Knox County Schools consider $9.4 million sales-tax surplus for Tower access fixes, bus contractor payments and technology

At a Sept. 29 work session, Knox County Schools administrators outlined proposals to spend an approximately $9.4 million sales-tax surplus on several district needs, including renovations to the UT Tower Plaza Suite to add a secondary egress and restroom access, a partial roof repair at the Knox Education Center (KEC), one-time payments for bus contractors and technology replacements. No formal vote was taken; administrators said the expenditures will be on the agenda for the Oct. 2 regular session and board members may request separate votes on individual items.

District administrators said the surplus came from stronger-than-expected sales-tax revenue. The proposed uses presented to the board included renovating the Plaza Suite — a space that houses the enrollment office and student family supports — to improve public restroom access and provide a secondary emergency exit. "The lack of a secondary egress has made that a challenge," Christie Lautner, a district staff member, said, noting that visitors currently must exit the suite, pass through security turnstiles and be escorted to restrooms.

The administration also proposed paying bus contractors a one-time amount of $1,000 per route. "It's a one-time payment...a thousand dollars per route," Ms. McGraw, a district staff member, said; she added the district has approximately 360 routes, which corresponds to roughly $360,000 in one-time payments based on that per-route figure and the route estimate provided in the meeting.

Other items described as part of the package include repairs to classrooms at KEC after storm damage and planned Chromebook purchases for equipment refresh cycles. Board members asked for more precise cost estimates before approving the full package. "We don't have that exact amount right now," a district official said when a board member asked whether administrators had a definitive cost for the Tower work.

Board members raised questions about prioritization. Several members said they supported repairs and safety fixes but expressed reluctance to approve larger central-office work while many school facilities also need capital attention. Board member Triplett said spending on the Tower is "a hard sell" when older school buildings still need substantial work. Administrators and the chair said board members may move to pull items from the package for separate consideration at the Oct. 2 meeting.

No formal motion or vote on the surplus spending occurred during the work session. Administrators told the board they could return with firm cost estimates and said some items might be staged or modified after additional bids and review.

Details and known fiscal figures from the discussion: administrators described the surplus as approximately $9,400,000 in sales-tax receipts; the bus-contractor payment proposal was $1,000 per route for approximately 360 routes (district estimate); KEC work was described as a partial roof repair limited to storm-damaged areas; the Plaza Suite work was characterized as construction to add a hallway providing access to restrooms and a secondary egress rather than cosmetic updates. The district did not provide a final dollar figure for the Tower renovations during the session.

The board scheduled the Oct. 2 regular session to consider the items; members were told they may request separate votes on individual elements of the package.