By Gary Lloyd
Trussville City Board of Education and city of Trussville officials are planning a joint meeting to discuss the proposed new elementary school
.
The time for that meeting had yet to be determined. The next Trussville City Council workshops are Thursday and Feb. 21 at Trussville City Hall. Both begin at 5:30 p.m. The next scheduled school board meeting is March 4 at 6 p.m. with a 5 p.m. work session at the Central Office.
The joint meeting’s purpose will be to discuss possible sites for a new elementary school. The two sites discussed in recent months have been the Magnolia Place area near the Hidden Trace neighborhood on the south side of the city and the old Hewitt-Trussville Middle School on Parkway Drive, which has been unoccupied for the past four years.
Magnolia Place
photo by Gary Lloyd
Additional sites may be discussed at the joint meeting. Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill said the plan is to “exhaust” all options in determining the best place for a new elementary school. Board President Bill Roberts said the school board wants to explore “any and all possibilities” for a new school.
An 18-person steering committee has recommended the Magnolia Place site, which sits on 39 acres of land, for the new school. That site was placed on the table for consideration at Monday’s board meeting. The school board could vote on a new site at its March 4 meeting.
Neill said a site selection committee, similar to the steering committee, will be needed to research and recommend where new construction in the city will work best.
A steering committee favors the Magnolia Place area over the old Hewitt-Trussville Middle School, shown here, for a new elementary school in Trussville.
file photo by Gary Lloyd
A new school is being discussed because of overcrowding at Paine Primary and Paine Intermediate schools.
Paine Primary School has a capacity of 774 students but currently houses 913. There are five portable classrooms on the site. Paine Intermediate School has a capacity of 785 students but currently houses 941. There are eight portable classrooms on site.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
