A decision to close the oldest school in Grundy County, Tennessee, and consolidate its students and staff into another campus for the next school year isn't sitting well with some members of the Palmer community.
On Tuesday, Grundy County director of schools Donald C. Durley announced the closure of 94-year-old Palmer Elementary School in a statement posted on the district's social media page after numerous deficiencies were found in a state fire marshal's office inspection in June.
"Swiss Memorial and Palmer Elementary will be consolidated for the 2021-22 school year," Durley said.
School board members during their July 6 meeting voted 4-3 not to spend $17,000 on a structural assessment of the school that would have been part of plans for dealing with the issues, according to a July 7 report in the Grundy Herald newspaper in Tracy City. Officials can't pursue opening the school for fall classes without the assessment.
Deborah Frost, director of operations and development for the local group "Rise Up Grundy," wrote a letter emailed Monday to the board, director of schools and state education officials and lawmakers saying the decision to close Palmer was "made outside of policy" and was "not supported by facts or data."
Frost said only one company was asked to bid on the assessment, while the action group reportedly found a company that quoted similar assessment services starting at $5,000.
"This means that the doors to Palmer Elementary, which serves 117 kids in the most impoverished area - the poorest area in the poorest county in Tennessee - will not open its doors in August against the wishes of many Grundy County officials and citizens," Frost wrote.
Board member Margaret Thomas said during the July 6 special meeting that money should be spent on needs other than Palmer's repairs, according to WRCB-TV Channel 3.
"We need so much more in this county than to spend all of our money on a very, very old building," Thomas said.
Palmer's problems have been a hot topic in recent weeks after the state fire marshal's report said officials must come up with a plan of action to use the building.
The June 9 inspection at the school stemmed from a complaint filed June 2 by school board chair Rick Rust after he visited the school with the district's maintenance supervisor. Rust couldn't be reached Wednesday for additional comment on the closure.
Rust found termite damage, raw sewage under a floor, several leaky sewage pipes, structural damage and the "floor around edges of some areas have sunk several inches," he wrote in the complaint obtained from the Tennessee Fire Marshal's Office.
"Over the years, layers of floor tile have been added on top of existing layers, and the old tiles would have contained asbestos. There were several places where mold might be an issue," he wrote.
State officials pointed to soft spots in floors throughout the corridors and classrooms, especially around exterior doors and around toilet areas in restrooms, according to the inspection report.
In one room, flooring was removed near a door to show some of the damage creating a trip hazard, another trip hazard exists near the nurses' office and restrooms, another room had "structural failure" in its floors, another had two cracks in walls and another had a large crack in its exterior wall, according to the report.
In the gym, inspectors found significant termite damage in bleachers and damage to stairs outside that were sinking and pulling the railing away from the wall, and exit stairs appeared unsafe. None of the structures should be used until repaired, according to the report.
The school failed an electrical inspection because of problems with wiring, outlets, receptacles, outlet covers and problems with relocatable power taps being used as permanent wiring attached to furniture and other structures.
School officials have until Aug. 9 to submit a plan of action to address the problems, and a spokesperson for the fire marshal's office said deficiencies cited in the inspection "are not life/safety issues and are not required to be fixed immediately."
But issues must be addressed if the school is to be used.
The Aug. 9 plan of action should state "whether they will continue to use the building," fire marshal's office spokesperson Kevin Walters said earlier this month. "If they want to continue using the building, some of the deficiencies will need to be corrected or removed before students return to the building in the fall. If they determine that they will discontinue use of the building, no further action is required."
Frost said Tuesday's decision to shutter Palmer doesn't adhere to the state department of education's "best for all" strategic plan.
"A comparison between Palmer and Swiss Elementary shows that Palmer test scores are better and that the school overall ranks at 1,140 out of 1,684 Tennessee schools versus Swiss at 1,414," she said.
Frost's position on the matter "isn't meant to take a hit at Swiss," but long-term goals aren't being considered, she said. Frost notes "97% of students at Palmer are eligible for free lunch versus 74% at Swiss, which further emphasizes the need for the school at the current location as many families depend on free lunch programs even during the summer and these families do not have any viable form of transportation."
She cited school data from the website Public School Review. On that site, Palmer Elementary is listed with 131 students while Swiss Memorial Elementary has 200, with student-teacher ratios of 12:1 and 13:1, respectively, the site shows.
In his statement, Durley said meetings have been held with employees from both schools and almost all employees have been reassigned, most of them at Swiss Memorial, he said.
"With this, administration is working diligently to create plans centered around the relocation of teacher assets and the development of transportation plans to ensure students receive the bus services they are entitled to," Durley said.
Palmer's problems aren't new. Back in 2011, county leaders were wrestling with deficiencies at Palmer and at Coalmont Elementary School, both of which had serious problems. The county borrowed $3 million at the time for updates. Coalmont is 72 years old.
School officials said parents may take part in the district's open enrollment, but requested reassignments are dependent upon availability at each individual school. Open enrollment will be July 15 and 22 at Grundy County High School from 9 a.m. to noon CDT.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.