I received an email from a friend this week. She wanted to let me know that a local parents group is hosting two non-partisan school board candidate forums where all school board candidates have been invited. It's my understanding that these two forums are the only ones where the public will have an opportunity to meet face-to-face with all the candidates. (All of the other forums/debates are virtual.) I plan to attend both forums. I urge you to do the same.
I've had the opportunity to attend several school board meetings over the past school year. Public trust should increase as people observe their elected school board members in action. That has not been the case for me.
Forum #1
Monday, July 11, at Red Bank High, 6-8 p.m. for Districts 3, 6, 8 and 11
Forum #2
Monday, July 18, at Ooltewah High, 6-8 p.m. for Districts 5, 9, and 10
If you are unsure of your district, contact the Hamilton County Election Commission or go to their website.
The county's school board members are entrusted with overseeing the education of some 45,000 students and with reviewing how to spend more than $430 million every year.
If I counted correctly, HCDE has 91 public schools listed on their website, with (give or take) 2,500 teachers, 161 administrators and more. Total positions hover somewhere around 4,500 employees.
According to the Public School Review website, Hamilton County public elementary schools have an average math proficiency score of 44 percent, and reading proficiency score of 35 percent.
The county school budget is almost 1/2 billion dollars, with almost 80 percent going to salaries and benefits. The HCDE budget overview can be found at the Hamilton County Department of Education website.
Hamilton County Schools
General Purpose Budget - Expenditure by Type
Fiscal Year 2022
Expenditure Type FY 21 Amended Budget FY 22 Proposed Budget
Salaries $246,368,280 56.77% $255,541,567 58.82%
Benefits $83,129,190 19.15% $84,398,928 19.43%
Student Transportation (Contracted) $17,417,200 4.01% $18,139,957 4.18%
Charter School Transfers $14,375,622 3.31% $16,936,487 3.90%
Utilities/Telephone/Internet $12,406,939 2.86% $12,408,976 2.86%
Custodial Services (Contracted) $11,150,000 2.57% $11,150,000 2.57%
Hardware/Software and Equipment $10,205,337 2.35% $6,626,457 1.53%
Maintenance/Repairs (Nonpersonnel) $5,583,929 1.29% $5,774,586 1.33%
Other $5,383,422 1.24% $4,855,566 1.12%
Mandated (Trustee, Storm Water, Debt) $4,275,000 0.98% $4,731,767 1.09%
Insurance, Dues, Legal Services $3,184,003 0.73% $3,171,568 0.73%
Special Education Contracted Services $3,170,000 0.73% $3,170,000 0.73%
School Instructional Supplies $3,460,215 0.80% $3,152,406 0.73%
Textbooks and Materials $6,024,404 1.39% $2,278,113 0.52%
Contract Substitutes $2,000,000 0.46% $2,000,000 0.46%
Transfer to Unassigned Fund Balance $5,901,347 1.36% 0.00%
Total Expenditures $434,034,888 100.00% $434,336,378 100.00%
Only nine out of the 21 high schools in our county rank in the top 100 of our state; HS rankings can be found at Best High Schools in Tennessee - TN School Rankings (schooldigger.com)
State Ranking (of 347) School District # Students Per Pupil Expenditure
5 Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State Hamilton County 198 $5,304
7 STEM School Chattanooga Hamilton County 283 $9,110
24 Sale Creek Middle / High School Hamilton County 548 $9,996
29 Signal Mountain Middle/High School Hamilton County 1,314 $9,580
32 East Hamilton High School Hamilton County 1,053 $9,270
37 Soddy Daisy High School Hamilton County 1,076 $9,490
42 Chattanooga School For Arts And Sciences Upper Hamilton County 676 $9,583
44 Chatt High Center For Creative Arts Hamilton County 644 $9,893
63 Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy Hamilton County 367 $12,423
118 Hixson High School Hamilton County 880 $10,344
151 Ooltewah High School Hamilton County 1,306 $8,986
199 Ivy Academy Inc. Hamilton County 410 $9,811
202 Red Bank High School Hamilton County 794 $10,242
210 Central High School Hamilton County 763 $10,324
253 Sequoyah High School Hamilton County 242 $12,953
276 Lookout Valley Middle / High School Hamilton County 361 $13,156
280 East Ridge High School Hamilton County 864 $9,889
297 Tyner Academy Hamilton County 531 $11,033
308 Hamilton County Virtual School Hamilton County 710 $6,383
310 Brainerd High School Hamilton County 644 $13,330
322 The Howard School Hamilton County 1,212 $11,051
Around 60 percent of the county budget goes toward our local public school system. That's $6 out of every $10 dollars that you pay in property taxes. I think the return on our investment should be better, don't you?
I will be interested in seeing which candidates will take time out of their busy schedules to show up to the forums and I look forward to joining other civically engaged citizens to hear what the candidates have to say.
Robert Day