The Knoxville School Board has decided to take a pass on a federal grant to construct a tornado safe room, because of a paperwork mix-up.

The district applied for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover the cost of building the safe room; the total amount was $1.9 million, with 75 percent coming from FEMA, 15 percent from the state and a 10 percent local match.

But the board learned Monday night FEMA sent the wrong paperwork; the proper forms instead call for a 25 percent local match to go with 75 percent in federal monies. This would have put Knoxville’s portion at $486,000 — nearly $300,000 more than the district expected to spend.

This would have taken away funds the district needed for other purposes; between this and a January 31st deadline, the board decided against applying for the grant.

The board also heard from representatives of the senior class, who asked that the graduation ceremony be shifted from the Knoxville Performing Arts Center back to the gymnasium this May.

The K-PAC is air conditioned, while the gymnasium is not; but the gym holds more, and the senior class would prefer to have as many guests as possible instead of trying to fit everyone into the K-PAC. Students would have been limited to six guests each.

Video streaming is expected to be made available from the gymnasium to other, cooler parts of the campus for those who would prefer to avoid heat.