County School board members said Monday that plans presented at recent public meetings by a Florida consulting firm won't necessarily be how the planned school consolidation will shake out.
Board member Steve Highlander said, "They are looking at things from purely a numerical basis. We will take into account the human factor."
Tucker McClendon, who heads the school facilities committee, said additional public hearings would be held after the board reaches some consensus on possible school closings.
Supt. Bryan Johnson noted that the schools have been woefully short in keeping up with capital maintenance needs. Concerning a $200 million figure, he said, "It's significantly more than that."
Board member Rhonda Thurman hit a proposal to close Sequoyah Vocational School, saying it is kept clean and is in better shape than most current school buildings.
She said, "We have kept cutting programs at Sequoyah so then not as many students attend. We should be beefing up Sequoyah's program instead.
Ms. Thurman said Sequoyah is just off Highway 27 and said it would be much easier to reach than a school on Brainerd Road. One proposal is to convert Barger School to vocational use.
Mr. Highlander said vocational schools are so important that the system should keep both Sequoyah and Harrison Bay and also add a third on Brainerd Road.
Ms. Thurman also hit the idea of closing Lookout Mountain School, saying parents would not stand for "running the students up and down the mountain."