Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences on East Third Street
photo by M.A. Locke
A plan to cut facilities costs at the Hamilton County Schools would have Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts and Normal Park in new locations.
Those touted magnet school programs are currently in some of the oldest county school buildings.
The Center for Creative Arts would also find a new home.
The preliminary plan by MGT Consultants has CSAS and CSLA moving to the Brainerd High School campus on North Moore Road. There would no longer be a Brainerd High School. Brainerd students would move to Tyner, Howard and East Ridge.
Officials said the current Brainerd High would be "repurposed" for use by CSAS and CSLA. CSAS would operate grades 6-12 in the current Brainerd High. The program would be expanded to serve 1,600 students. A new 1,200 student building would be constructed on the Brainerd High campus for CSLA K-5.
CSAS currently operates on East Third Street in a building designed by famed Chattanooga architect R.H. Hunt. Built in 1920-21, it first was the home of Chattanooga High School, then Riverside High School until 1983. Actor Samuel L. Jackson was among the students attending there. The current CSAS site would be sold.
CSLA is in another old county school on East Brainerd Road. School officials announced earlier that CSLA was to move to Tyner, but that plan was later shelved. The current CSLA would be torn down with the property retained for possible future school use.
Normal Park operates with an Upper School and a Lower School in old county school buildings in North Chattanooga.
The plan would be to move those students to Dallas Road in North Chattanooga to the old Chattanooga High School that has been serving as the Center for Creative Arts.
The Normal Park program would be consolidated into a 1,400 student K-12 magnet building.
Center for Creative Arts would move to the Dalewood Middle School site. The building would be renovated to add capacity for 1,400 students K-12.