BOND
REFERENDUM
TOWN TALK
On Wednesday, September 30, 2026, an episode of "Town Talk" on GoKnoxvilleTV featured a discussion about the November bond referendum for the Knoxville Community School District.
THRIVE Knoxville hosted the event at the Knoxville Performing Arts Center, where KCSD administrators, school board members, community leaders, and others discussed facility challenges at Northstar Elementary School, possible solutions with an approved referendum, and addressed questions from the audience.
The video below is a recording of the event.
Each of the questions below were answered directly at the Town Talk event. The timestamp notes when the response can be viewed in the recording.
-
Is the city of Knoxville prepared to add necessary infrastructure to the VA District where the proposed new building is to be established? (1:07:15)
-
If passed, when would the first day of the new building be open for access, and how many students? (1:17:03)
-
During the Middle School bond you pitched your excitement for a North renovation. You told us the old middle school would be used for transition space. After the city/school land swap, the middle school was torn down quickly and the city did not need the space immediately. Why didn't you agree to keep the middle school so the North renovations could happen and students could transition during the remodel? (1:21:14)
-
Transparency and accountability are important issues to the public, especially when public funds are being used for projects. The previous bond issue for Northstar improvements included language of HVAC upgrades. Then the bond board says we always planned to only do portable units. Why (wasn’t) this language regarding portable units in the bond proposal? What steps are being done to avoid similar issues in the future? (1:24:30)
-
The middle school has had multiple roof leaks and I have a school official saying it was from defective materials. Has anyone investigated this and jumped up on the roof to see? Plus we have had HVAC problems. Has anyone figured out why the problems? (1:24:34)
-
What is the cost of furnishing and equipping a new building with "state of the art" supplies? Where does this money come from? (1:28:58)
-
The bond language on the ballot reads "equip a new elementary building on the Veterans District site, including related site improvements.” "Related site improvements" seems intentionally ambiguous. Please list everything that falls under “related site improvements." (1:29:51)
-
Will the school and city guarantee the tax levy rate will not increase over the next five to ten years? (1:31:38)
-
How do you balance the thought of teachers and curriculum vs. buildings and technology, and what’s more important when it comes to the learning of our students in our school district? (1:33:34)
-
October 1st is tomorrow. What enrollment numbers will you be sending in on your official report? How does that compare to last year? (1:37:28)
-
What was the graduating class number for 2026? What is the number of incoming kindergartners? (1:38:38)
Audience members submitted the following questions on notecards, but time did not allow us to address each one during the Town Talk event.
Q: Has it been discussed to connect the street from Lincoln to ease traffic concerns?
-
A: Yes, the city has future plans to extend Liberty Lane from Veterans Boulevard east to Lincoln Street.
Q: In the middle school graphic (below), the money was spent on athletic facilities. What was the justification to focus on that project rather than North?
-
A: The cost of the athletic facilities renovations could be covered by PPEL funds in the KCSD account, and no money needed to be borrowed. The SAVE funds would no longer cover the cost for the Northstar Project, so an updated, more detailed assessment was completed to provide additional data for decision-making. Due to the fact that the Northstar project has many components and most have multiple systems that would be impacted in order to complete them, the most cost-effective solution was to plan for the complete project, which needs voter approval of a bond referendum. (For example, the windows cannot simply be replaced because the frames are tied into the lower wall that also incorporates the boiler system mechanical hardware for heating and ventilation, which in turn impacts how the wall and floor connect and flooring.) The good news is that the amount of sales tax revenue we now receive through SAVE is more than had been projected in 2019 due to online ordering now being included in the penny sales tax.
Q: Why not add on to West?
-
A: There simply isn't enough space around West for an addition to accommodate all of the students and staff from Northstar.
Q: Name one demographic trend that indicates a new building is necessary.
-
A: Northstar houses 400+ students and staff annually. There are also over 100 preschool students and 6 adults that are currently housed in the portable classrooms annually. A new building would provide space for over 575 students and staff (2nd through 5th grades) allowing the preschool sections to move into classrooms inside West Elementary.
Q: The school is already 25.8 million dollars in debt then the school needs to borrow 35.7 million so 61.5 million in debt. I figure in todays interest it would cost us 30 million in total interest for this total to pay off and close to 5 million in yearly debt payments would I be close to these estimates?
-
A: No, those are not accurate. You cannot combine general obligation bonds and revenue bonds. Revenue bonds are not paid by our local community members, rather they are paid by state funding from the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) funds. General obligation bonds are paid by our local property taxpayers. On July 1, 2027, KCSD will have $18,705,000 in general obligation bond debt. The proposed elementary school would add $15,300,000 in general obligation bond debt.