At a workshop held yesterday, the Sevier County School System got an outline of a very ambitious capital spending plan to build several news schools as well as renovate and improve most of the existing schools. In fact, there is work scheduled at every Sevier County School System property in the county over the next several years. The total capital requirement for the plan is approximately $144 million and it represents a road map of where the school system plans to be in the next 6 to 7 years.

Several new schools are already under construction and more are planned during the term covered by the capital plan. Kellum Creek Elementary in Sevierville, Cattletsburg Elementary, and Pittman Center Elemetary are new schools already under construction. The new Pittman Center Elementary school is set to open with the start of the 2008-2009 school year and the other new facilities are expected to open at the start of the 2009 school year.

In 2010 work will begin on a new Boyds Creek Middle School, in 2012 construction is set to commence for a new Elementary school in the New Center community, 2013 will mark the start of a new Northview Primary school in Kodak and a new Pigeon Forge Intermediate School as well. Each of these new schools is budgeted to cost about $15 million but the biggest budget for a new school project is for a new high school at the northern portion of Sevier County to reduce the load on the overcrowded Sevier County High School. Negotiations have already begun on the planned purchase of 97.5 acres just off Highway 66, about 4 miles north of downtown Sevierville on the south side of the French Broad River. Construction of the new school could begin as early as the fall of 2009.

Although the new schools won’t aid my youngest child (currently a sophomore in high school), they will help to make sure that future students do have adequate facilities as our community continues to grow. Hats off to the Sevier County School Board for continuing to make plans for managing the rapid growth of our area.