On Tuesday, October 24th, Soddy Daisy High School hosted the second community meeting regarding future plans for the Hamilton County Board of Education and the community’s residents.
The meeting agenda consisted of a brief summary to, “Expand Daisy Elementary and close the current Soddy Daisy Middle School facility to create a K-12 experience on the shared campus of Daisy Elementary and Soddy Daisy High School.”
The community meeting focused mostly on creating a more connected community in the Soddy Daisy community and replacing Soddy Daisy Middle School. For these renovations, there is a proposed $250 million budget for these renovations.
With Soddy Middle School being built in 1960 and receiving a building score of 66%, it is the main priority. Because of their outdated facilities, there is a big push to try and keep students from venturing out into other schools such as Sale Creek, Red Bank, and Hixson.
Many parents are worried, however, about the effects of creating a single campus feel and how it would disconnect other students. An anonymous parent spoke up at the meeting explaining their fear is that this is going to further effect the divide between Soddy Daisy Middle School and Loftis Middle School when they feed into Soddy Daisy High School. This is also true about our numerous elementary schools surrounding the Soddy Daisy community, moving forward in their education journeys.
Some community members are claiming that this decision is being rushed and making these students, teachers, and families feel like an “experiment,” rather than a community. Hamilton County School Board District 1 Representative Rhonda Thurman explains, “ This is a fifty year decision. We cannot afford to get it wrong.” The school board continues to push for a decision to start the renovations as early as 2025.
Despite many opposing views on the subject, there is yet to be a clear, well-thought blueprint for how this proposed community will work. There were mentions of a new stage for the theater department, new lacrosse field, and even a new pool.
With these new facilities, there will be trade-offs as well. At the announcement about a possible new lacrosse field, the board suggested placing it up on the hill where the practice fields are.
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There is still a lot up in the air about the new proposal, and there are simply not enough student voices on the subject. The community highly encourages students to take a stand in this decision, seeing how it will affect them generations to come.
