Rutherford School Board Scoops up Land to Replace the McFadden School Building

McFadden School of Excellence (Stock Photo)

It took some occasionally tense discussions, but the Rutherford County Board of Education decided to purchase five properties near the historic McFadden School of Excellence on Thursday night.

After a 6-1 vote, with Board Member Katie Darby as the only dissenter, the board agreed to purchase the properties for a sum just north of $1.3 million. This drew considerable debate, as the total tax appraisal value for the properties was 40 percent less than the agreed purchase price. The combined market appraisal values of the properties were also $565,000 less than what the board eventually agreed on.

The properties would be demolished to provide land for a new school building to replace McFadden. Rutherford County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, and the school board has faced challenges in building schools fast enough to keep up, including the rebuilding and renovation of McFadden.

Board Discussion

Board Member Tammy Sharp was the first to voice her disapproval of the pricing gap, saying she supported the project but didn’t agree to paying such a high toll. Board Member Butch Vaughn argued that the board didn’t have much of a choice.

“If you’ve got something you want to buy, you're going to have to pay what people want,” Vaughn said. “Appraised value means absolutely nothing… I think the amount’s fair, and I think if we want it bad enough, you have to pay the fiddler.”

At the end of the nearly 30-minute discussion, a vote was called to move forward with the five purchasing contracts, and things got testy.

“This is a tough one,” Darby said. “We're looking at a difference of a half a million dollars.”

Frances Rosales interrupted Darby, saying, “Just vote. We just need to vote.”

Darby shot back at Rosales, saying, “Excuse me, I don’t need to hear from you,” before Board Chair Claire Maxwell intervened and continued on with the vote.

McFadden History

Rutherford County constructed the first Elvie McFadden School, as it was known then, in 1927 for 99 students. It was the first school in the county to be named after a woman.

That building caught fire in 1932, and the district constructed a new school that stood until it too caught fire in 1939. Rutherford County then built the current McFadden school, utilizing bricks from the former Mooney School building.