The Nashville Metro School Board is opposing the proposed sale of the Nashville school district’s 11.2-acre bus maintenance center, reportedly planned in order to balance the city’s annual budget.
“In a letter to the Metro Council last week, school board member Sharon Gentry outlined opposition to the council’s plan to look at selling property the district owns,” the “site of the school system’s transportation center where it fuels, repairs and houses buses,” the Tennessean reported.
Councilman Colby Sledge says the bus site, which features “unobstructed views of downtown and is in a neighborhood experiencing new development, is sorely underutilized and would fetch more than the $13 million targeted for the Murrell school property sale,” the reported added.
The issue appears that it will continue to be up in the air for some time to come. “We don’t have complete answers right now. However, our team will continue to discuss options with the Mayor’s Office and Metro Finance for solutions to best meet the needs of the school district,” K. Dawn Rutledge, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, told School Transportation News.
“A second proposal by Metro government to sell Nashville school property to shore up a revenue shortfall is facing resistance—this time from the school board—leaving a $13 million hole in the city’s approved budget last month until a solution is found,” the Tennessean reported on July 9.
