Red Boiling Springs citizen, John Cook, addressed the commissioners stating that he was concerned about a judgment call the Macon County School Board had made. He stated that he felt the school board had made an error in judgment by placing a makeshift type building in front of the Red Boiling Springs School. Cook requested that the commissioners have the county attorney file an injunction to stop the school board from placing this and two other structures, one at Lafayette Elementary School and one at Central Middle School, on school property. Cook asked the commissioners to consider doing what is right for the students of Red Boiling Springs.
Commissioner Jerry Ray stated that he had received several calls about the building and could not understand why the school board would set something like that up. He stated that the county has recently passed several zoning laws to stop this kind of structure in the county. He said that he has saw nothing in the county that is as bad as this structure.
Cook stated that he felt the school board was leveraging the commissioners by saying either give them what they want or the students will have to use a building like this. Commissioner Ray stated that he also felt this was a form of retaliation.
Mayor Glen Harold Donoho stated that he has received numerous calls on this "piece of crap." The mayor stated that he would like to speak with Director of Schools Mike Prock before any action is taken. He would like Prock to move the portable and get something decent for the students. Mayor Donoho also stated that he felt like it was a form of retaliation.
Commissioner Tony Boles stated that he had spoke with several students, parents and grandparents who felt like something had to be done. He stated that they had voiced that they understood the school needed something, but not this.
Commissioner Billy Bransford stated that he felt the commissioners should listen to both sides of the story before making a hard decision. He stated that in the past the school board has purchased portables that were in bad shape. Bransford said that once the buildings were repaired they were structurally sound and suitable for children.
The question of where the portables are sitting was also an issue.
Commissioner Ray stated the building was a huge disgrace and an eyesore for Red Boiling Springs.
Commissioner Phillip Snow stated that the building only posed more of a parking problem. He stated the school now has very little parking and this only makes the situation worse, especially during sporting events.
Principal Don Jones stated the portable was in the best possible place for the students. He stated that there were so many rules and regulations that the building was in the only place it could possibly go.
The portable can not go behind the agriculture building, as was suggested, because it is too far for students to walk. He also stated there is no way to cover a walkway for the students because delivery trucks deliver through there and a covered walk way would hinder the delivery trucks.
Jones stated that he understands parents are upset, but the portable is in the best place for the students and he feels that in the fall when school resumes the building will be better constructed and suitable for students.
Mayor Donoho stated that it was shameful that Macon County would even consider using something like this for the students.
Mayor Donoho reportedly spoke with Prock on Tuesday, April 5. Mayor Donoho informed Prock that the commissioners had unanimously agreed to have him speak with Prock about stopping the reconstruction of the buildings and advise Prock to have them hauled off to the junk yard. Mayor Donoho also informed Prock that the commissioners agreed to file an injunction to stop any work on the portables and have them moved if Prock and the school board did not go along with the commissioners decision.
Prock told Mayor Donoho that he would present this to the board of education at the Thursday night, April 7, meeting. He informed the mayor that it was not his decision, it would be up to the board.
Prock stated in a telephone interview that the buildings were not completed at this time. He stated the building at RBS had only been set up last Friday. The school board had plans to vinyl and place underpinning on the buildings. He stated that this school year Red Boiling Springs had one teacher, a math teacher, that did not have a classroom. He stated the teacher roamed from class to class every class period. He stated that this was not good. Teachers need a stable classroom. Prock stated that the portables were what the county could afford. He stated that he has been before the commissioners several times and requested help with a building project. He stated that the state mandates the counties place these kids. The school board had no choice he feels but to purchase the portables.
He stated that two of the portables were give to him and two cost approximately $1000.
Prock said, "I will admit that they don't look good, but they will when we get through with them."
He stated that the cost to build a new classroom would be approximately $68,000. The cost of new portables would be $55,000 to $60,000.
Prock also stated that it would cost the county between $2500 and $2800 per building to move the portables at LES, Central, and RBS.
"I am not using these portables as leverage," Prock said. "We have got to put these kids somewhere. We also have to consider the new Pre-K program that could begin as early as next year." He said that if the school does not have these portables they will not have enough room for all the students.
He also addressed the location of the portable at RBS. He said, "The state has very strict laws about where the portables can sit. They can not be under electric lines, sit on gas lines or sewer lines, or be within so many feet of a light pole. They have to be close to the school so the students do not have far to walk in inclement weather."
Prock plans to discuss what the mayor proposed at the school board meeting Thursday night.
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