JOHN COFFELTEditor

For the first time in its history, enrollment at Manchester City Schools has topped 1600 students.

Director of Schools Dr. Joey Vaughn said the number represents a growth of about 3% and is from people moving into Manchester.

For a third year, the kindergarten classes will begin in August with 200 students enrolled for the 2023-2024 school-year. It will also be the first time the school district will have back to back kindergarten through second grade classes with that large of a population.

“Our student-teacher ratio is a little bit higher than it’s ever been before because we do have more kids,” Vaughn said. “But they are still where they need to be.”

Vaughn presented these figures to the city Budget Committee recently, calling the numbers exciting, and presented a school budget asking for no additional funds from what the district received last year.

The $17. 3 million school budget does include two new teachers that Vaughn said should be able to handle the anticipated enrollment.

Vaughn said the district is also experiencing growth at the middle school also. Class size is hovering just below 20 students per class with the average being 16-19 students per teacher.

Building projects

A possible expansion of Westwood Middle School was discussed during the Manchester City Schools Board of Education meeting earlier this month.

There are also discussions about building a new middle school.

“We are actively looking at building sites that are either in the city or adjoining the city,” Vaughn said.

The current budget includes an amendment for $850,000 to go toward expansion and other capital expenses.

Vaughn said estimates for new buildings are $35 million for a new middle school and $70 million for a new high school.

Who’s going to build a new high school?

Vaughn left the city with the final assessment that pretty soon either the county or the city will need to build a new high school.

“We have to be visionary,” he said. “Most of us are doing a good job at looking at our growth.”

The expense of a new high school would be partially offset by the increased number of students which means more state funds.

Currently, the city’s debt service is $11,685,000 for schools.

Finance Director Lisa Myers said that, “any debt the city has, not just for schools, will affect the amount and rates of our future debt capabilities.”

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John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.