I was not going to write this article because so many of us who live here in Red Bank know that three of our commissioners don’t listen to anything that the citizens have to say, but my message is important to me as a person who has spent my entire career as a teacher.
I do not understand the rationale behind the Red Bank Commission’s flippant vote to do away with the only elementary school left in the city since Red Bank Elementary School was moved down the road to the Mountain Creek community in 1999, leaving the city of Red Bank with only Alpine Crest Elementary School. What possible argument can be made that the city of Red Bank is better off with no elementary school for the first time since 1913. How can those commissioners possibly rationalize bussing our little children to an uber-busy city thoroughfare (Hixson Pike), to a mega-sized school (four elementary schools combined), in an industrial area of town (near DuPont) when we already have the perfect spot for a brand-new elementary school in the heart of Red Bank; and the Hamilton County Department of Education agrees with me.
When citizens of Red Bank found out about the closing of our last elementary school, many of them wrote letters to members of the Hamilton County Board of Education and to the Hamilton County commissioners asking them to reconsider leaving the city of Red Bank without an elementary school. So, HCDE approached Red Bank commissioners about swapping the Alpine Crest property for the old Red Bank Middle/High property on Dayton Boulevard that has sat empty since 2013. Presently, half of that property is grown up in waist high weeds, which makes it unusable for any Red Bank residents. That Dayton Boulevard property seemed to be the perfect solution to the problem.
But, I sat in disbelief at a Red Bank Commission meeting when Commissioners Stefanie Dalton, Hayes Wilkinson, and Holli Berry, all of whom have or will have elementary school children in Red Bank, voted “No” when presented with a Hamilton County Department of Education offer to negotiate a swap for the Dayton Boulevard property for Alpine Crest Elementary, which includes 17 acres, a possible site for a future community center, an arbor program which is already in effect there, and plenty of room for a beautiful community park.
These three commissioners would not agree to the swap, then tried to stiff arm the HCDE (like they have done the citizens of Red Bank with a 10 percent property tax increase plus a 52 percent property tax increase within 18 months) by offering to give HCDE $1,000,000 to build an elementary school at the old White Oak Elementary site, plus offering to obligate the citizens of Red Bank to be responsible for the surrounding infrastructure costs, which nobody seemed to have a price for. HCDE said, No!”
Strategically, there is plenty of room on the Dayton Boulevard property to incorporate a school, a large playing field for children and neighborhood families to use, a playground, and a walking track that all Red Bank citizens could utilize. Having a centrally located walking track and green space would promote healthier lifestyles for citizens young and old. Young families moving to this area look for good schools, and business improves when new families buy homes near schools.
Plus, neighborhood schools create lifelong friendships because you share a special bond with the people you grow up with. Parents are generally more involved in neighborhood schools. They attend more meetings and volunteer more. Neighborhood schools promote community continuity and pride in your neighborhood. Being proud to be a Red Bank Lion really means something to people who grew up here, and not just another chance for a photo opt. Parents are often involved in adult education classes, skills courses, and technical training at neighborhood schools. Also, many parents would be able to walk their children to and from school, which promotes physical fitness.
So, why won’t the three commissioners vote to swap property with HCDE so we can continue to have a needed elementary school in Red Bank? It’s because they have chosen their own special interest over our kids. Their friends are a group of folks, like them, who have only moved here in recent years and who think that the Dayton Boulevard property belongs to them. They don’t care what the residents want. Their plan is to build a mega park that is similar to Coolidge Park. They preach that a city can’t be vital without parks, which we already have: White Oak Park, which few Red Bank residents use; Kids’ Corner park; Joe Glasscock Center playground; 12 acres in north Red Bank that has been purchased for a park; plus ball fields in White Oak; a walking track and ball fields at RBHS; several large pieces of land behind the high school that are being considered for parks; and numerous walking and bike trails. I believe that having an elementary school makes a city much more “vital” than a gob of parks, especially in a city that, for the most part, is less than a mile wide and six miles long. How many parks do we need?
Then, in the past few weeks, the city of Red Bank coordinated a meeting with the Red Bank community and TWS, a consulting firm, that has been hired to develop a comprehensive and small area plan, at a cost of $150,000. TWS developed three suggestions for the property, all of which include green/park space, business options, and some high-density housing. All three of these options are similar to the design that the previous commission approved, which would have been similar to Cambridge Square in Ooltewah to be built on the Dayton Boulevard property. Residents who attended the meeting were asked to vote on the option that they liked most. The results of the voting have not been made public yet.
I am going to continue to voice my opinion concerning our need for an elementary school in Red Bank, which is what makes sense to me; but like Jim Croce sang, I know that I’m “spitting into the wind.” There is no transparency in Red Bank. Gathering votes from a community meeting is just a ploy. No matter what I say, no matter what the citizens of Red Bank assert, and no matter what consulting firms suggests, the same three Red Bank commissioners will only represent their friends, who demand that the 12 acres on Dayton Boulevard be used as a park. That’s how they’ll vote. All three will choose special interest over our kids in Red Bank.
Link Sparks