Karitsa Mosley Jones
School board member Karitsa Mosley Jones charged Thursday night that the planned Gateway School "is being shoved down our throats."
The Gateway School, which would be in a Westside building that the county recently bought for $10 million from BlueCross, was listed as the top facilities priority by Supt. Justin Robertson.
Ms. Jones said, "I know the desires of the county mayor, but we're the school board. I do not for the life of me understand how a choice school falls as a priority over a traditional school."
She said, "I don't have scales over my eyes. I've been bothered by how this project keeps getting pushed to the top. I feel like other persons' choices are trumping our choices."
Ms. Jones said, "Gateway - because it's somebody's great idea - comes to the top. That's bothering me because I'm not stupid. It's pretty clear and obvious what's happening here. There are people who sit around and make decisions, then pressure others.
"I can't support Gateway. With this current administration at the county our schools are being used as pawns to get what people want. I can't keep supporting that. I do not feel that children should be political pawns for political agendas when all our children want is to go to a school that's nice, where they can learn and don't stink and stuffs not falling off the wall."
Supt. Robertson replied, "I'm a little bit taken aback that you would suggest that I would do something for political reasons. That is inaccurate."
Ms. Jones said, "You know who I'm talking about."
Supt. Robertson said, "I know exactly."
He said, "The reason it is the number one priority is that it impacts the biggest number of kids of any project on this list."
Supt. Robertson said the plan is to have Center for Creative Arts move to the Gateway Building. He said that would free up the former City High School on Dallas Road for use by the Normal Park schools.
He said it is planned that the Gateway Center have an arts pathway as well as a career and technical pathway. He said the latter program would start out small with computer science. He said additional career paths could be added based on needs of businesses at the huge project called The Bend.
The Gateway School is due to eventually get up to $32 million from a Tax Increment Financing district that includes The Bend, it was stated. Supt. Robertson said that money would come in over an extended period.
Board member Marco Perez said, "The Gateway School is an exciting project, but we don't want to run out of money for other schools."
He said, "I don't have a clue where the money is coming from (for the major school building program). I call it magic money."
Mr. Perez listed several school projects ahead of Gateway on his priority list.
Board member Jill Black said Center for Creative Arts should not have other programs intermixed with it, saying over time it would "denigrate" the arts school.
She said, "I do not want the businesses at The Bend to get their fingers on the top arts program in the state of Tennessee."
Board member Rhonda Thurman also swiped at the Gateway project, saying, "It's going to take a whole new staff. It's going to cost us a million more."
She hit the fact that having a 6-12 Soddy Daisy High School was a priority over a new Soddy Daisy Middle School. She said, "I don't know anybody who's in favor of (the combined school)."
She said there was little room "up on the hill" at Soddy Daisy High, and said a rash of home building is underway that will further fill up the site. She said just staff members from the middle school would take up 75 parking spaces if moved on the hill.
Noting that the idea of the new Soddy Daisy Middle School was lower on the priority list than the combination, she said, "It's almost like you are holding us hostage. That is wrong."