For years, the children at Harrison Elementary School have endured everything from water leaks to overcrowding, but soon, that could all change.
The aging school was placed on the top of the Hamilton County school board's prioritized list of facility needs, followed by Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts and East Hamilton Middle School.
Staff photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Mar 25, 2014 The Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts, located at the intersection of East Brainerd Road and Vance Road, operates in the old Elbert Long school building.
The list was presented to the Hamilton County Commission upon request as it prepares to discuss which projects it will fund this year. While it's possible the commission may choose not to fund any of the projects, the list underscores the urgency of some of the repairs.
At 77-years-old, Harrison Elementary is nearly beyond repair, with sewage regularly backing up into the hallways and extensive water damage.
Parents and grandparents of students at Harrison have emailed the district and members of the school board voicing concern about their kids' safety, with one threatening a lawsuit if the school's facility is not addressed.
Harrison Principal Wendy Jung said the Hamilton County Department of Education has done a great job of providing many of those needed repairs in a timely fashion, but with the building being as old as it is, the situation has only gotten worse in the past year.
"As we worked to clarify some of the needs [for] repairs of the building, it became clear that there may be some things that are not going to be as reparable as you'd like and that a new building would be more advantageous," Jung said.
Construction of a new school is expected to cost $35 million, but it would address more than just the decrepit roof and plumbing system, Jung said. It would also allow the school to finally have a gymnasium, reliable electricity and heat and an adequate number of classrooms, as teachers have had to hold classes in portable structures.
The new, larger building would also be able to hold 900 students - a huge leap from the 410 students currently enrolled - making it possible to take students from Lakeside and Hillcrest, which are both nearby. Harrison is now located in District 9, but land has been donated to the district for the new school just down the road off of Highway 58, which would make the new school in District 5.
School board member Joe Smith said Harrison's potential to merge with the two nearby schools helped hoist it into the top priority slot.
Smith said CSLA is an outstanding school and understands that it needs a new building - estimated to cost about $64 million - but it's a magnet school and takes a small share of students from many schools across the county. This means a new, larger CSLA would not help with the overcrowding felt in schools across the county the way a new school for Harrison would, he said.
Though Jung said she's grateful that the school board has acknowledged the school's needs, she hopes the commission will consider more than just Harrison's needs.
"I don't feel good about being number one on the priority list because, one, it means our facility is not where it should be and, two, somebody else is number two," she said. "I hope they'll find the funding to fund all the priorities that were addressed by the facilities committee, and not just the number one priorities."
CSLA is also in desperate need of an upgraded facility, parents have said. Over the last few years, the 68-year-old building has fallen victim to water damage, decay, mold and mice.
"It's in poor shape. It just keeps getting not addressed," said Eric Emory when the list was made. "We understand there are other schools that have needs, but [the school board] prioritizes on a year-by-year basis."
All three of the schools on the priority list, including the new East Hamilton Middle School, which would cost $45 million, are located in or around the area the Regional Planning Agency has confirmed is the fastest growing in the county. This sector of the county, labeled "Area 12," is expected to see a surplus of families - and students - by 2026. The RPA has already put together an advisory committee to help it redo the area's comprehensive growth plan, which will tackle everything from roads to schools.
"We want to do a really good job of planning for that growth, staying ahead of it, being proactive and not reactive," said County Commissioner Sabrena Smedley.
Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com.
Staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater contributed content to this story.