Regarding the proposed school to be built in Riverwood Farms:

I attended the informational meeting held in April at Cordova High School and was dismayed to learn that in addition to an entrance off of Dexter Lane, there is also to be an entrance off of Riverwood Farms Parkway. I am very opposed to an entrance in our neighborhood!! We were originally told the school would be elementary only, but that plan has been changed to also include a middle school. Projected enrollment is 1200 students!!! That will bring an enormous amount of traffic, as well as noise and trash into the heart of our neighborhood.

I am delighted that the school is currently "on hold" due to budget uncertainties.
If the money is ever approved to build the school, I would beg that the entrance from Riverwood be eliminated and changed to a second entrance off of Dexter Lane.

Also, what can be done about widening Dexter Lane and Macon near Harding? The traffic is already congested enough along there; I cannot imagine what it would be like with the addition of the proposed school.

The placing of the Riverwood Farms Elementary School “On-Hold” is both good and bad for the community. When the staff of Memphis City Schools announced it was looking for sites for both elementary and high schools in the Cordova area, they told the community they would be involved in the planning of those sites. It was unfortunate that few sites qualified for the needs of the school system, so the Riverwood Farms Elementary site, may be the only alternative we have. There was no design of the school to match the site. Memphis City Schools simply took an existing school design and made it fit the Riverwood Farms property.

It is good for the community, because it gives us the opportunity to get re-involved in the planning process. The potential impact of the school is negative to both the adjacent neighborhoods, Riverwood Farms and Cordova the Town. With the project “On-Hold” it is time to inject the concerns of both of these neighborhoods in the future design, orientation, access and other issues related to the school and this site. It is critical that we let our School Board officials knows that we want to be involved in the process.

It is bad for the community because there are 2,500 students who don’t know where they will be going to school. The County Schools strongly objected to extending the current agreement to school these children until May 2009. They object because it impacts their ability to plan and properly utilize their facilities, and plan new ones. They do not have extend the agreement and Memphis City School will have to adjust boundaries, build portables and scramble to house these students. Our CHILDREN deserve better. Countywood and Eads have been in the City for a number of years, Berryhill now for two years, paying City taxes and not getting the services for those dollars. It remains time to ask hard questions. Sixty days ago, Memphis City Schools demonstrated to the School Board, to the Shelby County Commission and the Memphis and Shelby County Needs Assessment Committee that they had the money for this school. WHERE did it go? We need to find out.

There are many needs in the Cordova area. Cordova Leadership Council is working to have a new comprehensive plan done for the area. The current plan, done when the community was just beginning to grow is 20 years old. The area needs a good assessment of our needs and work with the City to get those needs prioritized and accomplished. Macon Road and Dexter Lane are far from the only roads that need to be addressed to cure our congestion problems.

I am very disappointed in the delay of this school and hope and pray that the entire project doesn't get cancelled altogether. The current public schools in Cordova are very overcrowded and I agree that our children and the taxpaying citizens of Cordova deserve better.

As a resident of one of the neighborhoods adjacent to the proposed site I believe that the school would be a benefit to our neighborhood. I would much rather see a nice school constructed here than have another builder come in and buy up the property to make more low-cost homes that would further devalue properties in the surrounding neighborhoods. In contrast, I believe a new school would increase property values because neighborhoods near schools are generally in greater demand.

In conclusion, I believe that if you weigh the cons of increased traffic that would occur at certain times of the day in a limited number of months throughout the year against the permanent pros of an improved public school system, increased property values and increased benefits from the tax dollars we pay the city then it becomes clear that the school is a good thing for our community. I believe the citizens of Cordova should embrace this project, engage in the development process, and provide the necessary support to make this school happen.

"A limited number of months"????????
School runs from the beginning of August through the end of May - that hardly qualifies as a "limited number of months".

I am still hoping and praying that the school is never built at the chosen sight.