School board to revisit long-range building plan at work session set for Nov. 29

The Dickson County School Board will revisit its $62 million long-range building plan and possibly set some new priorities in a work session scheduled for next week. Schools Director Dr. Danny Weeks had asked the board about bringing the plan back up to assess what work has been done and in what direction the board would like to go. Prepared by C&I Design in 2010, the plan lays out a multi-stage building program outlining the school system’s facility needs for the next couple of decades, including building additions and new schools. The board adopted the plan but also acknowledged there is no money at this time for some of the larger projects, including a new middle school in Burns. Some of the maintenance issues in the proposal have been addressed through $2 million in Energy Efficient Schools Initiative loans. In addition to the building program, Weeks plans to present a comprehensive overview of the recently released school report cards at the work session and Chairman Tim Potter said he would like to discuss the board’s investment in the troubled Burns park project. The board has contributed funds for preliminary work on the project next to Stuart-Burns Elementary and has been discussing a joint user agreement with the town. But the Burns project has come up short of funding to complete its first phase and town leaders have not devised a plan for avoiding the loss of some grant funding. The board’s work session will be 6 pm Thursday, Nov. 29, at the central office.