City Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod said Tuesday she has been researching "how we can get our city schools back."
She said, "It just hasn't gotten any better since the merger."
After a referendum in 1995, the Chattanooga City Schools district was merged into the county schools in 1997.
She said inner city students "are some of our most vulnerable" young people and would be better off in a city school system.