County Mayor Weston Wamp told members of the Rotary Club that students at many schools within the city are not performing well, and he said the city should join the county in funding education.
He said, "We need the city of Chattanooga to participate in public education."
The county mayor said Chattanooga is doing what is required in school funding, "but other cities comparable to Chattanooga’s size in the state are doing more than is required."
The speaker noted that when the city and county schools were merged in 1997 to all become part of the Hamilton County school district, the city was not part of the funding plan. "But funding is needed now," he said.
He said, "That would be an investment that will show results 10-20 years in the future."
Haley Burton, the county mayor's press secretary, said afterward, “Mayor Wamp simply suggested the city of Chattanooga consider how its peer cities in Tennessee are choosing to invest in public education.
"Today, only the minimum required by state law, 50 percent of the 2.25 percent local sales tax collected in Chattanooga, goes to Hamilton County Schools.
"Meanwhile, Knoxville and Clarksville are going beyond the minimum to invest in their future. Knoxville allocates 72.2 percent, an additional $51 million more than required, to Knox County Schools and Clarksville gives 75.3 percent, $28 million more than the minimum for its school system. These cities are prioritizing education - and it’s making a difference.
"Chattanooga has the same opportunity. If we want to stay competitive, support working families, and strengthen our community, investing in public education should be our top priority.”
County Mayor Wamp said that the culture in each of the Hamilton County schools creates the recipe for success. A handful of the schools were singled out as having excellent performance, but he said that just four of the 34 schools in the Chattanooga city limits are performing above the average.
He said the city of Chattanooga is the economic engine of the region, and he said the performance of high schools in proximity of downtown is especially low, naming Howard and Brainerd.
"But you can change the culture," he said. Examples of success are Girl’s Leadership Academy and Chattanooga Prep, both public charter schools which he said outperform other schools that the students there would otherwise be zoned to attend.
Both innovation and establishing charter schools through public philanthropy are ways this can be done and is one path to entrepreneurship, he said.
Public education does not like competition that comes with charter schools, he said, but competition customarily makes things better. For example, in this community with deep roots in private schools McCallie is better because of Baylor. The same can be applied to public education, he stated.
And, the city needs the resurgence of entrepreneurship that Chattanooga was known for in the past, he said.
In the 20th century, he said, Chattanooga was a place where business leaders envisioned the future of the city and Hamilton County. He mentioned large companies founded here such as Coca Cola bottling, Provident Insurance, Brock Candy and Chattanooga Medicine, and by the 1920’s he said Chattanooga was known as “the Dynamo of Dixie.” It is the story of leaders and philanthropists who also developed mountains and buildings, he said..
But he said that entrepreneurship that defined the community is now not what it used to be in Chattanooga. He said that his goal is to shape the county where his five children are growing up. And reviving the entrepreneurial spirit is one way to do that.
Another way is using tax dollars for incentives differently. That money should help local businesses that traditionally have been the philanthropists, in addition to foreign investors, he said. Ultimately there is a need to boost small business ownership, and that helps public education, he said. The public sector needs to support rethinking the way tax incentives are made.
He said that young people are not being taught skills and there is a need for people to learn the skills that are needed by many industries. Now is the time to invest in education, including technical and vocational education, he said. "The state of our schools is a window into our community," he said, "and the competency of our young people in 10-20 years will be based on education they get now."
It is misguided to believe that everybody will be going to college and that all high schools should be aimed at college readiness, he said. There are advantages of vocational schools. A student might not be a great in certain subjects because everybody does not learn the same way, but those leaving a vocational school are ready for the future, he said. And these students are the ones who often start successful businesses. Mayor Wamp is asking for help to convert the Golden Gateway site into a school that will pattern after Kirkman, the technical and vocational high school that was in downtown Chattanooga from 1928 until 1991.
He said that the culture in the schools creates the recipe for success. A handful of the schools were singled out as having excellent performance but he said that is just four of the 34 schools in the Chattanooga city limits, or 39 percent, that are performing above the average.
The city of Chattanooga is the economic engine of the region, and he said that the performance of some high schools within the city is especially low, naming Howard and Brainerd. "But you can change the culture," he said. Examples of success are Girl’s Leadership Academy and Chattanooga Prep, both public charter schools which outperform other schools that the students there would otherwise be zoned to attend. Both innovation and establishing charter schools through public philanthropy, are ways this can be done and is one path to entrepreneurship, he said. Public education does not like competition that comes with charter schools, he said but competition customarily makes things better. For example, in this community with deep roots in private schools McCallie is better because of Baylor. The same can be applied to public education.