The list of new school construction projects and deferred maintenance projects that was expected to be put in the hands of members of the Hamilton County Board of Education Thursday night would stop a truck.
The deferred maintenance costs already are known to be well over $200 million, and it would not be surprising if potential new school construction included projects even board members weren't aware had reached a crucial need.
Whether one dime is allotted to new school construction in the county's fiscal 2018 budget or whether projects have to wait for a future date, we believe Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts (CSLA) should be a top priority. That's no disrespect to Harrison Elementary School, which is 77 years old and should be replaced.
But we believe a new CSLA, which could be built on the site of the 68-year-old school, is imperative for several reasons. Yes, parents and students were promised a new school some 15 years ago, but that's beside the point. Yes, the school has decay, mice and mold, but that's also beside the point.
We believe it's important to build and expand the K-12 magnet school to offer a more rigorous educational opportunity for a larger, diverse student body willing to do the work. A magnet school should not be confused with a private school, but a magnet school is built around a focused theme and might be the closest some students come to the same type of private-school learning environment.
Essentially, all of the students are there for the same reason.
According to CSLA's mission statement, its students will be proficient in the use of mathematical skills, fluent in literacy skills and will participate respectfully and responsibly in a democratic learning community.
Parental involvement also is a requirement at the school, as it is for all Hamilton County magnet schools except for the STEM School Chattanooga. Parents annually must put in 18 hours of service, ensuring a continuing interest in the school and their child's education.
But a commitment to an expanded CSLA - with at least a $55 million price tag - does something else. It signals that the school district and the school board - with the willingness of the funding arm of the County Commission - are serious about changing the learning environment for students. It implies those bodies understand it's not just the building that's most important but the type of instruction and learning going on in the building (with support on the home front).
The local school district, in CSLA and its sister school Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, has a model that works for a diverse population of students who want to work. Every public school can't - and shouldn't - be a magnet school, but the district should always be looking for new environments that might engage students - especially minority students in low-performing schools - who just need a chance.
An expanded CSLA could be that chance for a number of Hamilton County students.