Westmeade Elementary School Action Alert!

Metro Council - District 23

Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County

January 28, 2018

 

Mina Johnson

District 23 Council Member Mina Johnson

Metro Council Office

One Public Square

Suite 204

P.O. Box 196300

Nashville, TN 37219

Phone: 615-429-7857

Email Mina Johnson

Westmeade Elementary School Survey

MNPS (Metro Nashville Public Schools) and School Board Member Amy Frogge conducted a community meeting on January 25th at the Westmeade Elementary School regarding the Westmeade Elementary School Plan.

Westmeade Elementary School classroom addition and renovation plan has been in the Capital Improvement Budget Request for over 10 years.

The existing building has several structural issues and MNPS is recommending to build a new school instead of renovating the existing building.

At the January 25th meeting, MNPS revealed 3 options.

You can learn more about the proposed plan at this link You will need to scroll down and click on the slide arrow at the bottom of the slide to see the  proposed  plans. I have inserted the pictures below to make it easy for you to compare the different locations.

The most important thing you can do is to fill out the

Westmeade Elemantary survey at this link to make your voice heard.

Option 1 - Hillwood

Hillwood

Option 2 - Current site

Current site

Option 3 - Bellevue

Bellevue

My thoughts on each options.

Option 1 - Hillwood site: The best option!

The west Nashville Community Plan has a Special Policy on the Hillwood High School property. The policy specifies keeping it 1) as a school, 2) as a park and community center or 3) keeping the land if the high school were to cease its operation on the property.

Relocating the Westmeade Elementary School to the  HIllwood campus fits the Special Policy in best possible way. Even though the high school will not  move to Bellevue until construction of the new high school is completed, construction of a new elementary school could be started prior to the high school move.

The Hillwood campus is large enough to accommodate not only an 800 student capacity building, but also pre-K for the district.

The H.G. Hill Middle School has been on the Capital Improvement Budget plan for classroom expansion and renovation. MNPS could construct a new building on the Hillwood campus after the high school moves to Bellevue, if the construction budget is compatible to the renovation budget.

The H.G. Hill Middle site could be a park to serve the community if the school were to move to the Hillwood campus.

Although Bellevue has been growing and continue to project future developments, the Charlotte corridor is also growing rapidly. The Hillwood campus elementary school would support the future growth for the rapid growth area.

Option 2 - Westmeade School field

Although I would be sad to see Westmeade Elementary School leave our neighborhood, building an 800 student capacity school building on the existing field does not seem the best option. It will not improve the traffic pattern during students’ drop-off and pick-up times. It might not be a good idea to build a two or three-story building on the unstable soil near the creek.

As long as the field stays open for the community, and the building is re-purposed and utilized by the MNPS soon after the school is emptied, I can say goodby to the Westmeade Elementary School as our neighbor.


Option 3 - Bellevue: Seriously?

I reported last year that MNPS was entertaining the idea of moving Westmeade Elementary School to Bellevue. It was explained as just "a place holder" for the Capital Improvement Budget plan and nothing had been decided. However, now the MNPS presentation slides appear to be heavily favoring the Bellevue site.

I get it. Change is hard. Rezoning is not easy. MNPS and School Board members may not want to rezone the school district and change the feeder patterns for fear of making some parents upset. But sometimes the easy way is not always the best way.

Currently the entire Hillwood neighborhoods and about half of the West Meade neighborhoods are zoned for Gower Elementary School instead of Westmeade Elementary.  Westmeade Elementary is closer and more convenient for many of these neighborhoods. I wonder how many parents choose other school options due to the inconvenience, not to mention the probable hardship?

How inconvenient might it be for West Meade/Hillwood and Percy Warner community parents if the elementary school were to move further west to Bellevue, about 3.4 miles west from the current location?

There will be no elementary school, outside of Bellevue, for West Meade/Hillwood and Percy Warner Parents to send  their children to if Westmeade Elementary were to moves to Bellevue.

This is the option if MNPS wants to alienate the West Meade/Hillwood and Percy Warner community and parents from participating in public school or the Hillwood Cluster.  This option would inconvenience West Meade/Hillwood and Percy Warner parents, and mainly serve Bellevue.

Cluster Map

Your voice is very important!

Please be  sure to fill out the survey.

https://www.mnps.org/westmeade

As always, I welcome your input. Please feel free to call me or e-mail me with any suggestions or questions.