Knox County's planned Region 5 K'8 school reduced to 1,200 program capacity; principal hiring and zoning to follow

Doctor Ryswick (presenting on the Region 5 project) told the board the schematic for the planned K'8 school in Region 5 had been adjusted as design work progressed.

"Initially, when we started this, there was a conversation about a building that would have a capacity of 1,400... So that now that programmatic capacity is gonna be about 1,200," Ryswick said, adding that the change was driven by building space and the project price "called the $66,000,000." He said the building before the board has been priced to make the capital plan work as-is.

Ryswick said the board's next steps, if the board approves the schematic, will include hiring a principal roughly a year before opening; he said that hiring would occur in 2028. He emphasized the district's commitment to admitting zoned students first and to making the school an attractive option for transfers.

Board members asked whether existing transfer students would be guaranteed priority; Ryswick said zone students are first and that transfer priority details will be decided closer to the school's opening because the population picture can change over three years. "It would be premature for us to make any kind of commitment to say this is how we're gonna do it today," he said.

Design-team representatives and board members discussed programmatic elements: an integrated arts wing, shared core spaces (cafeteria and media center) to minimize travel distances for younger students, and two gymnasiums (a competition gym on the east end for large events and an auxiliary gym adjacent to elementary classroom wings).

The board was told community engagement informed the schematic and that the district will return with more detailed zoning and operational plans as the project moves toward a vote scheduled for the board's Thursday meeting.