Don’t hold your breath
A $260 million bond issue to be voted on next week by the Hamilton County Commission mentions six specific schools that will benefit from the proposal, but the total amount associated with the schools most assuredly will not come close to building them.
So to families who got excited at seeing North River Elementary, Gateway, Soddy-Daisy Middle, Brainerd/Dalewood, Clifton Hills and Thrasher schools associated with the bond issue, don’t hold your breath that you’ll see these new schools or additions in the near future.
North River Elementary, which is to merge Dupont, Rivermont and Alpine Crest schools, would get the most money — $42 million — from the bond issue, so it might be nearest the top of the list.
But building of schools is expensive and has gotten only more so since completion of the county’s most recent elementary, Harrison, in 2021. Its cost was pegged at $35 million when it was approved in 2017.