RENEGOTIATION:

Lakeland, Arlington school systems restructure agreement.

The Lakeland and Arlington school systems have terminated their interlocal agreement for educating Lakeland students — a move that will cost Lakeland almost $200,000 over two years for ending the accord early.

In essence, the move is a renegotiation connected to Lakeland opening a new middle school — Lakeland Middle Preparatory School — for the 2017-18 academic year. The new school, which could be under construction by the end of next month, will remove the Lakeland School System’s need to send middle school students to Arlington Community Schools. The renegotiated agreement still allows Lakeland students to attend Arlington High since Lakeland does not have its own high school.

Bot h school boa rds adopted the new terms, Lakeland’s approval coming earlier this week. The Arlington board endorsed the restructured agreement in a special meeting last week.

Lakeland Superintendent Ted Horrell said he is “really excited about our long-term agreement with Arlington for our high school students.”

The cities entered the initial seven-year agreement in March 2014 after the six suburbs in Shelby County established municipal school districts. With only an elementary school, the bulk of Lakeland students needed to attend middle and high schools in the Arlington system.

Part of the initial agreement was a three-year cancellation notice and a penalty for early termination. Since the notice is only one year, Lakeland will pay Arlington just under $100,000 a year for the remaining two years on July 1 of 2017 and 2018.

“We’re just honoring the previous agreement,” Horrell said. “In my mind, (the payment) shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody.”

One benefit of the new agreement, the parties said, is the absence of any time constraints. Instead, the contract can be terminated if the enrollment at Arlington High reaches 2,100 students.

Arlington Superintendent Tammy Mason said the language associated with enrollment makes more sense. The need for a new school is not associated with a calendar, she said, but rather enrollment creating crowded conditions.

“We were in agreement, this makes the most sense,” Mason said.

“This agreement ties to the best interest of our students,” added Kevin Floyd, chairman of the LSS school board.