The County Commission on Wednesday morning passed a resolution recommending that the school board move from nine to 11 districts just like the County Commission will.
That came over the objection of the leadership of the school board, who issued a statement just prior to the commission meeting.
In another matter, County Attorney Rheubin Taylor said under a bill passed during a recent special session of the legislature all school board elections going forward will be partisan and require primary and general elections.
That is dependent on the governor signing the bill.
After several commission members hit the idea of partisan school board elections, the commission took wording relating to partisan elections out of the resolution.
Commissioner Warren Mackey said, "There is no such thing as a Democratic school in Hamilton County or a Republican school in Hamilton County. Extreme partisanship is trying to raise its ugly head in Hamilton County."
Commissioner David Sharpe said, "We need to be less partisan, not more partisan. This is the dumbest idea I've heard of in a long time. Nobody with good sense thinks this is a good idea."
He said, "During the last election somebody ran as a Republican, using billboards, and they did not fare too well."
Commissioner Steve Highlander, a Republican, said, "School board elections should not be partisan."
But on the issue of whether the County Commission and school board should have the same districts, he noted that election administrator Scott Allen said it "would be a nightmare" to do otherwise.
School Board Chairman Tucker McClendon and Vice Chair Tiffanie Robinson in their letter said they wanted time to possibly draw up their own districts while staying at nine.
The resolution says the commission and board should have the same districts, and that candidates for the new posts need to know the boundaries as soon as possible.
The school board statement says, "On behalf of the Hamilton County School Board, we want to strenuously object to the action the Commission is to take this morning. We were informed Tuesday afternoon that Resolution No: 1121-5A had been materially changed to now commit the Hamilton County School Board to an 11-member school board district. The resolution also mentions the need to move forward due to new legislation in which school board elections may be partisan, but as of this statement that legislation has yet to be signed into law by the Governor.
"As of this morning, we still have not been given formal or informal notice of this change from the county commission itself.
"We believe the documented record of our wishes, going back to the joint meeting of our two bodies and the Nov. 1 letter board leadership sent the Commission, in which we have requested that the Hamilton County Commission defer any redistricting of the Hamilton County Board of Education until after the Board of Education has had the opportunity to discuss this issue in-depth and, perhaps, to formulate its own proposed redistricting map to reflect the needs of the school system’s stakeholders.
"We request to move forward and separate the newly agreed-upon commission map with the Hamilton County Commission to determine how we can better define the current nine districts to best serve the people of Hamilton County.
"We call that the resolution be amended back to the resolution of Nov. 3 and that the School Board be given the respect to explore options at our disposal.
"Fervently,
Tucker McClendon, Board Chairman
Tiffanie Robinson, Board Vice-Chair"
Here is the County Commission resolution (which was passed with the partisan election portion taken out):
A RESOLUTION TO ADOPT THE HAMILTON COUNTY, TENNESSEE REAPPORTIONMENT/REDISTRICTING PLAN FOR THE HAMILTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BASED ON THE 2020 FEDERAL DECENNIAL CENSUS AS MANDATED BY TENNESSEE CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 5-1-111. WHEREAS, T.C.A. Section 5-1-111 provides that prior to January 1, 1982, and at least every ten (10) years thereafter, county legislative bodies of the different counties shall meet and, a majority of the members being present and concurring, shall change the boundaries of districts or redistrict a county entirely if necessary to apportion the county school board so that the members represent substantially equal populations; and
WHEREAS, the United States government completed their constitutional requirement of a decennial census in the year 2020; and WHEREAS, the 2020 census data provided by the federal government demonstrates significant population increases and shifts in Hamilton County, Tennessee requiring a reapportionment of the Hamilton County Board of Education districts; and
WHEREAS, said 2020 census data shows said population having significantly increased since the present nine (9) member School Board districts were established in 1993, thereby justifying (as provided in T.C.A. Section 49-2-201 and/or Chapter 235 of the Private Acts of 1992) the need for the number of School Board districts to be increased from said present nine (9) to eleven (11) in order to be “coextensive with the county commissioner districts established by the county legislative body of Hamilton County from time to time… and consist of the same number of members as the number of county commissioner districts in Hamilton County…”; and
WHEREAS, it is the decision of this county legislative body that based on said 2020 census data, the composition of both the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners and the Hamilton County Board of Education be increased from their present membership of nine (9) to eleven (11); has drawn and approved said district lines for the Hamilton County Commission (as evidenced in the attached “EXHIBIT A”); and further adopts said redrawn district lines for the Hamilton County Board of Education to comply with all applicable laws regarding proportional representation.
WHEREAS, in appreciation of recent legislative action by the Tennessee General Assembly requiring the election of School Board members (beginning with the 2022 elections) to be on a partisan basis thereby necessitating both primary and general elections for said positions, this county legislative body does hereby make its decision known to said General Assembly (of increasing the present size of said School Board) so that the voters in said up-coming elections will know the number and identity of School Board districts that are approved; and candidates for said positions will have sufficient time in which to qualify, campaign, and be elected.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THIS COUNTY LEGISLATIVE BODY IN SESSION ASSEMBLED: That the attached reapportionment/redistricting plan for the Hamilton County Board of Education, as based on the federal 2020 decennial census data, be, and is hereby adopted, resulting in an increase to said body from the present nine (9) member composition to eleven (11), to become effective with the 2022 Hamilton County primary and general elections; and the Hamilton County Election Commission is hereby directed to create and/or re-align as many present voting precincts as may be necessary in order to eliminate under-utilized voting locations within the County.
BE IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County Clerk shall provide the members of the Hamilton County delegation to, and the Clerk of, the Tennessee General Assembly with a copy of this resolution prior to its 112th General Session, requesting of said State legislative body that appropriate legislation be adopted by the General Assembly to allow for said increase (from nine (9) to eleven (11)) in the membership of said Hamilton County Board of Education, with appropriate provisions being made for the filling of said new positions for the 2022 Hamilton County elections.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THIS RESOLUTION TAKE EFFECT FROM AND AFTER ITS PASSAGE, THE PUBLIC WELFARE REQUIRING IT.