Manchester City Schools presented to the Board of Mayor and Alderman during an April 7 work session plans for a new $53 million middle school that would be located on the former Batesville property.

Mayor Joey Hobbs suggested the board should have an answer within 60 days.

The plans for a 110,000 square foot facility included features to allow the addition of a high school that would share components of the middle school.

Members of the board and Hobbs voiced personal support for building both structures now for a combined estimated cost of about $75-80 million.

According to Hobbs, borrowing money for the project would require an addition of at least $5 million in new income to the city’s $20 million annual budget. Both campuses would require about $7.5 million additional revenue.

Though not discussed during the meeting, some portion of that additional revenue would likely come from a property tax increase.

Hobbs said, however, that some money could be recouped by not sending city students to Coffee County Central High School. “The city of Manchester now pays a county fee in taxes that goes to the county. We support the high school through some of our taxes. We pay a higher tax rate than Tullahoma to the county because some of our kids go to the county high school. We would claw those taxes back into this revenue to pay for it,” Hobbs said.

Manchester City Schools Director Dr. Joey Vaughn said Westwood Middle School will soon be at or over capacity with 550-600 students. He estimated an 18% growth in Manchester City Schools over the last decade.

“By 2035, we would probably be at 2150 kids based on current growth. There is nothing that makes me think that that growth will not continue,” Vaughn said.

Jason Morris of KAATZ, Binkley and Morris Architecture said the proposed middle school would hold 620 students and have the capacity to go up to 850 students. It would have a gym, theater and an outdoor sports complex.

Vaughn said construction would take about three years to complete a middle school, and after that Westwood Middle would house grades four and five.

“We would continue to give an outstanding education at whatever (configuration) the board (of Education) decided to do,” he said.

Vaughn expressly said that he was not asking for a high school, only that there may be the need for one in the county as a whole.

Alderman Ryan French, a long-time supporter of a city high school, said that construction costs will only get higher. He noted that a three-year-old prior presentation estimated the cost of a new facility coming in about $1015 million less than the current estimate.

“I would support the completion of both. That puts the county in a stronger position of what they are going to do… so from a community standpoint, the responsible thing to do is go ahead and build a new high school,” French said.

“We are going to have to address the expansion, and I’m not talking too far in the future. In the next five years it’s going to cost 1/3 more. Financially we’re better off than we’ve ever been,” he said.

Hobbs added, “Today they came with some immediate needs that we need to address in the short term. I am, myself, fond of a city high school. It’s all going to come down to money.”