Todays Knoxville News-Sentinel in the Knox Calling cloumn located in the Perspective section has the following. It is also located on the Knoxnews website, here.

If you think the Knox County school system has it tough building one new high school, look at Loudoun County, Va. That’s what school board member Indya Kincannon told her colleagues at a meeting Monday.

Kincannon, who graduated from high school in Loudoun County in 1989, visited her old stomping grounds over spring break. When she was in school there, the district had four high schools. Now it has 10. The district’s student population has more than tripled over the last decade to about 47,000.

“I don’t think I’d want to be on the school board in that county right now,” Kincannon said.

Another astounding number, she said: Loudoun County spends more than $11,000 per student. Knox County spent $6,846 in 2004-05, which is below the state and national average, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.

I am not sure what the real point in her sharing this with the board was, (is she
glad that she is not back in her hometown or is she glad that Knox County’s School System is not growing so that tough decisions do not have to be made.) Knox County has the same number of students (52,000) that they have had for the last 20 years.

Actually if Knox County Schools population were increasing in the numbers of Loudon County, Va it would be easy for the school district to sell its capital plan to the Mayor and County Commission, because the need would be there, the student numbers would speak for themselves. It is a much harder sell today, that is why Kincannon’s comments are confusing.