Some Brentwood residents want the city to consider creating its own local school district.

Grady Tabor spoke to Brentwood City Commission at its meeting Monday evening asking the city to conduct a feasibility by "an impartial consulting firm" to look at whether creating a city-run school district is an option.

As Williamson County Commission struggles to come up with long-term funding for the projected influx of students to enroll in its public schools over the next several years, Tabor argued that future tax increases to fund the school district would affect Brentwood residents disproportionately.

"We would feel increases more than anyone else in the county due to our home values," he said.

Tabor said there's a "fundamental funding gap" between what Brentwood contributes to Williamson County School and what the city is getting in return.

"Could a smaller school system with local control improve property values?" he asked commissioners.

Williamson County Schools projects an additional 10,000 students enrolling in the next five years.

Tabor's comments were met with loud applause from roughly 25 other residents who attended in support of the proposal

City commissioners thanked Tabor for his comments and residents for their interest in the matter.

"I'm not sure how I feel about a city school system. I usually think of starting a system when you've got a failing one you're trying to get away from," Commissioner Anne Dunn said.

Others seemed more supportive of Tabor's request.

"I think more information is better to have, I'm just not sure which way to go on that," Mayor Jill Burgin said. "We do get the question enough that we need to be able to give specific answers on that. I look forward to pursuing that, myself."

Under Tennessee code, any municipality can create their own school district through a referendum if their charter allows for it. If city residents approve the new district via referendum, the state education commissioner then determines if a new district is equipped to serve students.

Reach Elaina Sauber at esauber@tennessean.com, 615-571-1172 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.