Metro Nashville Schools Ditch Plan To Move Fifth Grade Back To Elementaries

NASHVILLE, TN — Faced with an imbalance in student populations — some schools are below 60 percent, while many in South Nashville are well over-capacity — Metro Nashville Public Schools considered moving fifth-grade out of middle schools and back into elementary schools.

But a study showed a $300 million price tag, far more than MNPS was willing to pay to address the problem, and sending the district back to the drawing board to find solutions.

(For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

Shifting fifth grade was one idea recommended by Director of Schools Shawn Joseph's transition team. Many under-capacity schools are middle schools and the idea was pitched as a way to retain more middle school students.

But faced with an unacceptably high cost for the move, the district and the MNPS board must consider other ways to address the problem and that may mean closing some schools, rezoning or shifting zones altogether.

"Our next steps are to look at if there are any programs that can be moved or co-located," MNPS chief of staff Jana Carlisle told The Tennessean. "Or if there is a school that is recommended for closure or mothballing, see what other uses there are that would continue to add value to the community."

Image via Shutterstock