School Board OKs Hillwood High's Move to Bellevue

NASHVILLE, TN — The Metro school board unanimously approved Hillwood High School's move out of the Hillwood/West Meade area and into Bellevue as part of its annual capital needs request Tuesday.

The vote capped years of discussion which crescendoed in recent months as the high school closes in on 60 years at its campus on Davidson Road. Now, it appears the school all but certain the school, which opened in 1959, will decamp for points west, at the HopeChurch site at 8001 Highway 70S in Bellevue.

The move is expected to cost around $90 million, with the school board asking for an $86 million appropriation as part of its $278 million capital request; Metro Parks will share the cost of the balance. The Metro Council and Mayor Megan Barry must approve the school board's request, though in this case, that appears to be a formality, as city council members representing Hillwood's current neighborhood as well as Bellevue are in favor of the relocation.

The final purchase price will have to be negotiated with the church.

Though parents and the public have, by and large, been in favor of the move as the school-age population is coming from farther and farther west given Bellevue's growth, there have been concerns, primarily about the impact such a move could have on Hillwood's diversity. Hillwood is the whitest public high school in the city, with 46 percent of its students identifying as white.

The current location is in a predominantly white neighborhood, with a significant portion of its minority population coming from Pearl-Cohn High School's zone in North Nashville as part of MNPS' school choice plan. Mileage-wise, the Bellevue location is farther from North Nashville, but because of the proximity of Interstate 40, drive times are similar.

Bellevue parents have been enthusiastic and energized about relocating the school and that push for a "neighborhood school" — 44 percent of Hillwood's students live in Bellevue — is one of the reasons respected pastor the Rev. Enoch Fuzz of Corinthian Baptist Church in North Nashville supports the move.

"Nashville has a wonderful opportunity here," Fuzz said, according to WSMV. "This Bellevue community is saying we want to support this community school and we want your children from north Nashville to be a part of it.”

School board member Mary Pierce raised concerns that Hillwood and West Meade area parents were left out of the discussion, but her objections were countered by fellow board member Amy Frogge, who noted there were eight community meetings in recent months, including some she herself was not invited to. Still, Pierce said "healing" will have to take place with Hillwood, who she said were miscast as unwelcoming.

There are also concerns about the road to the school, which is a winding stretch of Highway 70, but Rep. Bo Mitchell and Sen. Steve Dickerson have said they intend to liaise with the state department of transportation to secure funding to upgrade the road.

No decision has been made on what to do with the existing Hillwood site.

Image via Metro Nashville Public Schools