CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Bradley County Board of Education is seeking architectural design services for a proposed makeover of Lake Forest Middle School.
Proposals, which are due by 4 p.m. on April 22, will be for the design of a 57-classroom central academic building that will replace nearly a dozen 40-year-old classroom pods spread across the 75-acre campus.
But board Vice Chairman Charlie Rose voiced concern that a comprehensive reset will be needed — 57 rooms “won’t do it” for Lake Forest now, and wouldn’t have been sufficient four years ago when the plan was first presented to the Bradley County Commission, he said. The school has a population of 1,000 students.
The Lake Forest project costs were estimated in 2011 to fall between $12 million and $14 million. The commission has committed to funding up to $12 million in construction and infrastructural needs for the academic building in 2016-17 “as funds become available.”
Revisions to the makeover plan and its associated costs represent “two hurdles” for the school board, Rose said.
“We’re going to go back and ask for more money and more rooms, and [the Bradley County Commission] will say we just want more money and more rooms when [we] agreed on 57,” he said. “Whatever we do, in essence, we’re going to start over.”
Board member Amanda Lee wants the architect to consider input from Ritchie Stevenson, the principal of Lake Forest Middle School.
“Whoever we decide on, I think they need to go sit down with Mr. Stevenson and have a long conversation with him,” Lee said. “I don’t think anyone knows better as to what Lake Forest needs as far as classrooms and sizes.”
With an architectural consultant in hand, board members expressed hope that they could quickly comply with a recent request to provide updated cost figures to the County Commission’s education committee.
The request for recent cost figures comes as the Bradley County Commission grapples with how to fund its commitment to the middle school academic building.
A recent attempt to create a $300,000 annual revenue stream by way of increasing and reconfiguring Bradley County’s lodging tax failed has failed.
A proposed amendment to the private act governing the county’s lodging tax never made it to the Tennessee General Assembly floor for a vote, with legislators citing concerns over allocating lodging revenues to educational capital efforts.
Historically, lodging tax revenues have been distributed to economic and tourism development needs.
Outside of “a miracle,” the Lake Forest overhaul will require the consideration of a property tax hike, Commissioner Thomas Crye has said.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.