In case you missed our Spring meeting on March 31, here is the latest on WMNA’s activities to secure the old Hillwood High School property for the community, as was the desire of H.G. Hill Jr. when the land was donated to the city.
After several attempts to obtain transparency on the fate of HHS, we went to NewsChannel5’s Hannah McDonald. Here is the story:
NewsChannel5 – Nashville taxpayers demand answers on closed 30-acre school site
After Hannah asked MNPS for their response, she received this message from the MNPS Communication Director:
Hillwood High School is currently being used for multiple purposes, including graduation ceremonies, athletics, professional learning and development space, as well as an emergency backup location should there be a need (like the former Gra-Mar Middle School). This is considered the Home field location for two high schools, (Hume Fogg and MLK) for several of their sports. We are also preparing the school as a use for support hub offices that are needed in service to schools in the area.
We are slated to open a small two classroom early learning center (Pre-Kindergarten), pending final Board approval, in the 2026-27 school year and have a plan in our Capital Improvement Budget for a larger early learning center subject to future city investment.
We have also identified this location as a potential temporary site for a future West Meade Elementary replacement, should funding be allocated by the city. West Meade Elementary is currently in Year 1 of the Capital Improvement Budget, meaning it is eligible for funding as soon as resources become available, while recognizing there are limited funds and competing priorities in any Capital Spending Plan.
While we value input from residents, we do not have plans to dispose of the property or discontinue its use. The site continues to serve several important needs for both the district and the community. This information has been shared at Board meetings [youtube.com]. At this time, we do not have a community meeting planned, as we are not currently soliciting ideas or proposals for alternative uses or disposal of the site.
Thanks,
Sean Braisted
As you can see in the last paragraph, MNPS is not interested in our “ideas or proposals,” perhaps because MNPS only has 1 plan for the old high school – keep it away from the community as long as possible. Maybe they are holding on to the property to keep their budget as high as it currently is. The cost of keeping the property has to be unsustainable. Perhaps they are just speculating, since the value of 30 acres in West Meade/Hillwood is bound to be in the $25-40 million range.
The real travesty is that MNPS closed the high school because they wanted to build Lawson High School in Bellevue and bus students there. Lawson has a nice extensive athletic facility (seen here), so why do they claim they need the facilities at HHS? Also, they claim that the buildings are not in good enough condition for public use, yet they have MNPD, a local church, and other entities leasing portions of it for their use. I wonder if they told the church that the facilities were not safe??
How Can I Help?
The city needs to know that the large community surrounding the old HHS has no park, community center, senior center, athletic center, storm shelter, etc. We pay an extremely large amount of property tax, especially after the tax increase, and for us to lack these community amenities is ridiculous.
If you feel like the property needs to be returned to the community, and not used as a placeholder for extracurricular activities, you can contact Maura Sullivan, the Chief Operating Officer for MNPS and let her know we are serious about this property. Her email is Maura.Sullivan@mnps.org. Also, Sean Braisted is the Communications Director for MNPS and he provided this answer about Hillwood to channel five. He evidently takes care of all communication for the school system. His email is Sean.Braisted@mnps.org. I personally think the more emails the better.
Finally, you can email the mayor at mayor@nashville.gov so that they would know this is on our radar, and we are serious about how our tax dollars are used.