Who's the boss? A look at 'agreement' between school board-superintendent

Every time I think I’ve seen it, read it, or heard it all when it comes to Knox County politics something surprises me.

The latest?

A four-page "side agreement" that includes all sorts of do’s and don’ts, and it pretty much – at times – stifles individual board members, which in turn, stifles whole districts.

Here’s the deal: The agreement, I believe, was put together by Superintendent Jim McIntyre, adopted by the board in 2008 and then adopted again (revised edition) in October 2010.

It’s now gonna be presented to the new board to vote on.

Some of the things that stick out:

• Board member are not allowed to ask questions that might stump the superintendent.
• It also says that if you’re on the losing side of the vote and the media wants a comment, well, you can’t tell them why you voted the way you did. (No way, no how, no comment.) 

All this is coming to light now because the law department sent out a memo, saying the whole thing is non-binding and and limit a board member’s freedom of speech. (To say nothing about transparency.)

During last Thursday’s orientation for incoming school board members, McIntyre and current BOE chair Lynne Fugate handed over the agreement for the new folks to view.

EMAIL: Law Director's Office memo and the revised agreement RIGHT SMACK HERE.

Needless to say, there were some questions about its legality, so a couple of them asked the Knox County Law Department to look into it.

The law department noted that the “document was not prepared by the law department, nor was the document submitted to the Law Department for analysis as to its legality.”

The law department, in the memo to BOE members, also says that state code “does not grant the authority to the BOE and the Superintendent to enter into any such agreement governing the conduct of members of the BOE.”

Here’s a couple other items in the agreement that stuck out:

• If a BOE member contacts a staffer by email then he or she must copy the superintendent and the chief of staff on the correspondence. (Is micromanagement ever good?)
• If a question can’t be addressed quickly and easily, then the question will be directed to the Office of the Superintendent to assess whether resources should be dedicated to responding to the request. (Does that mean the office won't answer it, if the question is too tough?)
• The BOE and Superintendent agree that the Superintendent is the only employee who reports to the BOE. Everyone else reports to the superintendent. (Should we change his title to "king"?)
• Constituents who contact BOE members with issues will be referred back to the school system at the appropriate level. (In other words, you don’t need to worry about the problem. You let us handle it.)

Unbelieveable.

I wish I could get my boss to approve one of these.

So, why isn't Carter 'owner' listed

In what looks like another edition of Amateur Hour, the school system this morning handed out programs for the Carter Elementary School unveiling.

The problem? Well, yesterday's programs for the Northshore unveiling noted that the school system owned this school. (Click right smack here for that bad boy entry.)

It then went on to list some other irrelevant information on the cover.

Well, today's program included . . .  Nothing. Other than a big white space.

How come no one listed "county" as the owner? Where is the comparable information?

Oh, right, the spitting contest between whose name should be placed on the school deeds - the school system's name or the county's name.

God forbid, the school system let the folks who attended know exactly how this building was funded and who spearheaded the initiative. Or even how much it cost. (Does the school system's $1 million-a-year PR department not want taxpayers to know?)

Bush League. Seriously.

Absences and costs of Carter school

So, just how big of a deal was yesterday's official unveiling of the new Tim Burchett Elementary School for the Carter Community?

Well, if you go by school system attendance, not very.

Only School Board member Mike McMillan, who represents East Knox County, schools Superintendent Jim McIntyre, school PR person Melissa Ogden and principal Shay Siler (along with some teachers and students) were there. (I also might have spotted Doug Dillingham, who is over school construction or something.)

It also wasn't even mentioned during last night's county Board of Education meeting, according to our education reporter. Oh well.

Maybe the rest of the board will show up at the ribbon cutting in August.

In the meantime, a couple folks have asked how the county paid for the new facility. You know, despite the fact that we've reported it a gazillion times.

Anyhoo, according to Casual Chris Caldwell, the county's top bean counter, the total expenditure for the school is $13,869,737.84 And here's how they funded it:

• $892,550.68: JP Morgan Settlement
• $2,010,000.00: Solway
• $943,818.22: City of Knoxville payoff of Animal Center
• $2,500,000.00: Knox County Schools Capital Plan contribution
• $3,419,250.00: E-911 Payment for building
• $4,104,118.94: Hillcrest Nursing Facilities

Also, according to the casual one, the actual sale price of Hillcrest Nursing Facilities was $5,275,000. The remaining $1,170,881.06 will go to pay for the FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures, & Equipment) for Carter Elementary School. The county anticipates the total FF&E for Carter to be $2 million.

UPDATE: I received a call from a school board member who said members didn't receive invitations to the event. They suggested that it was probably an oversight.

Carter ceremony held this morning

The payment was actually sent in last week, but this morning, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett handed off a ceremonial check for almost $13.9 million to Partners Development in exchange for the keys to Tim Burchett Elementary School for the Carter Elementary.

“It took a lot of effort to get to this point, but today we can officially say that Carter Elementary School is a realization,” Burchett told a crowd of roughly 200, adding that “citizen involvement matters, and elected officials do listen.”

Construction crews still have some minor work left, but the 90,000-square foot TBESFTCC will open in August just in time for the new school year.

Here's a few photos from the event.

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett working the crowd

Burchett signing the "check."

Michael "Big Sexy" Grider looking sexy

Commish Anders, Superintendent McIntyre, Mayor Burchett

Tour set for Burchett-Carter school

Knox County officials on Monday will host a tour of the new Tim Burchett Elementary School for the Carter Community, which will be up and running this school year.

Yup, the county will take possession of TBESFTCC during a ceremonial check presentation event thing. The mayor, whom the school is named after (hey, that's just what I heard anyway) will present the check to Partners Development, the builder that took over after the initial winner pulled out of development because of – "ahem" – ties to local royalty and (because it's a long story).

The mayor will be joined by Superintendent Jim McINtyre, Commissioner Dave Wright, School Board member Mike McMillian and a number of other local elected folks who want their picture taken. Heh.

A tour will follow the check cashing - I mean, passing - ceremony. There also will be a reception with light refreshments in the school's cafeteria, so expect at least a few in the media to show up for breakfast.

Oh yeah, the whole shin-dig kicks off at 10 a.m. Monday at 8455 Strawberry Plains Pike.

Knox to pay for Carter school by June

The county is set to stroke the final check toward paying off Carter Elementary School, which opens in August, after it recently received the $5.75 million in folding paper it got from selling three pieces of property to Hillcrest HealthCare Communities (that the operation initially leased).

The commission obviously will have to sign off on it, but it shouldn't be a big deal. The money will cover the rest of the $13.9 million for the school as well as a little more than half the FF&E (furniture, fixtures, equipment), which will cost another $2 million.

The county will then sell some 1.5 acres off Middlebrook Pike, which will cover the remaining $900K it needs. Officials hope to actually get between $1 million to $2 million for that property. Key, though, will probably be how it's zoned.

It's currently zoned agriculture-residential. The county is asking the Knoxville City Council to rezone it to commercial (MPC recommends “office”). The council will take up the issue tonight and during its May 28 meeting.

Quick look at Carter school finances

Just an update on the finances for Carter Elementary. No particular reason. Just something I started putting together when I was working on a story about the sale of the Hillcrest property.

Soooo . . . .

As it stands, the county has collected $9.76 million for the Carter Elementary School project, including some $2.5 million that the school system contributed that officials initially planned to renovate – and not rebuild – the old school.

In addition, the county has another $2 million from the sale of the Solway property; $900,000 from a class action lawsuit settlement between the SEC and JP Morgan; and a $3.4 million payment from E-911 to the county for the building it uses.

The county more than a year ago, had expected another $770,000 from some property sales along Marble Alley in the downtown area, but the buyer has opted to lease the land for at least another year. The sale will still go through, officials said, but not by June when the county needs it to pay for the school's construction.

Overall, that means the county is still on the hook for $4.1 million, not counting whatever is needed for the furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E), which is another $ 2million.

 Still, Knox County Mayor Tim Buchett said he's not concerned about meeting the deadline.

“We're in good shape right now and moving along schedule,” he said.

The mayor added that “when I took office I said we were going to get out of the things that you can find in the Yellow Pages,” meaning he didn't want the county competing with private businesses, something that, in part, led to the sale of the Solway property.

“I said that I wanted to put surplus properties out for sale and get them back on the tax rolls and that's what we're doing,” he said.

The mayor also pointed out that the county is currently in discussions with Hillcrest HealthCare Communities to sell the property it currently leases for $1 year to the nursing home operators for $5.3 million.

If approved by the Knox County Commission, the money would go toward paying off Carter and make up any difference, Burchett said.

The board is expected to talk more about the potential land sales later this month.

Duncan takes credit for Carter, raises

In his never-ending quest to collect and deposit every check the county has, Knox County Trustee John “Triple 3” Duncan has outdone himself.

Cause now he is taking credit for the administration's plan to build the Carter community a new elementary school and give employees raises beginning on Jan. 1.

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, who spearheaded both moves, called the Carter claim “ridiculous”. Then he chuckled in disbelief.

Here's the deal and how all this started:

Earlier this month, Duncan posted the following on Facebook:

"I'm so proud of the work of my staff! We have operated at 49% under last year's budget, yet revenues are at an all time high. I was pleased to hear State Officials remark that the Knox County Trustee's Office is the model for all others in the State to follow."

Now, I'm reading this and scratching my head. Cause this sounds a little misleading. (The 49 percent part – I just figure his aunt is the “state officials” he refers to. Heh.)

So, I sent him an email, asking what's up.

Here's his response:

Last year, the office had spent $235,744 in operating costs at this point. This year, we have spent $121,151.

For the whole year, we are now working with a $272,354 budget, as opposed to $387,735 last year.

We're trying to run everything as lean as possible and have tried to cut everything from contracted services to supplies and materials. So far, we've been very successful.

Despite the cuts, collections are higher than they've ever been. Last year, we set a new record for revenues, which allowed the Mayor and Commission to give employee raises and build Carter a new elementary school. This year, we have outpaced that number by over $1.8 million at this point.

Couple things here. Apparently, the salary suit the Trustee Office files each year – you know that lawsuit that is the budget for salaries – doesn't count as a “budget” budget. So, yes, I suppose the Trustee's Office is operating “at 49 percent under last year's budget” if all you're talking about is the money used to buy office supplies. Because that's pretty much the budget Duncan refers to.

The salaries are something else.

The other thing: You'll note the trustee says his office “set a new record for revenues” that “allowed” the county to build the Carter community a new elementary school.

Uh, that's not exactly how some other folks who work over there in the Deathstar see it.

The county could have collected $5 this year, and it was still going to build a new school.

As it stands, the administration has designated $11 million of the $13.9 million it needs to build the school.

Here's how county is paying for the new school (information courtesy of the finance department):

• School Board contribution: $2.5 million
• E-911 District early repayment for the center facility: $3.4 million
• Solway land sale: $2 million
• City repayment for Young-Williams Animal Center: $943,819
• SEC settlement: $892,551
• Marble Alley – initial four parcels: $771,000
• Bond refinancing 2011-12 – county's share of savings: $511,685
  

The bill comes due in late spring 2013.

As for whether Duncan played a role in county employee raises? He could make a case for that. So, too, could the economy. And Burchett. And all the people who paid their bills on time.

Burchett speaks about Carter Elementary

Well, they finally broke ground – or held the ground breaking or whatever – for Carter Elementary School today.

Click right smack here for county Mayor Tim Burchett's remarks.

On a side note: When this project is finally complete, someone should put his name on a plaque and attach it to the building. His name only. Whether you like what he did or not, he was the driving force behind getting this thing built.

He deserves the recognition. He won't admit it, though.

UPDATE: Commissioner Dave Wright also should be on the plaque.

Carter school shovel-fest set for Nov. 9

About the worst kept secret. Naw, there's worse, I suppose. Whatever.

The county, school people and whoever else wants to ride county Mayor Tim Burchett's coattails to the glory (or debacle, depending on how you view it) of building the Carter community a new elementary school will hold a groundbreaking for the facility at 3:15 p.m. on Nov. 9.

Man, that was a loooong sentence.

According to the Bat-map, developers will build the East Knox school on Strawberry Plains Pike between McCubbins Road and South Molly Bright Road.

I think.

The groundbreaking will feature Burchett and a bunch of folks who worked hard against his plan to build the school. Folks will more than likely line up, smile and stick shovels into the dirt. Someone will take a picture and then the folks who are in it will put it in a frame and hang it in their office along with the pictures they have of themselves shaking hands or posing next to someone not even remotely famous (but they think they are).

Did that make sense?

Then, a few will pat each other on the back as they look for the soft spot to stab.

Heh.

Mayor to host November spin meetings

Oh man, glad to have Michael “Big Sexy” Grider back from vacation or wherever he took off to.

Was missing the spin releases he puts out about his boss, County Mayor Tim Burchett.

Apparently, the mayor will be holding some more one-on-one meetings with residents. He’ll start with an easy one at 2 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Carter Senior center. (More will be announced later.)

Can’t imagine those folks will complain too much. (You, know, Carter Elementary and the business park?)

Anyhoo, here’s Grider’s spin and, as always, it’s more accurate than a Martha Rose Woodward blog post (although that’s not saying much, but I digress):

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett will host a series of constituent meetings to give citizens the opportunity to speak individually with him about issues that are important to them. These meetings are open to the public.

These meetings give citizens the opportunity to meet one-on-one with Mayor Burchett in their community, without having to travel downtown.

For more information contact Michael Grider by phone at 865.215.4750.

November groundbreaking for Carter

So, after all this time, it's really starting to look like the county will build the Carter community a new elementary school. I've got to tell you, I never figured this would fly. But, whatever.

The Mayor and Superintendent (heh) Tim Burchett and his administration right now is talking to the school folks and some other people and whoever, and are hammering out a date to hold the official groundbreaking.

I believe the plan is not only hold a symbolic breaking (you know where the big to-do people wear the yellow hard-hats and use fancy shovels to twist a scoop of dirt around), but – from what I understand – they actually want to get real bulldozers out there and start real work.

Right now, the schedule is to hold it around the end of the first week of November. I've been given a date, but it's still a moving target.

The county will probably issue a spin release about it in the upcoming days. Or so.

The good thing is this: It will be more accurate than anything Martha Rose Woodward ever wrote.

Heh.

IDB signs off on Carter school proposal

It's not as fun posting the county administration's spin notices when Michael “Big Sexy” Grider is out of town. Hard to make fun of the silliness when it's not him sending them out.

Anyhoo, as expected the Industrial Development Board signed off on the Carter Elementary School proposal. From what I understand, the developer could break ground late this month or in early November.

Heather Simpson is sitting in for Big Sexy this week. Here's the spin release (no doubt written by Dean “The Emperor” Rice):

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett’s proposed method for funding and building a new Carter Elementary School cleared its final legal hurdle today after the Industrial Development Board voted to approve the legal documents associated with the proposal.

After the vote, Mayor Burchett released the following statement:

“Finally, after years of waiting, a new elementary school is going to be built in the Carter community. I am honored to have been a part of this unique opportunity to see that this longtime promise to this community’s children, families and teachers is fulfilled.

“As we prepare for work to begin at the site of the new school, it is important that we remember that this success was a joint effort on behalf of the Carter community, my administration, the Knox County Schools, the Board of Education, the Knox County Commission, the Industrial Development Board and Partners Development. We would not have made it this far without all of us working together. Many people deserve to be singled out for their hard work, but School Board member Mike McMillan and Commissioner Dave Wright should especially be commended. Their support of a new Carter Elementary School never faltered.”

Carter school plan clears another hurdle

Just got a spin release from Michael "Big Sexy" Grider, letting me know the obvious: County Mayor Tim Burchett has once again fist bumped Dean “The Emperor” Rice as the two celebrated another victory in their efforts to build the Carter community a new elementary school.

In a prepared statement, the mayor said:

“Now is the time to build a new elementary school for the children of Carter and their teachers, and we are closer than ever to seeing that it happens. I appreciate the Knox County Board of Education’s willingness to work with my administration to see that this project continues to move forward.

“One more step remains in this process before construction on the new school begins and the longtime promise of a new Carter Elementary becomes a reality. Next week, the IDB will vote on the legal documents associated with the development of a new Carter Elementary School. If the documents are approved, the Partners Development team could begin construction as early as next month.”

Expect a rubber stamp from the IDB.

And another fist bump.

School board to vote on Carter design only

Just got off the phone with county purchasing director Hugh Holt a little while ago. Actually, it was several hours ago, but I got elections tonight, so I'm doing nothing right now. Yeah.

Anyhoo, he said he talked to someone who's name I can't remember, but he's high up in the school system food chain - not as high up as Lord McIntyre, but up there - and he said the Board of Education only needs to approve the schematic designs for Carter Elementary School.

They are not voting on anything else. This should take place Oct. 5. For all the talk, this should pretty much be a slam dunk, as the designs are comparable to Gibbs and some other schools that meet the so-called standards that have never quite been explained.

From what I understand, a vote against the designs would be a vote against the designs of other schools. That's just my impression.

Also, there's been some talk that because the project will use a different developer, then the BOE has to - again - vote on it. That's not the case. They never voted on an actual developer back in August. They voted only to accept a school from the county.

Also, there are some folks out there who think the project should be rebid because the bids supposedly called for a design-build, lease-back, whatever thing. That's also not the case. All of the developers - in their bids - said they would accept a lump sum payment.

So, essentially nothing has changed.

Finally, there's been some talk about the real cost of the school. The actual brick and mortar building is supposed to cost no more than $13.9 million - the same as the county planned to pay The Devon Group before they pulled out for reasons the governor knows. Er, that's what I hear anyway.

(Oh yeah, the new developer by they way, if you've been under a rock, is Partners Development. But, I digress.)

Officials think they can actually get the $13.9 million price tag down a little bit. However, there are some other costs. They call them "FF&E's." This is the crap that goes inside the building. (Fixtures, furniture and equipment.) That is not included in the price.

Initially, it was going to cost $2 million for this stuff when Devon was going to build the school. It's now supposed to cost $1 million. I can't remember why. It was explained to me; it made sense; I've now forgotten.

That's on the county, also.

So, there you have it. Presumably, the county's industrial development authority will sign off on this on Oct. 11 (and the school board on Oct. 5.) Technically, the county had until Oct. 17 to turn in the schematic designs, but that stage wrapped up well before then, so the proposal can go before the two bodies on time.

Groundbreaking - if Partners doesn't pull out - should take place in November.

However, with all that has happened, I'll believe it when I see it.

Public emails, calls about sex offender ban

I got curious about public reaction to county Mayor Tim Burchett's new ban. You know, the one where he officially kicked sex offenders out of county libraries.

And no, I didn't want to read what the knuckleheads thought about it over at the KNS comment section. Most of those notes are the same people just posting under different names, anyway. No, seriously, check it out. Visit the site around midnight when a story gets posted and then watch two people start arguing. Love how the syntax is the same. And they just coincidentally are up at the same hour. All the time. Always picking fights with each other.

Damn, I'm rambling.

Anyhoo, I sent in a request to the administration. Apparently, since Monday – when King Tim announced the new policy – and as of yesterday morning, 16 people have phoned his office, according to the call log.

Another 10 folks emailed the office.

That's not too bad, I suppose. Communications Manager Michael “Big Sexy” Grider said “it's close to being the most” in regards to feedback.

He said the Carter Elementary School debate probably takes the cake, but feedback for that issue continues to trickle in all the time.

They also got some feedback on the budget. I'm assuming it was from the seniors who were upset that the mayor hates them and took away their free bus rides.

And, they also got quite of bit of correspondence late last year when the mayor wanted to hold public hearings for the proposed Midway Business Park project that he still won't publicly say he wanted done, but – yeah – he did. Heh.

Course, the county was soliciting feedback for that one, so let's just say it doesn't count.

Soooo, if you're interested, you can click right smack here for the call log. And you can click right smack here for copies of the emails.

Please note that I have the originals but also requested that the county redact the email addresses and phone numbers, so the crazies that post over on the KNS site don't get a hold of them. (I know my people wouldn't do that.) I only mention it in case someone wants to talk about transparency on behalf of the county. It was my call.

Based on the records, it appears that two out of the 16 callers didn't like the ban. One said she would not vote for the mayor again. Wow. For banning dirty old men and women from a library? Pretty sure she has bigger issues than that.

The other wanted proof that a sex offender in the library had ever molested a child. Wow. I think the idea behind Burchett's plan is to make it to where a sex offender never does molest a child.

Others pretty much said they supported the move, and one person said: “They can have two options – castration or stay out of the library.”

Most people who sent emails to Big Tim were in favor of the ban, although about half of them don't live in the county. One person sent some bizarre response, so I'm not sure what side of the fence he is on.

He probably doesn't know either.

Anyway, have fun.

I just figured I'd post something today.

Commissioners to talk about talking

Looked through the county commission's work session agenda for Monday. Glad there's nothing about homelessness and hillside/ridgetop. I might get out of there by midnight.

Anyhoo, the Carter Elementary issue is obviously back. This will probably be the meeting where we all find out specifically where everyone stands. Well, until the following week when some folks stick their finger in the political wind and change their minds.

The board also will talk about whether to reimburse former Sheriff Tim Hutchison's law firm for its legal bills.

And we got another interesting little gem: Commissioners will talk about how much they talk.

Chairman Mike Hammond was telling me the other day that the board doesn't exactly follow Robert's Rules of Order. (If you don't know what it is, then Google it. Heh.) Apparently, when commissioners are talking about an issue, they only get one go-around. At times. Not always. Sometimes. Whatever.

Hammond, though, lets everyone talk for as long as they want and as often. So long as they get in line. I'm talking about commissioners here - not the public. The public talks too much, anyway. Heh.

Soooo, Commissioner Mike Brown asked the top dog about it, saying maybe he should limit the amount commissioners yap. Pot calling the kettle black and all. And Hammond acquiesced.

Still, the chairman pointed out that a commissioner might later have a "good question" and - if Brown has his way - they won't be able to ask it.

I'm betting nothing changes.

IDB approves Carter school negotiations

To the surprise of no one, the Industrial Development Board voted today to let the county enter into formal negotiations with Partners Development, which hopefully for them doesn't have any connections to Big Bill that - you know - could maybe cause them to pull out.

or not.

(Like maybe the last developer did.)

Er, just saying.

Oddly enough, the spin release - issue by Michael "Low" Grider - was titled: "Plan to build new school on schedule."

I'm thinking it should have been more like: "Plan to build new school inches closer to getting shot down by school board later on next month."

Or, whatever.

Update on Carter; Sandy Loy's letter

I talked to Emperor Dean Rice yesterday and he said the administration is on track with its plans to have the No. 2 developer building the Carter community a new elementary school.

That is, if the county commission and school board go along with it.

There's been some talk around the Deathstar about whether the county needs the board of education's approval. Regardless of whether it does, it's just plain smart to get it. At any time, the school board could renege the go-ahead it gave the county last month if the right members decide to bring the issue up for vote again.

You know, the whole parliamentary procedure thing.

Anyhoo, in the meantime, local developer Sandy Loy this morning sent the administration an email that pretty much takes a shot at everyone. (It was addressed to emperor Dean.) Along with the email, he had some fancy attachments (those are the underlined things you can click on. Heh.).

Here's his note:

Dean,

Attached is a PDF of a newsletter from the CMAA explaining the CM types which seem to be constantly confused by people with an interest for the topic to stay confusing.

I hope you will read it and keep it for reference.

I don't know the status of the Carter deal but I think the attempt to take the Devon design to Partners as second bidder is a mistake. I think you have opened the door for the BOE to take another look at it and it will get killed.

Maybe I'm wrong, in any regard I hope that the day will come when Tim steps up and actually does something to start saving the County money while building schools. Spending 13mm for an elementary school is not a good start no matter who builds it.

I talked to Cindy Buttry at length this week and she is still being lied to by Dillingham and McIntyre about the schools I built and their respective costs. They keep telling the BOE "That Paulette school in Union Co. isn't up to Knox Co Standards", and it isn't, BUT I DIDN'T BUILD THAT SCHOOL! They don't mention the Claiborne Co. High Schools which they toured and admitted were indeed equivalent or superior to Knox Co Standards.

So when they start this with you and Tim make sure you call them out on it, Union Co CHEAP, Claiborne Co INEXPENSIVE BUT COMPARABLE IN DESIGN AND QUALITY.

Also note the Sweetwater Primary data sheet which I built for 660 kids for 7.6mm!

I am also attaching a letter from the Director of Schools in Claiborne Co stating his opinion as well as a project sheet with pics.

Thanks,

Sandy
Sanford C. Loy, CCM
President
Construction Plus Inc.

Carter Elementary project not dead. Yet.

Chapter one million in the story that won't quit:

It looks like the Big Dog and the Emperor have been on the horn this morning, trying to wheel and deal his way into a new Carter Elementary School.

This time, the administration plans to use Partners Development, the No. 2 bidder after the Devon Group chickened out last week because big bad Commissioner Amy Broyles scared them off.

Under county Mayor Tim Burchett's proposed time line – and if the county's school board and industrial development authority give the go head – the plan could be back in the commission's hand in late October for the closing decision.

The county would turn to the No. 2 bidder, Partners Development, and the process would take the same route officials took with the Devon Group, the initial developer.

The administration would need the industrial development board to sign off on it, in what they hope would be a special called meeting in early September. County and school officials would start negotiations with the Knoxville-based developer and at the end of the month ask commissioners to approve a resolution in support of funding the elementary school, in part, by selling other county property.

The plan then would go to the county board of education in early October and back to the industrial development board for its blessing. Commissioners would further discuss it during the Oct 17 work session and make a final vote the following week.

If any of the three boards vote down the plan, then it more than likely dies for good, and the school system is expected to only renovate the historic East Knox County school.

My guess is someone is going to say "no," but, you know, this is Knox County politics. So who knows?