Ramsey Talks to Builders About Schools, Economy, Jails
Irby Park
posted October 18, 2002
) Irby Park County Executive Claude Ramsey, right, congratulates Calvin Payne who was named Home Builders Association of Southern Tennessee (HBAST) Builder of the Month as David Dalton, president of the association, joins him. Pat Payne, county employee not pictured and son of Calvin Payne, was named Associate of the Month and Executive Ramsey described him as "an absolute delight. I am proud to have him as an employee." click on photo to enlarge. |
The county executive, speaking at the HBAST October luncheon, spoke of schools, jails and economic development in talking of “where I see the county and what issues are on the front burner.” Asked if he would run for another term, he said he enjoys public service and “standing here today I intend to run for re-election,” but “many things can happen” before that time comes.
Discussing schools, he mentioned the current debate over who should be in charge of building schools and said the county builds the schools where the Hamilton County School Board says they need them according to the board’s specifications and priority as the money becomes available.
“That’s a non-controversy as far as I’m concerned,” he said, adding, “it just reads good, I guess.”
During the meeting, the builders honored Calvin Payne, past president of both the local and state associations and member of the Tennessee Home Builders Hall of Fame, as “Builder of the Month” and his son, Pat Payne, Hamilton County Building and Zoning Director and past president of HBAST, as “Associate of the Month.”
Concerning jails, he said the county is building a new $4 million facility at Silverdale and people would be shocked to learn how much society spends on people who misbehave. With all those working for the courts, the police, jails and other agencies, society pays a huge price “because people misbehave. Jail is just the end result of that.”
The county also is going to have to build a new jail or addition downtown because of crowded conditions, he added.
Describing education and economic development as going “hand in hand,” he said he has talked with Dr. Jesse Register, schools superintendent, about creating a “different kind of vocational education department.” The program has to get rid of any stigma on vocational education and put together a program to train people for jobs that are available. It must include fundamental education in mathematics and English comprehension, providing quality education.
Referring to the disagreement on who should build schools, the County Commission or the School Board, he said the county has built close to $110 million in new schools and “we have a process that is working.”
Every school board member has an opportunity to have input in plans for a new school, he said, and he and Dr. Register work together in making decisions. The county puts up the money for schools and builds them where the School Board says it needs them.
The county executive said, “We’re building the schools where the school system says they need to be built. We’re building them in the priority the School Board recommends. And we’re building them as fast as we can afford to build them.”
As for the school buses, he said he doesn’t care “who drives the school buses, but I care about safety” and that the drivers “get the children to school on time.” He said primarily somebody with responsibility should pick up and deliver the children in a safe environment.
A key ingredient, he said, should be the parents. “This ingredient makes the whole process work,” he added. He emphasized the importance of parents volunteering and taking part in the education of their children.
There could be one major problem in the future of education. If the Tennessee Supreme Court rules that teacher pay must be equalized across the state, it could cost Hamilton County some $20 million That would equate to a 40-cent tax increase, he said.
He said the county is going to be slow about spending more on new schools until it sees what happens on the pay issue. He said he will be talking to state legislators about how to deal with the problem.
Asked about the possibilities of a Signal Mountain High School, he said, “I think it will be built in the next batch of schools, or in the one after. But that priority will come from the School Board.” It will be built, he said, when the money is available.
Executive Ramsey said he would like “to put sewers in every nook and cranny of the county,” but that probably will be a long way off.
Talking about the Enterprise South development, he said the county now is taking out the bunkers and is removing trees. He said the county “lost probably a million dollars worth of trees” because of the southern pine beetle. It was hoped they could be cut and used for lumber, but they were damaged too much by the beetles to be used, he added.
He said the county is optimistic that in the state’s budget for the coming year will be funds for a connector from I-75 to the Enterprise South site.
The county is currently developing the 940 acres and before the end of the year expects to have another 285 acres for development, some along the interstate and some along Bonny Oaks “so we can have some smaller sites.”
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