Most County School Board members said Thursday they favor moving forward on an "out of the box" proposal to move Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts into the Sears portion of Northgate Mall.
Karitsa
Jones said other school systems across the country have taken similar steps earlier.
Tucker McClendon, who represents the section of East Brainerd where the school is now located, said the school has had remarkable success while in a building over 70 years old.
The proposal has the county schools winding up with over 12 acres of property at the mall site, including a large parking section.
On preliminary drawings, a soccer field is shown next to the school building as well as a new gymnasium and playgrounds.
Justin Robertson, chief operations officer, said the school could be built for much less than the initial projected cost of $65 million for a new K-12 school. It now is K-8.The cost was put at from $35 million to $38 million to acquire the property and convert it to a school.
It would be designed for from 1,200 to 1,300 students.
Mr. Robertson said the work would be "in the dry" and could be expedited to be ready for the start of school in 2021.
On security, he said the school property would be fenced and there would be no connection to the remainder of the mall.
Rhonda Thurman expressed opposition, suggesting instead that CSLA, as well as CSAS, become charter schools and come up with their own facilities since they are having to move from aged buildings.
She said the proposal would not do anything to help with overcrowding. Supt. Bryan Johnson said the CSLA property would be retained and could be used to build a new elementary school eventually.
Mr. Robertson said plans are underway to convert the former Mary Ann Garber Elementary in East Chattanooga into the Southeast Tennessee Building and Construction Center.
He said it would be for county students, but those from other areas as well.
Students would be trained so that they could enter the workforce upon completion of the program.
Mr. Robertson said problems had arisen during construction of the new Harrison Elementary School and it would not be ready until September - after school start time.
The board approved a new $2 million wing at Harrison Elementary, with the money coming from fund balance.