Roy Exum
As Mayor Jim Coppinger and his staff tighten and tweak the FY2018 budget, which will be revealed
on Tuesday, there are two huge questions waiting to be answered. The first is obvious – how big will the first tax increase
in 12 years be – but the second is far more obscure.
How does the Department of Education prepare for the ludicrous take-over of five Hamilton County schools by the state?
Hamilton County, in all honesty, has been slighted by the County Commissioners in the last decade. The ideal solution would have been small tax increases every several years. Yet to not keep pace with the nation’s economy places the county in a game of catch-up. They will struggle for years to overcome the neglect.
Think of it as a third grader who can’t read on grade level. That child could easily be behind all the way through his senior year because he can’t keep the pace of his classmates. The schools will never have enough money. Look at athletic facilities all over the district – they will continue to deteriorate unless they are repaired or replaced. Time waits for no man.
Education is badly under-funded. We have no new schools coming out of the ground, nearly a quarter-million in deferred repairs to our aging buildings and a new superintendent about to get added to the payroll. It is stinkin’ thinkin’ to halt all education money “until we get results.” That accomplishes nothing at the students’ expense. And whoever sits in the big chair will want to make some hires, bring about innovations that cost money, and cope with a $24 million wish list the school district has clearly illustrated it must have.
But the biggest burden is suddenly a relentless grab by the state of Tennessee. It is allowing one person – who is not even elected – to take five inner-city schools into a senseless “partnership” that will end up costing the taxpayers millions over the five years. McQueen’s plan is to bring $1 million in state money for “planning” in FY2019 and then throw in another half-million in FY2020.
McQueen is demanding she hire a director for the Partnership who will have total autonomy. We get to pay this Roscoe for the next five years, and his/her executive director(s),and more assistants and office staff. We get to pay for the office itself, telephones, computers and all other expenses. We even get to pay the experts from Boston who we already know haven’t been in this game any longer than the last two years. At what point does common sense over-ride this woman’s ego?
If we left everything alone, it would save the state the $1.5 million seed money and save the county hundreds of thousands in what are no more than duplicate services. Roscoe will work at the discretion of an appointed school board. The Hamilton County School Board is elected by law but our state senators -- Todd Gardenhire and Bo Watson -- say they’ll change the law.
With the exception of JoAnne Favors, our other legislators are playing ostrich, with their heads in the sand rather than protest a multi-million fiasco being forced on the very taxpayers they represent. It is unconscionable to throw always millions of dollars when the real reason poor children can’t learn is because of poverty, environment, and negative circumstances we wouldn’t wish on a single one. So why do our elected officials – who vowed to do the right thing -- choose to ignore stark reality?
Why can’t one leader admit, “We can’t afford this!”
Let’s say an elected school board member makes around $12,000 per year – half of what a commissioner does – so who pays the appointees? McQueen plans to tilt the appointments where the state picks at least 60 percent of the members and the elected school board picks 40 percent. I’m guessing McQueen owes some paybacks so suddenly we got a clown who is a professor in Nashville among those who drive in once a month. Oh, yeah, McQueen is on the UT board so what about one of those diversity dudes with the revolutionary pronouns?
She doesn’t know how many board members there will be but what does she care? Governor Bill Haslam is beginning his final year and, when his cabinet’s term is up, McQueen will be packing. How long are the appointed board members going to serve?
Here’s a start -- if it is five years I can see some of Hamilton County’s elected board members who will be angling for an appointment instead of an elected seat because it’s a better deal. There is no way for public accountability. With no election, there are no worries. It’s a cushy gig – just five schools to watch although McQueen was quick to say she may add more if she gets the urge.
Here’s the worst part of the forced partnership and read this real slowly. The director of the Partnership schools, Roscoe for short, has autonomies that include calendar and schedule, staffing, curriculum, professional development, school culture and budget. Roscoe could give a flying rip what the county mayor, any commissioner, the sheriff, a parent, or anybody else has to say about anything.
The Chattanooga 2.0 crowd is all giddy, thinking they are going to finally be acknowledged and I’ll give it six weeks tops before Roscoe quits returning phone calls. It is this simple – not one person in all of Hamilton County or Chattanooga proper will have any control, power, or influence in this partnership. Roscoe has a majority on the picked school board and, if Hamilton County accepts this plan, the voters should seat each of those responsible in a corner wearing a hat that says “Dunce” on one side and “Don’t Vote For Me” on the other. (Don’t worry, I’m taking down names.)
The alternative choice is to let the state’s Achievement School District take total control of the five schools. Where McQueen has got you there is that every teacher would be immediately fired. Sure, HCDE could absorb some but with the rumor $1 billion (with a ‘b’) will be axed in Title 1 monies by the Feds that would bleed HCDE terribly.
McQueen says ‘no’ is not an option. I’m thinking a federal judge could issue a “stay,” or whatever, for 36 months. McQueen has absolutely no proof the five Hamilton County schools are not making progress after the state testing has been botched so badly on her watch. Her partnership plan is so twisted and wrong it can’t be legal so until the Lone Ranger rides in Hi-Yo Silver, allow me to leave with a dangling question.
McQueen is demanding an answer right after the new superintendent is hired – hopefully in a couple of weeks. But Mayor Coppinger will deliver a draft on the new budget on Tuesday. How does he account for the spectacle he knows is a rotten deal? I mean, it will cost the county millions so how do you get ready for a cyclone that is totally senseless and completely defies all logic?
Simply leave well enough alone and you haven’t spent a penny. The taxpayers in this county and this state deserve far better than this from every one of our elected officials. Remember we vote again just 11 months from now.