Williamson County School Board Zones Stephens Valley To Fairview

FRANKLIN, TN — The Williamson County school board voted to zone mega-development Stephens Valley into the Fairview schools' pipeline Monday night. John Rochford, the developer of the project that crosses Williamson and Davidson counties near Natchez Trace Parkway, had offered the school district $1.2 million towards renovations at Franklin High School in exchange for his project being zoned into the Franklin pipeline. Rochford abruptly withdrew that offer Friday.

Because of the long build-out time for the project, Stephens Valley was not projected to put either Fairview or Franklin overcapacity and it has bounced back and forth between Franklin and Fairview during rezoning discussions. The plan initially presented Monday had the project sending students to Grassland Elementary, Grassland Middle and Franklin High, but board member Eliot Mitchell proposed the shift to Fairview. That amendment passed 8-4.

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Primarily, the concern about zoning Stephens Valley into Franklin was about transportation. To get to Franklin High from Stephens Valley would require a lengthier drive along Sneed Road, whereas Fairview can be reached via Highway 100.

The new zoning plan goes into effect for the 2018-19 school year.

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