Knox County Schools is considering closing four elementary schools as it faces continued budgetary pressures, Knox News has learned.
Corryton, Gap Creek, Maynard and South Knoxville elementary schools are potentially at risk of closure, school board chair Kat Bike confirmed, but "no proposal or recommendation to the board regarding consolidation" was made Oct. 23 at the board's annual workshop, KCS spokesperson Carly Harrington told Knox News.
School closures are among several options KCS leaders are considering in an effort to pare down the district's annual operating budget. Administrators also are considering rezoning, cutting spending on technology, changing staffing formulas, trimming employee contracts or altering school start/end times,
according to workshop documents.
Bike said she sees consolidation and rezoning as "last resorts."
"Our families and communities make up the funds for what is not funded in our schools," Bike told Knox News. "These families have put their hard-earned time and money into a school, and then you're asking them to just start fresh just because we decided that one school had more space than another."
Smaller schools cost the district more to operate, Harrington said. On average, a student attending a small elementary school can cost KCS over $20,000, while a student attending a larger school costs around $8,200. Costs include teacher and administrator salaries, maintenance expenses and supplies, for example.
"None of us want to do this, and we're all kind of mad," said school board member Brandy Jenkins, who represents Gap Creek and South Knox schools. "It's really expensive to run 91 schools. We either need the money to run the school, or this is what is happening."
The closures would not affect far western Knox County, which continues to grow. Farragut will get a new elementary school next year for 1,400 students and Mill Creek Elementary opened in 2023 for 1,200 students in Hardin Valley.
Nearly $8 million was unexpectedly cut by the state and county this summer, forcing the district to scramble at the last minute to reduce its annual budget to $710 million.
"From a business standpoint, I know there are things that have to be done, that we don't like, that are uncomfortable," Breyauna Holloway, who represents Maynard on the board, told Knox News. "From a personal standpoint, we have to face the reality that this is potentially more people without a job in an already uneasy economy."
The potential cuts are on top of the plan administrators announced last week to cut $4 million in district office salaries.
Bike said she did not see school closures as an option for the upcoming fiscal year.
Schools at risk of closing in Knox County
Corryton Elementary is in the eastern-most part of Knox County, between Emory Road and Washington Pike. It opened in 1914. Two hundred students are currently enrolled, per Harrington. The district spends $11,286 per student this year.
Gap Creek and South Knoxville are both in southern Knox County. Gap Creek is on the southern edge of the county, while South Knoxville is right across the Tennessee River from downtown. Gap Creek is home to 65 students, who cost $21,121 each to educate.
South Knoxville, a Title I school, has 165 students and opened in 1955, though the original school is much older. KCS spends $13,980 on each student.
Maynardis just west of downtown Knoxville on College Street. Also a Title I school, it's been open since 1897 and enrolls 100 students, who cost $28,007 each. The school was already slated for closure with the opening of the new K-8 school in 2029, but this would accelerate the timeline to close it before the new school is opened.
Why Knox County Schools is facing budget pressure
Nearly $8 million was cut from the KCS budget over the summer by the Knox County Commission and the state, which forced the district to rethink its budget moving forward.
The county commission voted in June to provide 6% raises to county employees, opting to divert $4 million from the KCS budget to pay county employees. KCS employees are not county employees.
Tennessee notified KCS it was cutting nearly $4 million in state funding two weeks after the county made its cuts. In addition to more than 100 cuts the board already had approved in the spring, KCS in July eliminated more positions and reassigned employees within the district to avoid layoffs, especially among school-based staff.
The district also opted to furlough year-round employees for five days during the school year to reduce the amount it had to pay in overall salaries by $1.28 million. The group of employees who are taking furloughs includes Superintendent Jon Rysewyk, as well as custodians, executive directors, executive principals and maintenance staff.
KCS employs 9,000 people and operates 91 schools. It is Tennessee's third-largest public school district.
Caitlyn Meisner is the K-12 education reporter for Knox News. Email tips and story ideas to caitlyn.meisner@knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County may consider closing these 4 elementary schools to save money | Exclusive
