In a few days, the superintendent will present the school budget to the Commission. As you should be well aware, there has been much media press about this proposal. Rick Smith has spent the last month and a half going district to district, school faculty to school faculty to deliver the message, the vision of what we need to become the best school system in the South.
But unfortunately, the focus was taken away from the vision a number of times and emphasis by some parties of a need for a tax increase has blinded some of those parties. So here it is now; the time to get real. To get our schools up to par, to promote skills that our workforce needs; and according to statistics don't have, (i.e.-VW, and others that we may want to attract in the future) we need to take action; and yes, an investment in education dollars is absolutely a necessity; equivalent to a mere three dollars a week investment, or a sacrificial latte in most cases for those that own property, to continue to attract companies to our blossoming economy.
Now how do we get our mayor and our Commission, to see this value? It will take your voice, not just school board members to make it happen. If you are willing to sit back and expect others to do what you need to do to improve our educational system in this county, their conclusive vote will be no to a moderate tax increase for improvement in education. The reasoning that 'I don't have kids in school' or 'my kids are grown' is a cop out. These 'kids' will be your future mayors, commissioners and board members, and other influential folk that will determine the direction and the future of this county. These 'kids' will be the ones who become CEO's of local companies and move their companies out of Chattanooga because there wasn't any planning ahead for the future or for their children's futures. The underfunding issue for quality education will not go away any time soon.
Please continue to communicate anyway possible to the mayor and commissioners that the time is now to increase funding for education in Hamilton County. There is no time to wait.
Donna Horn
Vice Chairman - HCDE School Board Member
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Do the schools need more money? Short answer, yes they do. I am a homeowner. Am I willing to pay more for school funding? Short answer, yes I am! But, money spent in public schools and not just here but all over the country, varies from state-to-state. Some schools pay double what Tennessee taxpayers pay. Is the resulting improvement worthy of more money? Short answer is no.
When I taught in another state we had full time P.E., art, music, guidance and many more. The tragic downside of education as we know it and have been part of is not doing a good enough job to administer to the high, very high percentage of children that do not achieve reading success.
Where is the plight of these children mentioned in the plea for more money? Where are the specific programs being developed for this quite large population of kids that don't achieve? I will answer my own question. There aren't any. Does making some reading progress good enough for the school system ? Obviously, it is enough for a little.
Let me give the reader some news about a little progress being good enough. If the child entering, already behind his peers, makes some progress in his first year of school he moves on but still behind. As he moves on to the next grade, still behind, is he, in fact catching up? This same child reaching 4th grade he could be, and often is, two to three years behind his peers and we, lock-step him, to the next grade and cycle of failure, poverty, failure, poverty and add another, prison, jails, welfare, food stamps, and poor employment prospects.
Want to do it right and justify the increase in property taxes, ask for something different for the large number of kids that fail to achieve? The taxpayer are the only people that can ask for and demand something different from the school and then most would gladly pay more.
Robert Brooks