Public school meetings draw mixed reactions

The local elementary schools held parent meetings April 5, 7 and 11 at which the members of the board of education and members of the county commission listened to comments and fielded questions regarding the current options on the table for the county schools. Board of education member Betsy Dillon was unable to attend any of the meetings due an illness in the family.

During these meetings, the school principals told the boards and audience what facility needs they face for the upcoming school year, while representatives from Pinnacle Architecture briefed the audience on options the school system is currently exploring. Sparta School

“What I’m asking of this board (referring to board of education) is that you all get a backbone and do what’s best for our kids because we knew then (when the Sparta School was built in 1996) “that it would not meet the needs and that it was just a Band-Aid and it wouldn’t solve our problems,” expressed parent Penny Smith. “You know that Sara Lee is not an option and apparently, the seven-eight should not be an option if everything is geared toward six-eight. You need to do what’s best for our kids.”

This was just one of the few opinions expressed by those attending the April 5 parent meeting at Sparta School.

Originally planned to be held in the cafetorium, the meeting was moved to the auditorium in expectation of a large turnout.

“There were about 75 people in the audience,” board of education members Charles Joines, Faron Atwood and Joel Souther confirmed. Murphy later confirmed that “about 12” of the adults present were parents. The remainder were staff members.

Larry Kupner was the first to address the boards.

“What type of time frame are we looking at on making a decision?” Joines answered, noting the meetings at the other elementary schools.

“As soon as those meetings are completed, I would say within a couple weeks at the most, we will be able to give our architects some firm directions I hope, in that period of time.”

Mitch Franklin addressed the board and asked the validity of the Sara Lee option. The knitting plant is noted as part of Option A, in which the facility would be utilized for pre-school through second grade classes. However, Joines explained that at this time, the plant is not an option.

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