Knox County school board postpones decision on new northwest elementary school zone

The Knox County Board of Education delayed making a decision on the new elementary school zone slated for the northwest part of the county.

The vote Wednesday was 5 to 4, with District 2 representative Jennifer Owen making the motion to defer the decision for one month. The new school would pull in students from three existing, overcrowded schools: Ball Camp Elementary, Hardin Valley Elementary and Karns Elementary.

The board will look at additional population numbers and development projects for the Hayden Hills subdivision and Hardin Valley, where parents and residents have been the loudest in rejecting the new boundaries. Many are zoned for the new school but want to stay at Hardin Valley Elementary.

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"We're real grateful for this new school. The location of it is kind of wacky, but right now my son's in a double classroom with 42 students. So obviously we have problems. I just hope you all reconsider where the zones lie right now and what part of Hardin Valley ya'll are pulling from," said Anthony Peters, a resident of Hardin Valley.

Betsy Henderson, who represents several schools in the district, said she would like to see parents affected by the zoning have a choice to opt-out and stay at their current school.

But giving parents a choice is difficult when the Hardin Valley area is growing at its current speed.

"We have to look at numbers, especially in concentrated areas," said Assistant Superintendent of Operations Garfield Adams.

"What I'm afraid of is we have to come back to the table in a year, especially with the growth of 100 to 200 students per year, that we'll come back and have to rezone all over again and look totally different zones and possibly pull in more communities and neighborhoods."

The new zone could pull up to 735 students from overcrowded elementary schools nearby, including almost 500 from Hardin Valley Elementary. The new school can hold up to 1,200 students, leaving lots of room for growth in the booming neighborhood.

The proposed school zone incorporates a large portion of the existing Hardin Valley Elementary school zone, the western edge of Karns Elementary and some parts of Ball Camp Elementary zones.

Until the new school zone is approved, families can't weigh in on:

• The school's name
• The school's mascot and colors
• The school's PTA/PTO

School specs: The new 124,0000-square-foot school will include:

• 56 classrooms
• 3 teacher work areas
• 2 special education classrooms and support spaces 
• 2 music rooms
• 2 art rooms
• a library
• a 6,700-square-foot gym with a stage
• a storm shelter that will be able to hold about 1,320 people

Sunny Scheafnocker is the principal for the new school.