School district officials on Jan. 8 asked the Coffee County Budget & Finance Committee to support a large capital program to address overcrowding and aging facilities at East Coffee and Hickerson elementary schools. The board’s recommended package calls for a three‑section addition and renovation at East Coffee and a complete four‑section replacement for Hickerson, with a combined projected cost of $68,845,000.

Mister Shores, the school system’s presenter, told commissioners the proposal is driven by equity across the district and by recent enrollment pressure, noting Hickerson has been pushed to about 270 students and East Coffee is also growing. "Our classroom spaces and cafeteria spaces at Hickerson and East Coffee are extremely small," he said, describing staggered lunch schedules and different menus at some schools because of limited kitchen capacity.

An accompanying study by the district’s architect/engineer (presented as Wood Wolf in meeting materials) and a third‑party demographic firm (Harpeth Research) looked at physical condition, utilization, security and expansion options. The architect recommended building a new Hickerson on the existing site behind the current building so students could remain in place during construction and the old building could later be demolished for parking and staging. The consultants identified site constraints at Hickerson — proximity to the road, steep grade drops and septic/infiltration requirements — that make additions more difficult than replacement.

The district summarized its recommendations as aimed at achieving parity among the county’s six elementary schools. "We want equity between all of our elementary schools so that they have a similar experience," Shores said, calling the plan "the least disruptive" for students in the long run. The presentation cited safety and security upgrades as additional benefits of new construction compared with renovating a building whose core dates to the late 1940s.

The school board is already reported in the district materials as having voted unanimously on Oct. 13, 2025, to pursue an addition/renovation at East Coffee and a replacement at Hickerson. The district presentation to the county committee framed the work as contingent on funding and noted Harpeth Research’s enrollment projections showing concentrated growth in Henderson and Manchester areas; the district aims for East Coffee occupancy in 2027 if funding is available and procurement timelines are met.

Commissioners asked about boundary changes, construction sequencing, wetlands/infiltration areas and whether the Harpeth growth study accounted for nearby federal installations. The presenter said Harpeth used conservative inputs, that the district provided additional subdivision data, and that the study was intentionally commissioned externally to avoid bias. "These are very conservative numbers," Shores said of the demographic forecasts.

Next steps described by presenters included setting tours for commissioners to view Hickerson, East Coffee and New Union campuses; preparing procurement documents; and working with the county on funding options. The district provided an email contact (shoresk@k12coffee.net) for follow‑up questions.

The presentation did not itself appropriate money; it is a request and planning package intended to inform the county’s capital funding decisions and any future budget or debt actions.