Board pitches repurposing T.C. Miller as early-childhood center; parents urge keeping school open

The Lynchburg City Schools board presented a multi-phase “elementary efficiency” plan that begins with repurposing T.C. Miller from a kindergarten-through-5 elementary school to a consolidated early-childhood center and moving some elementary alternative programs into the building. The board said the changes would increase elementary utilization rates, expand coordinated pre-K services and yield about $1 million in recurring savings.

“Phase 1 itself can be broken down into three different parts,” Doctor Copeland, the superintendent, summarized, describing the immediate elements: T.C. Miller would cease operating as a K–5 building and would host full-day pre-K and early-childhood special education; the Transition Assistance Program currently at Bass Elementary would relocate to T.C. Miller and be co-located with the Restorative Academy; and the plan includes selective rezoning of small, “island” zones to send students to closer schools.

Why it matters: The board and staff said the district has lost about 1,200 students over the past decade and that elementary utilization is low; the…