The Bradley County school system is adding onto Valley View Elementary and starting a new Park View Elementary, but still is in need of new more new schools, the school board was told Thursday night.

A Growth Assessment and Facility Needs Plan was presented, showing another elementary and a middle school being the next needs for the county schools.

But the numbers did not reflect the huge new Volkswagen and Wacker plants, currently slated to bring in a host of new residents.

Director of Schools Johnny McDaniel, when asked what impact these two industries would have, cited the BMW plant in North Carolina and the fact that projections for growth there were underestimated. In his worst case scenario, there would be portable cities at schools experiencing excessive growth.

Board member Troy Weathers asked about the possibility of expanding the yet-to-be-built Park View Elementary to 600 students.

Construction manager proposals have been narrowed to three as presented by Bradley County BOE member Charlie Rose. The three were listed in alphabetical order: American Constructors, Merit Construction and Tri-Con.

Valley View Elementary addition is on schedule. The construction on the new Park View Elementary is ready to begin and waiting on the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). As soon as the green light is given, construction will begin.

In other action, Casey Brock, accused of having sexual contact with two male students, withdrew her request for a hearing and was terminated as a tenured teacher at Lake Forest Middle School.

The board voted to accept from the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department, three cars to be used for drivers education. The program was in jeopardy of being discontinued.

Budget amendments were approved to reflect stimulus funds from the state. A total of $4,234,371 was removed from the regular budget and into a General Purpose School Fund for reporting purposes. These stimulus funds will be received through the 2010-11 school year.

There is a question as to whether the programs funded by these stimulus funds will be discontinued after the 2011 school year. The state has used these funds to balance their budget, using $1.8 million to Bradley County to fund the BEP (Basic Education Program.

Director of Schools McDaniel noted that if these funds are eliminated in two years, Bradley County will not be the only system affected.

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