Council, board to meet on high school

By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
A follow-up work session between school leaders and Hartselle's elected officials to discuss goals and plans for a new high school is scheduled for Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and will be held in the City Hall Auditorium. It will follow the City Council's regular work session.
"We had originally planned to have the meeting at the conclusion of our next board meeting at Barkley Bridge Elementary School," Superintendent of Hartselle City Schools Dr. Mike Reed said. "When I contacted Mayor Dwight Tankersley with an invitation and learned that the council was having a work session on the same date an hour later than our meeting, we decided it would work best for everyone for us to meet with them at City Hall."
Mayor Tankersley said the Council will hear from the school delegation at the conclusion of its work session.
"We're glad to meet with them and we look forward to what they have to say," Tankerlsey stated.
Reed said a committee he appointed has been busy gathering information from Hartselle High School department heads and other sources since the school board last met with the city council. It will give a report on its findings, which will include reasons why a new high school is needed.
He said another look at future population growth in Hartselle has raised the number of students who would be attending the proposed new high school from 1,000 to 1,200.
"This means we're looking at the need for more space and more personnel than what we were talking about earlier," Reed said. "We can talk about what we visualize our needs to be but we still can't show a clear picture."
When the subject of a new high school was first discussed by the school board and mayor and council late last year, there was agreement that it is time to start planning for one. However, questions were left unanswered about the urgency of the need, the disposition of the old school plant, the new school's location and how it would be financed.