Consultants on Tuesday presented a 10-year facilities plan for the Hamilton County Schools that includes closing nine sites, constructing 11 new buildings, and renovating 27 schools.
The price tag is $891 million.
County School officials emphasized that the work of MGT Consultants is just a recommendation and no decisions have been made yet.
The plan includes closing the current sites for Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts and Chattanooga School for Arts and Sciences, which are in two of the district's older buildings. CSAS would move to the Brainerd High School site, where a $54 million school would be built. A new site for CSLA was not identified.
A new Harrison Elementary School would also include students from Lakeside Elementary, which would close.
Here are other recommendations:
Phase 1:
Alpine Crest Elementary to close and merge with Dupont and Rivermont in a new $42.5 million school at the Dupont site. Rivermont School would also close.
Normal Park, which is in two older buildings, would move to the current site of Center for Creative Arts (the old Chattanooga High School). A new $46 million school would be built for CCA.
A new $35.4 million school would be built at the Clifton Hills Elementary site.
A new $35.4 million elementary school would be built at the CSLA site on East Brainerd Road.
Orchard Knob Middle School would be replaced with a new $49.8 million school that would also serve Dalewood Middle School.
A new $74.2 million Tyner High School would be built for grades 6-12, 1,500 students. Tyner Middle School would be merged into the new school.
Phase 2:
Brainerd High students would go to a new $33.2 million school built at the Dalewood site.
Phase 3:
Barger School would close and be repurposed as a new career and technical education site at a cost of $18.9 million.
A new $42.5 million Apison Elementary School would be built.
Soddy Daisy Middle School would close and move to the Daisy Elementary site. Daisy Elementary students would move to Soddy Elementary, which would be re-named Soddy Daisy Elementary.
Mike Raisor of MGT said a number of community members spoke in favor of neighborhood schools, but he said it was necessary for the district to "right size" itself. He said, "As much as small schools are important, you can't be 'house poor.' "
He said the overall plan "is a big lift, but it is achievable."
Currently, he said there is "a lot of inequity throughout the system" in terms of facilities. He said the plan would spread improvements throughout the county.
At present, he said buildings are in "fair" condition and there is a major backlog of maintenance needs.