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The Maryville school board adopted three recommendations as part of its long-term plan amidst opposition from some parents and residents Tuesday during a called meeting.

Director of Schools Mike Dalton made the recommendations at an earlier work session. Audience members had the opportunity to voice their concerns before board members took a vote on each motion.

Daryl Johnson, of Johnson Architecture Inc., and Kristin Grove, an architect in his firm, presented a master facilities plan incorporating Dalton’s recommendations. They outlined how the plan could be phased in over a 17-year period.

Dalton’s recommendation on the high school is to keep the current location through expansion and renovation and later plan for a second high school or restructuring to move some programs off campus.

Dalton wants to minimize property acquisition and reduce the impact on the neighborhood.

Flower Hulihan, who lives close to the high school and has three children in the system, said the grades at the high school will be 500 students and that is too large.
Another woman, who did not identify herself, said she had lived in her house for 20 years and had spent that time renovating the property. She told the board she was not going to let her house be bulldozed to make a grassy area for the school.

Board Chairman Carolyn McAmis said that nothing has been decided yet in terms of property the system will have to acquire.

Another parent pointed out that construction would be ongoing at the school for a number of years and would be disruptive to the students. She asked the board to make sure the school doesn’t lose programs during the construction period.
Another recommendation that evoked strong emotions was the plan to restructure the intermediate school to a fourth- through sixth-grade configuration. Again several parents spoke out against the idea.

The intermediate school currently houses fifth and sixth grades. The board approved building a second intermediate school on property on the east end of the city.
One woman said teachers would have to redesign their programs that are already considered excellent now. She said it seemed as if the school board was choosing the new configuration to avoid zoning and traffic issues. She asked why another elementary school couldn’t be built now rather than a second intermediate school.

Dalton said at this point it would be hard to say where an elementary school should be built because the city is growing in two directions.

However, he said he doesn’t believe the programs are going to be damaged. The school system is constantly evolving such as when the first intermediate school was built and when the middle school did major restructuring last year, he pointed out.
Dalton said the system has historically used its experts — teachers and administrators — to study the issues before decisions are made. A Fourth Grade Task Force addressed the issue of moving the fourth grade up into the intermediate school and recommended the change.

“We have an amazing group of professionals — that’s the reason we’re so good,” he said.

The school board also approved an objective to reduce the percentage of tuition students to no more than 4 percent.