posted November 13, 2007
Signal Mountain is under a tremendous amount of pressure to build a first-class school on a budget. The school can either open with a bang or a whimper. Hundreds of prospective students' parents are waiting on the side line to decide to either switch mountains, save $30,000/year before taxes in private school tuition, and/or risk overcoming the fear of driving up and down a mountain for existing valley folks.
With falling housing prices all over the region, Signal Mountain prices are artificially being propped up based on the success or failure of the new high school. (True, as home values increase so do property taxes. But then again, your ability to borrow cheaply based on the equity in your home also increases.)
Faced with mounting debt and the jealousy of spending more than their fair share for the new school compared to those non-residents who will get the advantage of the Signal Mountain investment, the Signal Mountain Town Council blinks for a short-term gain in lieu of long-term growth by voting to pay down debt instead of making sure every step has been taken to ensure a successful grand opening. Mediocrity wins the day.
You cannot compare the adventure on Signal Mountain to existing county/city school systems or with home schools. The new Signal Mountain High School and the entire Signal Mountain growth is more related to draining the unstoppable momentum created by CCS, Notre Dame, Boyd Buchanan, David Brainerd, Grace Baptist, Hickory Valley, etc., not to mention Baylor, McCallie and GPS. The success of the high school will also dramatically affect the success of Signal Mountain Middle School versus the numerous private and parochial alternatives. The incredible amount of monies flocking to these non-public, non-home school institutions has no comparison to any other Southeastern city if not the entire USA. In this, Chattanooga is certainly unique.
So, as real estate brokers beg their listings to hold on a little longer when the flood gates of offers pour in as the big grand opening of the new Signal Mountain High School opens with great fanfare, the town council pulls a card from its big bother of mediocrity, Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
Has anyone ever asked why the Chattanooga area has so many private and parochial alternatives? Because parents are willing to sacrifice vacations, retirement, and even bankruptcy to keep their children out of institutions that are limited in funding to ensure a second garbage pick up a week. Without proper athletic, science and infrastructure funding, the Signal Mountain experiment will open with a thud. Initial and sustained success is a direct result of momentum created at the beginning and funded into perpetuity.
Given the decision of the Signal Mountain Town Council to save some pennies instead of taking all steps to ensure success, I will have to keep living in my fantasy world that I can continue to afford private school for my children.
Chris Glascock
Lookout Mountain
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The Signal Mountain Town Council did the fiscally responsible thing at the last Town Council meeting on the mountain. Our council members voted to help pay off the bond that the new high school is going to be costing its citizens.
If Chris Glascock had been at the meeting, he would know the issue better. The principal also revealed that the county is going to provide another million dollars for the school, and the Founder's Fund has raised more than a million for the school. The citizens of Signal Mountain have already contributed $4,000 per family whether they voted for the school or not and whether they have children going there or not.
It seems to me that people living on Lookout not sending thier children to public schools should keep their opinion about Signal Mountain Town business to themselves. I don't see how they can speak knowledgebly about public schools either without attending them themselves or sending thier children to them. Some people have vested interests in the development of Shackleford Ridge. They should say so, and not use "the children" and "the school" as an excuse to voice an opinion about what happens in this area. It just re-inforces the idea that the high school is there "for the developers" and not "for the children".
If people from other towns want to help run Signal Mountain government, then they can move up here. Our Town Council is very open to ideas from citizens. If people want to help Signal Mountain High School, they can give to the Founder's Fund. It accepts donations from everyone no matter where they live.
Racie Miller
* * *
I'm sorry there are citizens of other communities who have leveled criticism towards the Signal Mountain Town Council. I must applaud our Town Council.
Monday night, Mayor Hendricks and the Council had an important meeting to discuss and vote on whether to pay down the bond or make a gift to the high school. It was tremendously gratifying the way Mayor Hendricks and council members so patiently heard the concerns of all our citizens who desired to be heard.
Mayor Hendricks also spoke to the issue of unity and urged that the citizens' behavior towards one another contributed to unity or disunity, not the outcome of the Council's vote.
Susan Robertson questioned the issues in Greek-like fashion to fully understand what were the needs verses wants of the school to clarify how the monies would be allocated. Though laborious at times, our Town Council displayed courteous patience with incredible sensitivity towards stewardship.
It was an example of adult communication that I wish all our children could have witnessed, as did some who were there to make a case for the school receiving the town's money in question. My son called from college when I got home. I reported the evening to him and said, "I love this community. Even though we have disagreements, we can still be civil and respectful of our neighbors' concerns."
Thank you Town Council for allowing the community to express itself. We don't take that for granted, but we accept you as a tremendous blessing. Please be encouraged that citizens of other communities who have criticized you are not fully aware of all the considerations towards this town and its unique needs at the present time. I'm sure that any Lookout Mountain parent would agree their system would work well up here as it was referred to at our meeting. Perhaps the very generous parents' gifts per student is an appropriate way to keep the town from being overburdened and overtaxed.
A Grateful Citizen
Tricia Morris
Signal Mountain
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