one for Rossview Elementary’sexpansion.
The Montgomery County School Board will have a vote of the resolution on Nov. 12. It then goes to the County Commission for review and a vote will be held on December 9, 2019.
Language Immersion Center
The CMCSS Spanish Language Immersion Program created at Barksdale Elementary in 2018 started with two kindergarten classes in 2018, will grow to 12 classrooms by 2023.
Barksdale Elementary, which is at 97 percent will exceed its capacity due to growth and for that reason a new space to house the program has been identified.
A new home is needed for the Language Immersion Program and a site has been recommended.
The Emmanual Family Center located at 303 Fairview Lane is currently for sale and would be converted into an educational learning space for the program and approximately $4 million would be taken from the Captial Project Fund for the project.
If all goes according to plans, the Language Immersion Center would open in Fall 2020.
Former NPES to house Adult Education
A resolution to turn the former New Providence Elementary School into the new Adult Education Center is a solution to accommodate additional alternative school program space at the Greenwood Complex.
The former NPES property at 207 Oak Street has been leased to Lettie Kendall since 1989 and Kendall is agreeable to enter into an updated lease with CMCSS that would allow the school system to use the building during normal school hours for the duration of the lease in June 2039.
A $300,000 renovation of the former New Providence Elementary School, which has been used first as a Head Start, then as a community building. Due to state-mandated requirements for alternative education, the Adult program that has operated at Greenwood Complex for more than two decades would be relocated to this building.
The building has been inspected and needs general renovations including mechanical and lighting upgrades, minor electrical, plumbing, lighting, alarm, structural and ADA repairs.
Approval to make renovations to the 18,450 square foot building, that has seven classrooms, four restrooms, and a gymnasium, will be voted on Nov. 12.
The Adult Education Center is currently located at the Greenwood Complex. That property would become the site of the Alternative School Program which would create 120 additional alternative school spaces at the Greenwood Complex and enhance the alternative school program.
The proposals, which take the form of formal resolutions, go before the School Board on Nov. 12 for a vote.
Once passed by the Board, the Montgomery County Budget Committee would then review the resolutions forwarding them for presentation to the entire County Commission on Dec. 2 and a formal vote on Dec. 9.
Need for new middle school
He went on to explain that in the early 1980s, CMCSS student enrollment was trending flat, but in 1985, it began a fast-paced upward trajectory.
Over the past 34 years, the growth averaged about 665 students a year, but in looking at more recent years, that average has increased to more than 1,000 students a year. “
There is nothing about that data that would tell us to stop building,” Sumrell said. The last school the County Commission approved was Oakland Elementary, which opened in 2015.
School officials have requested funds from county government for the past four years to build an eighth middle school. All seven middle schools are over capacity with 33 portable classrooms serving to alleviate overcrowding. Currently, CMCSS has a total of 107portable classrooms located across the system.
“There is nothing more that we can do to fix that without a new middle school,” Sumrell stated, adding that middle school expansions have already been built and additional expansions are not an option.
The original middle schools were built for 1,200 students. The expansions are built to serve 1,500, allowing for adequate needs for restrooms, cafeteria, and ancillary space. Rossview Middle School has the largest student body of 1,486.
The County is exploring a way to fast track a “design, build, delivery” model with property not yet purchased along Rossview Road.
“We want to open our eighth middle school in August 2022. With the delivery methods being discussed, they may find a way to make that happen. It’s our last best hope to get a middle school in 2022. If it doesn’t work out, it’ll be 2023,” Sumrell said.