All the county school overcrowding is not out in the fast-growing East Brainerd and Ooltewah sections, school board members were told Thursday. Several central city schools are far above capacity.
East Lake Elementary - with 655 students and a capacity of 493 students - is at 133 percent occupancy.
Calvin Donaldson, Orchard Knob Elementary and East Side Elementary also are above capacity. Calvin Donaldson is at 109 percent, Orchard Knob is at 106 percent and East Side at 102 percent. Clifton Hills Elementary is at 100 percent.
Officials said there is some capacity at Battle (76 percent) and Brown (68 percent) academies.
One suggestion offered was to reopen Howard Middle School at a cost of some $3 million. It has over 300,000 square feet of space.
Another is to make some zoning changes.
Board member Rhonda Thurman said the school mission is for K-12. She said the move toward pre-K is causing some of the overcrowding. Board member George Ricks defended the pre-K programs, saying they are boosting many young students.
The board also discussed school building priorities - with Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts and East Hamilton Middle School at the top of the list. Officials said there were initially six leading projects and the other four have been started.
The cost for a new K-12 CSLA has climbed to $57 million.
Ms. Thurman questioned why it is the next school on the list, saying the price tag "will give some people a heart attack."
Supt. Rick Smith cited the need to work closely with the County Commission, noting the board does not have the funds to carry out a program of new buildings, additions and deferred maintenance.
Another discussion centered on athletic facilities. Ms. Thurman said, "I don't know when we started building athletic facilities." Supt. Smith said the board has not done so in the past.
It was noted that East Ridge High is currently without home side bleachers, and bleachers at Tyner and Howard have also been deemed unsafe.
Mr. Rick pointed out that County Commissioner Greg Beck is pushing for a new Howard athletic facility that would be built on the Poss Homes property next to Howard.
Board member Karitsa Mosley said it might be designed for use by several different schools. She said, "I know every school wants their own, but these are different times."
Supt. Smith said such a stadium might help draw regional and national tournaments to the city. He said groups like the Convention and Visitors Bureau might help with the funding.
Officials said five realty firms are competing the handle the sale of the valuable East Brainerd School property on East Brainerd Road. They are Results Realty, Remax, Fletcher Bright, NAI-Charter and Keller Williams.