I agree with you. What is the alternative?

A second City of Maryville High School to create two smaller high schools?

I met a gentleman the other day, an important Maryville High School sports supporter. All sports all the time. Not that I care. I think people like this gentleman would oppose two smaller schools as it would disrupt the sports program.

I completely agree! I don't agree with placing a sports program before education. Afterall, there are far many more scholarships for education than there are sports. If the city council and school board choose option A, building a second high school,it will allow for more opportunity for our children. Create smaller schools and preserve the intergrity of historic Maryville.
It will also hold the longest capcity date of 2034/35, which in the long run would save taxpayers money.

F.

We watched as our old hometown UpNorth took advantage of a special state financing option. That financing caused the city's only high school to be moved from a central city location to a site well outside the current city limits. Think of it has taking MHS and moving it well west of Wm. Blount High.

In the old location the city only had to provide bus service for about 10% of the kids. Now, for those kids who don't have cars the city is busing 100% of the students. They pick up city kids and truck them to the country for school.

The old HS was converted into a new Jr.High but the massive football field and stadium is still used as the High's home field. Keeping the holy football field at its traditional site was always in the overall plan.

The same finance option also caused many small communities to abandon their local elementary schools and build those schools in areas well outside the community. We have seen first hand what happens to a rural community when the kids are removed and it is not a good thing at all.

Hands down- smaller schools are better schools and it that not what Maryville wants?

I am not at all familiar with the city schools but I do have a few questions.

With Pellissippi planning a new campus here is it not possible to relocate some AP and dual enrollment classes to that campus?

How about pulling all the vocational education programs out of the current high school and creating a joint Vocational School to serve all of Blount County. Better yet, build this new vocational school to serve not only Blount but neighboring counties as well.

The whole Vocational School concept really deserves further thought.

I don't know what alternatives/proposals the school board may be considering but is one of the possibility of converting the football field into parking areas or buildings, whatever is the greatest need? Could MHS possibly use the Maryville College football stadium for their practices and/or games? I know it would mean coordinating with MC and certainly some loss of time spent on the field but wouldn't that be better for the neighborhood and city than tearing down people's homes and causing long time residents to move? To me almost anything would be better than to destroy a family's home just to increase the size of the school. Developing a second city school is better than that.

Two high schools will not hurt academics. Large high schools do. You cannot simply say that have a small pupil teacher ration will make up for the disadvantages of a high school. How many people can participate in football or band etc. if you are choosing from 2500 kids. The school board needs to read the studies.