News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
As the budget process begins the Putnam County School System will reignite discussions with the county commission about a new K-8 school.
The Countywide wide enrollment capacity stands at roughly 86 percent. Director of Schools Corby King said the system’s one to two percent annual enrollment growth, is outpacing projected growth from an earlier study.
King said the need will still be there, despite enrollment being down for the first time in 15 years due to COVID.
“With the growth that we’re hearing, the building growth from the mayor, we know that students are going to be coming to our area,” King said. “Families are moving in from all over. So, we believe that one to two percent growth is going to return in the next year, in the next two years and so that need is still there for a school and we need to be building.”
King said some schools are over 90 percent enrollment capacity.
“We have outgrown our current capacity, we know that, we need a new school,” King said. “This has been coming, we approached the county commission with that. The tornado, COVID back to back, we weren’t sure where things were going to hit. So, we kind of put that on the back burner.”
He said when enrollment capacity reaches 85 percent to 90 percent, it is time to start preparing to add a new school.
The likely site of a new school would be in the Southern Putnam County Corridor. King said the time frame for building a new school takes between three to four years.
