‘Paving’ the way after ‘20 to 30 years’ at FHS, led by Schoonmaker
Students and staff will be welcomed back to Farragut High School in a big way next week, as all parking areas and Lendon Welch Way have been newly paved.
John Schoonmaker, Knox County 5th District Commissioner, Knox County Schools superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk, FHS principal Dr. John Bartlett and Susan Horn, Knox Count Board of Education 5th District representative, were among those praised for their efforts in making the paving happen.
Now that the project is almost complete — speed bumps have not yet been installed — FHS athletic director Donald Dodgen and Bartlett expressed their appreciation.
Dodgen said he was “thrilled “with the project,” adding it had been “between 20 and 30 years” since the last time it was paved.
“It looks great, and it makes everything look so nice at Farragut High School,” he added. “You know what first impressions do for a school.”
“As a parent of two children who attended Farragut High School, I could see the need for the paving even before I became a County Commissioner,” Schoonmaker said. “I have hounded them for years about it. Farragut High School is one of the premier high schools in the state of Tennessee, and when people come in, they have seen it in pretty rough shape.”
“I asked two previous superintendents about getting the lots paved, and it was never a priority,” he added. “But when Dr. Jon Rysewyk became superintendent, he was very receptive to what I was asking.”
Passing around praise
“I would like to thank Knox County Schools, John Schoonmaker and Dr. John Bartlett for getting this done,” Dodgen said.
“We are blessed that Commissioner Schoonmaker has advocated for us in such a fervent and persistent way,” Bartlett said. “Susan Horn, Garfield Adams (assistant superintendent for operations) and Dr. Rysewyk, as well as the rest of the school board, were also very instrumental in helping get the parking lots paved.”
The process, key questions
The parking lots, then the roadways leading to the high school and connecting the campus with Farragut Intermediate and Middle schools were paved earlier this summer. At that point, Schoonmaker said he got a call from Dodgen.
“Coach told me they were not going to be paving Lendon Welch Way, and I spoke to Dr. Rysewyk asking him why they were only doing about 80 percent of the job,” Schoonmaker recalled. “That was when I found out there was a discrepancy about ownership of the road.”
While it was believed the road was under Knox County supervision, it was not, as Schoonmaker determined after talking with Jim Snowden, Knox County senior director of Engineering and Public Works.
“It cannot be a county road if it has gates and speed bumps,” Schoonmaker said. “It had to be under ownership of the schools. Jim verified it, and I shared that information with Dr. Rysewyk, and he said he would take care of it — and he did.”
“Of course, we all kept asking for it; however, we all understand the school system has limited funds for things like paving and roofing,” Bartlett said, a realization echoed by Schoonmaker.
“We all know 85 percent of the county’s school district budget goes for salaries,” the county commissioner noted.
Summing it all up
“The new pavement helps give our campus a fresh look,” Dodgen said.” We are grateful that they saw the need to make this happen.”
Editor’s note: paving has also taken place this summer at the middle and intermediate schools, but Schoonmaker said those pavings already were planned and separate from the high school’s paving. Knox County Schools approved the paving budget earlier this year, allotting $255,000 for FMS; $145,000 for FIS; and $1.185 million for FHS.
