Opinion


Just Put Red Bank Middle Where The Old School Is - And Response (2)

Friday, May 22, 2009

Why, why, why don't the county and the city Of Red Bank just build the new middle school where the old one is?

If you move it close to the high school, there will be traffic problems. There already is a traffic problem.

Red Bank wants to raise our property taxes and build a new town hall that they cannot afford. There is land already paid for, and room to build as well as establish new athletic fields at the current location.

What are you going to do with the old property? Build another strip mall that will sit empty? Think about it.

Lee Ann Hamilton
Red Bank

* * *

Where do 700 children attend school while demolition and new construction is proceeding at the same location? Surely, no one believes that a new school can be built at the same location in three months. God bless, the Department of Education and the architect trying to deal with Red Bank.

A new school should have ball fields and more room for outdoor activities to improve this school that is widely known for violence and about 150 plus suspensions a year, and in-school suspensions that are not recorded. Red Bank schools are referred to as the new "Howard and Hixson." The building is an absolute disgrace. Replace it and quit fighting over where it will be built.

The majority of students attending Red Bank Middle do not live in Red Bank city limits, and all Hamilton County residents are paying for this school. The new school should be placed at a location that is in the best interest of everyone, not just Red Bank.

Allen Edmonds
Chattanooga

* * *

As a Red Bank citizen, I believe this one is harder than one thinks. The planning of the new middle school is tough. There are several choices for the school building. The pros and cons of this subject need to be weighed. The citizens need to be in all the planning. This is our town.

The building at the present site has severed the city of Red Bank for 70 years. It is a piece of Red Bank history. The former Red Bank Elementary School use to sit in the town of Red Bank. The site was moved and a historical site went crumbling down. It is now the site of the Bi-Lo. The new Red Bank Elementary now sits outside the city of Red Bank.

The city of Red Bank is land locked. We do not have the land like the cities of Hixson and Soddy-Daisy. The best place for the new middle school would be the site of the former Bi Lo in North Red Bank.

Red Bank students that use to attend our schools now go elsewhere. The ones that attend Red Bank schools are from downtown and elsewhere. The Hamilton County School board and their re-zoning screwed up.

My neighborhood was always zoned for Red Bank schools. Now my neighborhood is zoned for Hixson schools. My neighborhood is a half mile from Red Bank Middle. A lot of families had to move so their children could go to Red Bank.

Let the Red Bank citizens vote for what is good for Red Bank. Losing the old Red Bank High School will be a sad day in the city of Red Bank. It is a huge part of the city. As for the city hall, we need a new one for we have outgrown the old one. I know the city cannot afford it.

As for the "bad students", Red Bank Middle children have not been on the news as much as other towns in the Chattanooga area. I am not implying that they are not bad students. All schools have "bad students".

Good luck to the city of Red Bank officials in planning for the school.

Laura Crane
Red Bank citizen
ToBSketching@aol.com


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