LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. — People from the Loudon County community packed into a room for a commission meeting on Monday, as leaders began discussing a proposal to raise the county's property tax rate by 25 cents to pay for a $115 million school building project.
Many of the people who attended the meeting said they did not believe the county needed a new school building.
"Don't need it. From everything that I have pulled on the reports and stuff, we had an assessment back in 2006. We do not have the same amount of kids now that we did back then. So, I didn't feel the need that we needed to spend over $100 million," said Chasey Hachmann, who said she lived in Loudon County for around 52 years.
She also said she owns several properties in the area and was concerned about how the property tax rate change would impact her.
Van Shaver, a county commissioner, said on social media that the new school building would be for students between seventh grade and 12th grade.
"There are those who claim that a new high school is not needed, and they may be right, today or maybe not next year or maybe even the year after that. But no one can deny the need for the high school isn't coming, very quickly," he said on social media. "No one can deny that as fast as the county is growing, a new high school will be needed in the very near future."
Shaver said around three years ago, the Loudon County school board started developing a plan to manage growth in the northern part of the county. As part of that process, Shaver said the board decided to include a high school in its immediate middle school plan.
He also said if a property tax increase is passed, the earlier a new school would be open is August 2027.
"So for 5-6 years, the new school would for all practical purposes, be a middle school. Is there anybody who can predict what Loudon County's population will look like by then? Lenoir City officials have already approved more than 5,000 new residential units. Due to the length of time it takes to bring a new school on line, waiting is not an option," Shaver said on social media.
Loudon County Mayor Buddy Bradshaw also said the proposal reflects the county's rapid growth. He said the county's effective property tax rate would be around $1.76. The Tennessee Comptroller's Office said it is currently around $1.52 per $100 of assessed value.
"We're the 63rd fastest-growing county in the entire United States. The proposed project includes improvements at Greenback High School, expansion at Philadelphia Elementary, and a new 7-12 school. Even at $1.76, we're still going to be pretty low compared to a lot of counties our size," he said. "The longer we want, the more expensive it will become. We're growing continuously, and we need to keep up with that growth."
Some residents said they felt blindsided by the proposal and called for improved transparency and accuracy.
"There has been nothing advertised as far as this new school. It's deceptive. They should have put it in the paper that this was going to be a possibility of a 25-cent increase, and they didn't," said Hachmann.
A vote on the proposal is set for June 24.
