LEBANON, Tenn. -- A Wilson County School board member says the district used
inaccurate information to justify getting the new Lebanon High School built. It
comes as school leaders tried to convince hundreds of parents Saturday morning
that the old facility can be transformed into a middle school.
Things quickly got heated as parents and teachers demanded that their voices
be heard. School board members are trying to determine how to address
overcrowding at three kindergarten through eighth grade schools.
Architects presented plans about how to expand Tuckers Crossroads, Carroll
Oakland and Southside elementary schools. They also discussed what it would
take to retrofit the old Lebanon High School for nearly 640 6th, 7th and 8th
graders. It would dismantle the K-8th grade concept parents say
benefits their children.
"What is the environmental condition of this school," parent Eric
Wilcox asked.
Concerns with mold, leaking water and asbestos were all reasons why the
board lobbied for a new high school to be built.
"When people try to justify things they use any measure that they
can," School Board Chairman Don Weathers said. "There was some information
that the school system put out that was just not proper in the justification
for the new Lebanon High School."
If pursued, Weathers says students will only be in the parts of the building
where the problems have been addressed.
"This building right now is perfectly suited for a school."
But many parents and teachers are just not buying it.
"I don't think we heard enough from the architects," Wilcox said.
"There are…several things they have not looked at."
The district is paying $30,000 a month just to maintain the empty high
school, which is why school leaders want to figure out what to do with it.
Another meeting will be scheduled where the board will hear input from the
community.
