Officials: Schools in critical condition

Lawrence County Executive Paul Rosson doesn't try to sugar-coat the situation. He said the county's school system is in critical need.

And the most pressing need is finding the money to build new classrooms, according to Rosson and county school officials.

Rosson said there are several hundred elementary students in the county who still attend portable classrooms. About 30 portable classrooms are being used in the system every day.

Plus, there are schools in need of additional space to handle overcrowding.

Bill Heath, director of county schools, said about 550 elementary students are attending portable classrooms. He added that portables are in use at South Lawrence in Loretto, New Prospect Elementary School in Lawrenceburg and at Leoma. The overcrowding problems are mainly at Ethridge and Summertown elementary schools.

Heath said about eight new classrooms must be built at the five schools to ease the overcrowding problem.

Rosson said the county school board is working with an architect to develop plans for the building project, which will carry an estimated cost of $16 million.

"This is a critical situation our school system is facing," Heath said. "As an educator, we put learning first. If we don't act now, more and more of our dollars will be going to building maintenance instead of going to learning."

Rosson and county commissioners asked the state Legislature to use surplus money from the Tennessee Lottery for capital improvements in schools statewide, including Lawrence County. Nothing has been done on that request, however, so the county is moving in another direction.

Commissioners are now looking into the merits of increasing the amount residents pay for to the county's wheel tax. The tax is applied to all vehicles with license plates.

Rosson said one suggestion is to add $35 to the wheel tax. At present, license plates cost $47, with the state getting $22 and the county $25.

He said if the wheel-tax increase is approved, vehicle owners will be paying $82 a year for license plates.

Rosson said the wheel tax is an alternative to a property tax increase, something he said no one wants.

County officials estimate the wheel-tax increase would generate about $1 million per year, enough to pay off a $16 million bond in a reasonable amount of time.

Rosson said the commission and school officials have been going to different schools during the past few weeks discussing the plan and the need with local residents.

"The majority of the people we have discussed this with understand the problem and see the need. They have been receptive to the proposal," Rosson said.

He said the commission has the option of imposing the wheel tax by a vote of the commission or call a countywide referendum in August.

"Personally, when I see the conditions at the schools, the decision is not a hard one for me," Rosson said. "I wish the commission would just vote the wheel-tax increase in, but I think they're leaning to sending it to a referendum."

He said commissioners will likely make the determination within the next couple of months.

During that time, Rosson said he and Heath will continue taking their message to local communities.

"This problem (with the schools) isn't something that just happened," Rosson said. "The problems have been left for years and years, but we've got to the point where we can't keep putting our heads in the sand. This is an issue that is not going away. We've got to deal with it now."

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@timesdaily.com.