Powell, TN – (WOKI / WVLT) – Anderson County residents will have an opportunity this week to help shape the future of the current Claxton Elementary School property before county leaders move forward with plans to sell the site.
A community town hall meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Claxton Elementary School gymnasium. County officials say the meeting is designed to gather public input before the property is placed on the market.
The existing school remains in operation, but construction of a new Claxton Elementary School is underway across the highway. The replacement school is expected to open in April 2027, after which the current property will be declared surplus and offered for sale.
District 1 County Commissioner Chad McNabb said county leaders want to start conversations with residents early in the process rather than wait until decisions are closer to being made.
“We thought it’d be a really good idea on the front end to go ahead and start having these conversations with the community, let them come out, express what they want to go there, what they don’t want to go there,” McNabb said.
Community members have already begun sharing ideas for possible redevelopment of the property. Suggestions include riverfront kayak rentals, restaurants and a recreation center that could take advantage of the site’s location near the Clinch River.
Dakota Waddles, who works near the school, said he hopes the property can become a destination that attracts residents and visitors alike.
“I think that we should make this place like the hot spot, you know, like Knoxville, and have a lot more involved activities around here. Make it somewhere people want to be,” Waddles said.
County officials are targeting September or October to formally list the property for sale, with hopes of completing a transaction by the end of the year. According to McNabb, proceeds from the sale are expected to help offset the cost of the new $30 million Claxton Elementary School, which was constructed without a property tax increase.
Oversight of the sale process will be handled by a task force consisting of four Anderson County commissioners and four Anderson County Board of Education members. The group is expected to meet monthly as plans progress.
“It is so important to the future of our community,” McNabb said.
The Anderson County School District declined to comment on potential future uses for the existing school building.
County leaders emphasize that no decisions have been made regarding the property’s future and that public feedback collected during Tuesday’s meeting will help guide discussions moving forward.
The town hall will be held Tuesday, July 21, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Claxton Elementary School gymnasium in Powell.
