MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Schools still play a big part in why families settle down where they do. But soon, school zone boundaries in Rutherford County could look quite different.
A proposal would force hundreds of kids to switch schools.
Director of Schools Jimmy Sullivan explained in a video why this is what is best for their 50,800 students, right now.
"Unfortunately, we have open seats in schools and before we can go and ask for additional funding to build more schools, we have to make sure we use the current seats that we have," Sullivan said.
Some parents are against the proposal to create new school zone boundaries. Charlie Eblen created a petition to present to the Rutherford County School Board.
"I completely understand the growth, completely understand that things have to change, but you have to solve a problem to change things," said Charlie Eblen.
The proposal — which the school board will vote on at a special-called meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 5:30 p.m. — is meant to move kids who are learning in portable classrooms into under-capacity schools. There has been a 10% increase in school enrollment in six years.
Eblen believes shuffling kids around doesn't solve the school infrastructure problem.
"If we're just going to rezone to just put him in another school, well now we're just disrupting his life to not make it better, but make it harder," said Eblen about one of his sons.
Mostly, kids in Blackman High School or Blackman Middle School will be affected. It would put some kids in cars or on school buses for several more hours a week.
"It's going to be get up, go to school, come home, do homework, eat dinner, go to bed. That is not going to help us build the next generation of leaders we need," Eblen said.
If the changes are approved, for elementary and high schools, changes would take effect in the 2025-2026 school year, and for middle school students, one year later.
Anyone who wants to speak ahead of Tuesday's vote must call the district offices by noon to get on the list.
School Board Zone 7 Board Member Frances Rosales, who represents most of the families that would be affected, sent us a statement.
As Rutherford County experiences unprecedented growth, certain areas are expanding at a faster rate, placing immense pressure on our school infrastructure. Over the past two decades, this growth trend shows no signs of slowing down. We must confront this challenge head-on, prioritizing long-term solutions over temporary fixes that continue to put a band aid solution over the problem that is not going away any time soon. The time for action is now, demanding stakeholders to unite, collaborate, and devise comprehensive strategies. Shuffling students from the west side to the east side of the county is not a viable solution as the ongoing growth renders it ineffective in addressing the increasing demands on our resources. We must shift our perspective on education particularly in a high-growth county and recognize that thoughtful consideration of classroom space is uniquely as important to fostering effective learning environments. The old way of doing things is no longer effective; it’s time for new ways of doing things that produce long-term results.
