Members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga's Governmental Affairs Committee have voted to support a 34-percent property tax increase for the county schools proposed by County Mayor Jim Coppinger.
That would bring an additional $34 million to the county schools.
Doug Fisher, executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga, said, "As homebuilders, we hear over and over from our customers that the public school system needs improvement. There are entire areas of this county that are hard to build in because the local schools need so much academic improvement.
"Families with children do not want to purchase a home in those areas. It is clear that Supt. Bryan Johnson, the Hamilton County School Board and County Mayor Coppinger have a plan to make Hamilton County Schools the fastest improving school district in Tennessee. We support them in those efforts and support this tax increase for public education."
He added, "Nobody likes tax increases. This tax increase will hurt our bottom lines in the short term. But in the long term, it will have a tremendous positive effect on better-educated graduates being able to afford a new home. We see this as an investment in all of our futures, and the future of Hamilton County.
“I can’t think of anything more fundamental to future growth than a safe and well-educated community.
"According to the Alliance for an Excellent Education, hitting the School Board's Future Ready 2023 goal of a 90 percent graduation rate will greatly increase the ability of better educated graduates to be able to afford a new home for their families in the future.
"According to the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors, the average home value in Hamilton County is $187,000. The increase proposed by Mayor Coppinger and Dr. Johnson would cost the average homeowner less than $14 a month.
"Supporting Dr. Johnson and Mayor Coppinger may or may not be the right politics, but it is the right thing to do for the children and families of Hamilton County. It is also the right thing to do for the economic future of homebuilders, homeowners, and the general public. The time is now to invest in public education."