CHEATHAM CO., Tenn. (WTVF) — The Cheatham County school board voted to stop exploring plans to close Pegram Elementary School on Thursday night after passionate pleas from the community to keep the school open.
The potential plan to combine Pegram with Kingston Springs Elementary became public last week. County Mayor Bill Anderson presented a plan that would make Pegram a community center in South Cheatham County. While the school board voted to move on from this idea, it is clear declining enrollment in the district needs to be addressed.
"For several years now we have had to use what is essentially our savings account to balance our budget. To keep the same services, keep the same staff, provide Christmas bonuses to our employees, provide pre-k programs, all of that has a cost to it," explained board member David Risner. "The pot of money is not growing to meet the demand of the cost of that."
"We can't not do anything. The financial situation is real. Yes, it is here at Pegram, it is in other areas, Mr. Riser's comments were solid, the truth is hard to hear sometimes. We've got an issue here," said Chairman Amber Locke.
Before the vote, parents from both schools and staff at Pegram spoke out against consolidating the elementary schools. They spoke on concerns about what a merger would mean for class sizes, how it would impact community growth years down the road, and transparency surrounding this entire process.
"We keep hearing how this decision is based on what's best for students, but I ask you, how is removing children from a school where they are thriving, placing them in a much larger population where their individual needs could be overlooked, and disrupting relationships that have made them be succsessful be in their best interest," questioned Sarah Spain, principal of Pegram Elementary.
"Our children are more than numbers on a spreadsheet," said parent Stephanie Gradone. "Consolidation should be the last resort, not the first solution."
The vote to stop the consolidation talks was unanimous. The crowd, mostly dressed in blue to support Pegram, erupted into applause. Director of Schools Stacy Brown said every cluster of schools needs a committee to find a way to improve enrollment. The board did express interest in creating a committee or committee in each district to look into growing enrollment across the county.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Megan.Scarano@NewsChannel5.com
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