CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) -The Montgomery County Commission meeting was held  Monday, Dec. 9 and on the agenda were several resolutions to approve funding to the Clarksville Montgomery County School system for construction projects to address the quickly growing student population.

  • In a 21-0 vote, funding was approved for a 12-classroom addition at Rossview Elementary School. The County Commission already appropriated architect fees for this project, adding 12 classrooms to the school, which is currently at 124 percent of its capacity.

District 1 Commissioner John Gannon referenced a Leaf-Chronicle article where Jim Sumrell, Chief Operations Officer for CMCSS, was quoted saying ‘…Parents have overwhelmingly told the school system they prefer portables over rezoning. People don’t want to be rezoned. They live in the house they live in because they want the children to go to the school that house is zoned in… for the last couple of years, our philosophy will be that we do a major rezoning when we open the new school on Rossview Road. ”

Gannon asked that verbiage in the Rossview resolution should show that there will be a major rezoning when a new school is built.

Gannon said. “We are stewards of the taxpayers’ money and we must look at rezoning as an alternative.”

The County Commission approved the following resolutions in unanimous 21-0 votes.

  • A $300,000 renovation of the former New Providence Elementary School, which has been leased to a retired teacher and former county commissioner for use 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.
  • A $130,000 design fee to expand West Creek Elementary School with 12 additional 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.
  • A $155,000 architect fee for a 12-classroom addition to 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’s expansion.

Deferred until 2020 was the resolution to purchase and renovate the Emmanuel Family Life Center. The $4 million purchase at 303 Fairview Lane for the new location of the CMCSS Spanish Immersion Program, now located at Barksdale Elementary, was asked to be revisited after more information was gathered. The program, which started with two kindergarten classes in 2018, will grow to 12 classrooms by 2023.

Ganon said before purchasing the building they should have an appraisal, building inspection and survey of the property to make sure the building  is ‘sound and intact.”

The motion to defer until Jan. 13 passed in a 21-0 vote.