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Blount County School Board tables Wallen Elementary design vote after public questioning of $26 million estimate

Blount County School Board · February 5, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

A public commenter questioned a $26 million estimate for replacing Wallen Elementary and the board tabled a related design-services budget increase pending further information, citing enrollment and design-capacity questions.

Harry Rothjohn, a public commenter, urged the Blount County School Board to pause plans for a Wallen Elementary replacement, saying the design estimate and enrollment assumptions need clarification. "According to the estimate ... the school is going to cost $26,000,000," Rothjohn said, and he questioned a cited design capacity of 500 students while saying his information indicates about 300 currently attend.

The comment came during public comment on the board's agenda item about a budget increase for design services…

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