School Board Candidates Discuss Teacher Retention, Transparent School System

Motrell Beasley and Tiffanie Robinson, candidates for the District 4 Hamilton County School Board seat, spoke to the Downtown Kiwanis Club on Tuesday, outlining their reasons for running.

Mr. Beasley focused on teacher retention, parent involvement, and developing community schools and after-school programs. Ms. Robinson discussed making “an accountable and transparent school system,” creating equity and early childhood education options, as well as finding ways to encourage more parent engagement.

“Hamilton County was recently ranked as one of the worst school districts in the state of Tennessee,” said Ms. Robinson, local parent and CEO of Lamp Post Properties.

She went on to state that District 4 has some of the highest poverty rates in the county.

Mr. Beasley, a father of three, local schoolteacher, and community activist, said he was “concerned about our kids.”

“The road to poverty passes through school,” he said. “Now it’s time for that road to poverty to stop at school.”

He stated that teacher retention was a major problem, that “we have to start making Chattanooga the first choice for our teachers and not the second choice.”

He also said that developing more community schools around the city, which have counselors, health checkups, and food programs, “will help our violence and our crime rate.”

Ms. Robinson agreed that community schools could help with parent involvement, “engaging not only the student success but the family success.” She said Hamilton County needs to make sure that its students are “going above and beyond the life they were born into.”

Ms. Robinson also said we need to rethink our budgeting process and “start spreading ourselves out in the way that is the most effective for every child.” She voiced concerns about the importance of finding a new superintendent, stating that we should be using a search firm to ensure “a very intense search process.”

“We do it in corporate America. We find the best and brightest for our companies. We should do it for our school boards,” she said.

Mr. Beasley said that searchHowever, she feared that the current school board was not in full support of Chattanooga 2.0, making it difficult for the program to do what it needs to do.