Knox County Schools

To Whom It May Concern:

­­This is an open letter from members of the Greenbrook Subdivision requesting that we be rezoned to attend Hardin Valley Middle School (currently Karns Middle) and that we remain within the overall Hardin Valley School zone. Our community is made up of two connected neighborhoods of multiple Greenbrook phases, and has a combined 235-240 homes.

Several concerns include, but are not limited to: the natural border that is created by Pellissippi Parkway, easily accessible routes as well as distance to the school, and property values. Residents of Greenbrook Subdivision consider ourselves part of the Hardin Valley Community, and we want to be a part of a community school setting wherein our children remain “Hawks” throughout their education within the Knox County School System.

It is difficult logistically for parents when their children attend more than one school district; furthermore, it is not safe for buses and cars to cross over Pellissippi Parkway, making the logistics of traversing from Greenbrook to Karns Middle School both cumbersome and dangerous. In addition, the natural border that is created by Pellissippi Parkway makes our location a natural fit for the future Hardin Valley Middle School. Students are currently on the bus much longer when traveling to Karns Middle School; whereas, it is only a few short minutes for both buses and cars to travel to all the Hardin Valley school locations.

Most residents chose to buy and/or build in Greenbrook specifically because it was zoned for the Hardin Valley Schools, and the future anticipation of a middle school that would eventually be built to serve the growing community. Many of these are homeowners and tax payers who commute to jobs in Oak Ridge, and chose to remain in the Knox County School District (and pay Knox County Taxes) over Oak Ridge City Schools.

We realize that the likely intention is to include our subdivisions in the Harden Valley school zone, given the slides shown at the rezoning meeting; and the "triangle area" the county considers Hardin Valley that was specifically stated to most likely be in the immediate school zone of the new HV School. However, given the fact that many subdivisions located in the Hardin Valley area, and some located on the other side of Pellissippi Parkway, voiced their concerns at the meeting, we feel it would be prudent for Greenbrook to also have a voice. We do not want our silence at the meeting to be seen as complacence as to where our neighborhood is zoned. Our neighborhoods have collectively committed ourselves to monitor the rezoning process, voice our concerns where necessary, and to vote our consciences in the 2018 School Board Elections.

Sincerely,

Concerned residents of Greenbrook Subdivisions

CC: Knox County School Board

Terry Hill, Knox County School Board