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Commission asks school board to stop stalling on East Ridge elementary schools

By: Kelli Gauthier
(Contact)

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Kenny Smith

Some people in East Ridge are sick of waiting for the school board to make a decision about plans for two elementary schools, officials said.

Last school year, the Hamilton County Board of Education began talking about whether to combine East Ridge and McBrien elementary schools in a large “megaschool” or build one smaller facility to house only East Ridge students.

At Wednesday’s Hamilton County Commission meeting, Commissioner Curtis Adams asked, “What’s the school board waiting on?”

He said he received an e-mail from McBrien Elementary faculty supporting the consolidation.

School board Chairman Kenny Smith, who represents East Ridge, said he made a promise to East Ridge parents that the board would take no action on the issue until this school year. Now that school has been in session for more than a month and people are “settled in,” Mr. Smith said, it is time to tackle the issue.

“Last spring, the parents asked the panel to ‘Please don’t make a decision during the summer while students were on break,’” he said. “I promised them that night that we wouldn’t vote or make a decision during the summer, and I’ve stood by that.”

Commissioner Larry Henry agreed that schools in the county with low enrollment need to be consolidated for better use of funding and space.

“We’ve got to get real with the times,” he said.

The McBrien and East Ridge schools are located less than a mile from each other. East Ridge has about 300 students, while McBrien’s population is nearly 550.

The board is planning one last community meeting Sept. 29 and hopes to make a decision at its Oct. 23 meeting, Mr. Smith said.

Mr. Smith said he has fielded at least 200 calls about the schools, 75 percent of which favor of consolidation. The remaining calls have been in favor of building a replacement school only for East Ridge.

“I’ve been slammed by the community, telling me to get it done,” Mr. Smith said. “I’m not stalling. I’m doing what I promised the citizens of East Ridge I’d do, so the parents would know what’s coming and wouldn’t be blindsided.”

Staff writer Matt Wilson contributed to this story.

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