Powell residents press Knox County Schools on 40-year-old trailers, overcrowding; family speaker recounts son's death and asks for accountability

Two speakers took the public forum to press the board on school conditions and to raise a family's grievance.

Karis Connor, who identified herself as a Powell resident, told the board Powell Elementary's main building was designed to hold about 500 students but currently serves 767. "We are able to fit this many due to the trailers behind the main building that hold 13 classrooms, 267 students," Connor said, noting the trailers were installed in 1985 and described deteriorating walls, sagging floors and inadequate thermal performance. She said trailers force students to consolidate into the main building during police activity or severe weather, disrupting classroom instruction. "A 40-year-old trailer does not hold up like a 40-year-old house," Connor said, adding that first and second graders spend long periods cold in winter because heat dissipates when doors open.

Connor urged the board to "be ahead of this issue" and make plans for a new school or a brick-and-mortar annex, citing near-term housing growth near the school: "According to Knox County zoning and a 3 mile radius from our school, 550 housing units are expected to be built in 2026. We had 700 homes built between '24 and '25. That's 1,300 new homes in 3 years." She said rezoning is not an option for her community and asserted that the community can identify potential 20-to-40-acre sites for a new school.

Candice Bannister, identified as a Knox County resident, spoke about her son Will, who would have been 25 this year. Bannister recounted Will's childhood, his struggles with anxiety and episodes of bullying, and said he "shouldn't have had to die for having anxiety." Bannister alleged an administrator she says failed staff and students was later promoted to chief of schools and asked what steps the district has taken to hold that person accountable. She said, "Here we are almost 9 years later, and what have you done to hold that man accountable? Absolutely nothing."

The board did not respond to each public comment on the record in the transcript. Public forum concluded and the meeting was adjourned.