School staff favor converting Eastside to grades 6–8; board asks for focused feasibility data

Cannon County school principals and staff on Monday walked trustees through classroom capacity limits, shared‑use constraints and staff preferences as the district evaluates where to locate a middle school.

Mister Dustin, who presented a room‑by‑room audit, said many staff and support spaces are improvised: “He is in a closet in the CTE Room,” Dustin said of the school resource officer’s workspace, and he noted the nurse is currently located “in the closet in the art room.” The audit lists specific room sizes (for example, a CTE room of roughly 520 square feet and a social‑studies room about 500 square feet) and highlights shared spaces such as gym and cafeteria scheduling conflicts.

Miss Julie, who led the session, summarized principal input and distributed packets of photos and maps showing rooms currently in use and spaces the district is sharing. One staff summary highlighted results from a feasibility survey of roughly 35 faculty responses: about 74% favored Option 2, converting Eastside to a grades 6–8 middle school. The presenter who reviewed the survey warned that staff responses may not have reflected downstream consequences, such as rezoning or potential closures of other schools.

Miss Amanda, speaking for Cannon North, said North has room to absorb an additional 60–70 students without immediately adding teachers depending on grade mix and noted at least three rooms that could be repurposed. Amanda added the site could potentially support an addition as a lower‑cost alternative to fully renovating Eastside.

Principals and board members repeatedly flagged special‑education placements and behavior‑intervention classrooms as a central concern. A principal said CDC classes could be moved, but doing so would require modest investments—calming rooms and similar supports—to meet those students’ needs. Trustees asked supervisors for explicit follow‑up on how CDC, pre‑K and food services would be handled under each option.

Board members also emphasized the county’s gym capacity and portable classrooms. One trustee noted the county needs an additional gym or renovations because several portables are deteriorating; trustees discussed whether to pursue a single comprehensive building program (possibly including high‑school renovations) or to add targeted expansions at North and South campuses.

Trustees agreed to request focused reports for the next meeting comparing: (1) Eastside as a K–5 facility with the middle school staying at the current site; (2) Eastside as a 6–8 middle school and associated rezoning; and (3) targeted additions to Cannon North and Cannon South. The supervisors should provide updated student counts, routing implications, food‑service impacts and CDC/pre‑K facility needs using post‑2024 data to inform budget and county‑commissioner conversations.

The study session concluded with the board setting a follow‑up study session for May 11 at 5:30 p.m. to receive the requested department reports and updated numbers.