Ever since the idea of an upper end, county high school came to light, Ms. Barker has been trying to poo-poo the idea. Even going so far as to try to buy the property the county school board was looking at. She has spoken to county school board members and officials trying to talk them out of building a high school.

Her email goes to tell all the improvements the city school system has made and that they could easily take another 100 students. Unfortunately, any one of Lenoir City mayor Aikens and the council's low income apartment complexes could take those 100 spots over night. Just this year, Ms. Barker turned down enrollment for a number of county students for the elementary school. What happens when she starts turning down high school students?

Loudon County administrators are trying to do more than put another band aid on the over crowding problem. They're looking much further into the future than the next 100 students. While the current system of Lenoir City High School educating county students has worked well for well over a hundred years, the explosion of growth in Lenoir City from the mayor/councils insane zoning policies, is going to put both school systems in desperate need of more space.

Adding a classroom here and there will no longer meet the needs. It's the county's responsibility to educate county students. The board is attempting to make arrangements to do just that when the time comes necessary.

Why would Ms. Barker be so opposed to an upper end high school? After all shouldn't all school administrators and officials be working for the common good for the children?

October 17
Elected officials,

 
With all of the conversation about population growth and its impact on our school systems, I am sharing with you the latest information about the growth plan for Lenoir City Schools.  We have seen growth in our elementary (12%)  and middle school (15%).  I want you to know what we have been doing for the past two years to address growth.  The information below details the increased capacity to serve students (LCHS and LCIMS and iLearn) that we have created in the past 18 months.  Additional information our board has discussed for future expansion is included.  

Lenoir City High School currently serves 1,227 students and can handle 100+ students without any further additions.  An expanded high school schedule can accommodate students with the capacity to serve another 100 students.  Serving students in high school is much more than just building space.  The academic programs, CTE programs, fine arts programs and school life are critical to student success.  Providing a variety of these programs to serve all students is best done in a comprehensive school.

Our newest school is the iLearn Institute which provides a way to serve students in K-12.  ILearn Institute is our fourth school in Lenoir City.  Last year we had 86 students and 31 graduates, and this year we are on the same track with enrollment there. This school allows us unlimited capacity to serve students.

Prior to COVID, we were working on reviewing our capacity with our facilities, and then the pandemic hit.  We began seeing enrollment growth in 2018-19 and also experienced outstanding academic success with all of our schools being Reward Schools and the district being named as an Exemplary District. 

With the pandemic, we addressed social distancing the best we could and enhanced procedures for healthy environments.  For the past two years, we have committed over $6 million dollars in improvements and renovations to create facilities for growth and add academic programming to continue excellence in education for our students.

We are returning to normal operations this year.  See below the details of what we did last year and what we are doing this year regarding increasing capacity.  This shows our district capacity building, and it also shares the vision for the future that our board has been talking about.  This has been a very busy three years.

Again, I will be glad to talk with you about this information if you have further questions.  Lenoir City School High School is a busy place, and we are growing in a steady, healthy way to serve our community families. The investment in continuing our service to families can allow tax dollars to address the growth in K-8 in both the county and city schools.  

I look forward to working together as we serve our community.
 

Regards,

Jeanne K. Barker, Ed.D.

Director of Schools

Lenoir City Schools

(865) 986-8058

_____________________________________________________

Ms. Barker,

Thanks so much for your information. Not sure why it was sent to county commissioners and whomever else it was sent to, but I assume this is another ploy to prevent the Loudon County BOE from moving forward with the addition of another middle/high school on the upper end of the county. 

Quite frankly, I have far more confidence in Mike Garren and our administrations knowledge and understanding on what the county school needs are than I do with what another school's administration might think.  

For instance, you mentioned COVID. I would remind you that while Lenoir City schools shut down and attempted to have remote learning, Loudon County schools worked through the pandemic with very little loss of school time and student disruption. I think the test scores of each system show clearly which approach was best for students.

Another strong point that many parents of county students in the city system is, lack of representation on the city school board. 

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the Loudon County Board of Education to provide education to all county students and I believe that's exactly what their administration is attempting to do. The county and city school systems have worked well together for well over a hundred years and I can see no reason that that should ever end. After all, isn't the goal of all educators, what's best for the students?

I may have completely misunderstood your motive for this email, at this time, but after your attempt to buy the church property out from under the county BOE, and your conversations with other county elected officials, I'm suspicious of your motives.

Van Shaver