City Of Brentwood Preps For Schools Expansion As County Committee Gives OK

BRENTWOOD, TN — Brentwood's Planning Commission approved road improvements for the planned expansion of the Brentwood Middle and High School campus expansion Monday as the county's budget committee gave its OK to fund the project.

The planning commission approved an access road to run through Granny White Park and a new 295-space parking lot on the campus under the assumption that, at some point, the Williamson County Commission will give the final go-ahead for a planned $17.2 million campus expansion.

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"I think County Commission is going to approve (the expansion projects)," Brentwood's Planning Department Director Jeff Dobson told The Tennessean. "Whether it happens on May 8 (at the next county commission meeting) or not, that's another story. We want to make sure we cooperate with them to the greatest extent possible."

The access road, which will cross the southwest corner of the park and be separated from the nearby walking trail by a fence, is expected to cost $933,810, and the new parking lot, on the location of the former football practice field, will cost $1.77 million.

In Franklin, the Budget Committee of the county commission approved funding the $17.2 expansion project, which will include a new classroom building and athletic facilities in addition to the parking lot.

The project — and a $4.9 million project at Page High School — will require approval to use the education impact fee to pay for debt service, transferring 3 cents of property tax millage from the highway fund to the debt service fun and paying only the interest on the bonds for a few years.

While those steps should take care of the current projects, the county continues to wrestle with how to pay for schools growth long-term, as many on the commission have shown reluctance to raising the property tax rate

Image via WCS