School board votes to build new K-8 school

JACKSON, Tenn. — It was a full house at the Jackson-Madison County School System board room, as board members met for nearly three hours in a combined work session and board meeting.

The meeting opened up with several comments from the community, many of them from parents and teachers concerned with the future of Whitehall Pre-K.

“I feel like as parents, we have just been in a constant struggle of what the future is with our pre-k program,” parent Beth Parnell said.

Whitehall Pre-K Center was closed due to hail damage this winter, shifting the students to Nova Elementary School.

Even after a survey which revealed a majority of parents and teachers preferred to keep the students at Nova, the board decided to table the vote until a later date.

Beth Parnell was just one parent who walked out in frustration after the decision was made..

“To get no resolution tonight, and after a third meeting we still don’t have answers, as a parent you can’t help but still feel frustrated,” she said.

Another big issue discussed involved the building of a new K-8 school, a vote the board went back and forth on whether to table as well.

“I want the board to move together,” board chairman Bob Alvey said. “It concerns me the board wasn’t all together on that tonight.”

But after a 5 to 3 vote, the motion to to move forward and replace Pope Elementary with a new school passed.

Alvey said the decision is a step in the right direction.

“It’s a promise we made to those people,” he said. “When Vision 2020 was voted, we said we would have a K-8 and we don’t. So it’s kind of like we made a promise, and we need to honor that promise.”

The proposal to build a new K-8 school will go before the Madison County Commission.

The board also voted to move the next school board combined meeting and work session to May 15.