Lookout Mountain, Tn., Residents Up In Arms Over Possible Closure Of School; Town Has 18 Car Break-Ins In 1 Night

  • Thursday, August 15, 2019
  • Gail Perry

The August meeting of the Lookout Mountain, Tn. commission was packed with residents who are concerned about the Hamilton County School Board’s proposal to close Lookout Mountain Elementary School. One resident said the half million-dollar study commissioned by the school board was conducted by MGT consultants, who took nothing into consideration except “raw data” regarding efficiency and condition of the buildings. The resident said, “What is happening in the buildings was not included in the report they created.

It seems like part of Hamilton County’s job would be to already know their buildings better” before spending that much money."    

 

School board member Jenny Hill, who represents Lookout Mountain in District 6, was present for discussion and to answer questions. Dr. Louie Meier, who has three sons at the school, noted that some of the recommendations for the district included closing old schools but building another, larger one in the same area. There is no proposal for replacing LMS with another. This brought into question the difference in costs of maintaining the building versus the cost of sending buses up and down the mountain to carry students to other facilities.

 

The study also neglected to put a value on a beloved school which has been a Reward School for the past nine years and which has tremendous community support, it was stated. Dr. Meier questioned how a building score translates into performance. “This isn’t just data,” he said. “The community has a shared investment of time and money in the school” that has been designated a Rewards School for nine years. “This is a blueprint that works,” said Dr. Meier.

 

Carol Mutter, past mayor of the town, asked if MGT was aware of the fact that the town is unique in that it has its own school board to ensure excellence and that the town provides LMS with several hundred thousand dollars each year to supplement what Hamilton County provides.

 

Principal of the school Ruth White told Ms. Hill of the community’s involvement and investments at the school. As examples, she said that when the skating rink flooded, three entities came together to pay the insurance deductible and parent volunteers updated the gym last year. This fall the PTA is renovating the auditorium with money it has raised. "We have spent a lot of money ourselves to keep up the school," she said. The “efficiency rating” left out a lot of important information, she maintained.

 

Another resident said, "I think that Hamilton County Schools have more academic problems than facilities problems. Academics is not the problem at LMS." Ms. Hill answered that student performance is the number one area of focus, and there is a lot of progress needed. Efficiency and effective operations are second in importance to the board, she said. If performance is the most important consideration, then it makes no sense to even consider closing a school with such successful student outcomes, said multiple residents. 

 

From the school's founding in 1878 to the present, Lookout Mountain, Tn. has always considered community support and parental involvement for helping to ensure a quality education, residents said. The town has also built the gym and a wing onto the school that houses an art and music room. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been given to the school throughout the years, contributing to achieving the highest level of student performance. This model is the “gold standard,” for supporting public education yet it appears that you are pushing aside the community piece,” said School Commissioner Don Stinnett.

 

In agreement, Ms. Hill said her concern was that she wished there were more students at the school. This year enrollment has increased 12 percent, said Commissioner Stinnett while the average increase across the district is just five percent. Principal White, who accompanied representatives from MGT during their evaluation of the building, said in their goal to be 100 percent efficient, they wanted to turn the music, art rooms and literacy lab all into classrooms. LMS currently has students from Elder Mountain and would welcome additional students from St. Elmo if the school board would allow it, it was stated.

 

"You need to be careful about closing neighborhood schools and building 'Walmart schools' that do not produce stellar students," said one speaker. Decisions should be based on results, not efficiency, she said.

 

The next step, said Ms. Hill, will be a meeting that will include the school board and the County Commission, followed with community meetings. She said to expect the meeting involving LMS would likely be held in conjunction with the other schools in District 6. “We want a forum to be held for Lookout Mountain,” said Commissioner Stinnett. “I am your ally, not adversary,” said Ms. Hill, although she would not denounce what was in the report and said she was happy with the report because “they’ve done their work well.” “I’m taking your word that you’re on our side,” said Commissioner Stinnett. "I’d challenge the consultants to back up their theory that 'Walmart schools' increase performance and extracurricular activity."

 

In regular business, Ruth White recapped the few days since the school year began. Enrollment is up 12 percent this year, she said, and kindergarten started this week. Lion’s Day will be on Friday. She also thanked the police department for being just a phone call away. In all, it has been a most successful beginning of school, she said.

 

Commissioner of Parks and Playgrounds Brooke Pippenger announced that the movie night at The Commons sponsored by Love Lookout will be Aug. 16 beginning at 6:30 p.m. with food trucks available. The movie will start at 8:45.

 

Flag football for boys and girls in third, fourth and fifth grades begins in mid-September. Sign-ups are on leagues.bluesombrero.com//mrb. This year the sport of cheerleading is being considered for third through fifth graders. Parents should contact Scott Shell at 821-6212 if interested. Soccer practice starts next week. The newly painted skating rink is now complete.

 

Commissioner Jim Bentley reported statistics from the fire and police departments for the month of July. They show police received 249 calls and 36 calls were made to 911.The department patrolled 4,982 miles, responded to 13 false burglar alarms, four fire alarms, all false and to one auto fire. There were six assist citizen calls in July and 17 medical calls, 12 in Tennessee and five in Georgia. Police responded to two auto accidents without injuries, made 156 traffic stops, gave 15 parking citations and made two arrests, one was traffic related and the other was in response to a burglar alarm call. During the second week in August, on one night, there were 18 vehicles broken into. Everything taken was recovered except for cash, he said, and the Chief warned residents to lock their cars. Since school has started, the police have been conducting a speed reduction campaign. “Don’t speed around the school or you’ll be sorry,” said Chief Wells.

 

Lookout Mountain, Tn. received $693,000 from the state Hall Tax in 2018. As the tax is being phased out, this year the town had estimated it would receive $350,000. Instead the actual figure came in at $287,000 - 80 percent of the anticipated amount. Mayor Walker Jones said next year around $150,000 would be budgeted for the tax and in two years it will be gone. He said, "It impacts us, so in the future we will have to increase taxes to make up for the loss."

 

The mayor also reminded residents that the WWTA will be on the mountain until next June working on a $5.5 million sewer rehabilitation project. He said the streets will be narrowed to one lane where they are working and that people should be aware and careful. He also said that the Market on the Mountain is anticipated to open for Labor Day or sometime in September.

 

Frank Schriner, commissioner of public works said the department is making progress on filling pot holes, and is  around 50 percent finished. Brush removal is a little behind, but given time it will be done. In September road striping will begin.

 

A variance request by Daniel Lindley for property that he bought at 725 East Brow Road was denied. The variance was to build a structure out from the house that would have reduced the 13-foot set-back to just one foot from a property line. Chief Wells’ objection was a safety issue because it would have restricted access for the fire department to the northeast corner of the house. The commissioners’ objection was consideration for owners of the surrounding real estate in the future, who would be left with little setback if a new house was ever built.

 

The next meeting of the Lookout Mountain, Tn. Commission will be Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 5 p.m.

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