The Hamilton County Commissioners have information in hand for next Wednesday's preliminary budget hearing with the Hamilton County School Board, but Commission Chairman Jeff Eversole said he did not wait until then to start getting answers.
He said he asked Superintendent Dr. Justin Robertson for expenses history dating back to fiscal year 2020, and he’s asked for clarity on vague line items such as “Bonus” and “Other Fringe Benefits.”
“Numbers tell you stories,” Chairman Eversole told the Hamilton County Pachyderm Club on Monday.
Chairman Eversole said that 63 percent of the county’s $1.1-billion budget goes to the school system, and 50 cents of every dollar collected in Hamilton County sales tax, municipalities included, goes to the school system. That much money requires “singing out of the same hymnal,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to working with the school board,” Chairman Eversole said.
But the commission won’t ask for specific changes, he said, only for more information and clarity. The school board is 100 percent responsible for creating its own budget, he said.
“It’s not about changing numbers,” Chairman Eversole said.
A similar preliminary budget hearing May 19 was cancelled by School Board Chairman Joe Smith, he said.
Chairman Eversole said that teacher salaries are up $78 million, or 34 percent, from 2020, which includes raises and new positions. Teacher salaries are not where they need to be yet, he said. His eye is on the student-teacher ratio, not student-adult ratio, and then cafeteria and school office staff, principal and assistant principal positions, he said.
“I wonder sometimes if we’re overdoing things,” he said; taking away from the classroom. He commented that he admires Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett’s action soon after his election to institute a hiring freeze and reinvest that money in existing deputies.
A similar preliminary budget hearing May 19 was cancelled by School Board Chairman Joe Smith, he said.
School Board Chairman Smith said, "Chairman Eversole’s latest comments are, at best, disingenuous - and at worst, a flat-out lie.
"Let’s set the record straight: the May joint budget meeting between the School Board and County Commission was postponed collectively by myself, Commissioner Highlander, and Chairman Eversole because the School Board had not yet finalized our budget. That’s a simple fact he’s conveniently ignoring.
"It’s also important to remind everyone that neither Chairman Eversole nor any member of the County Commission has the authority to direct how the School Board or Superintendent allocates dollars or staffs schools. That responsibility lies solely with the elected School Board.
"Over the past few months, the School Board has held multiple public budget meetings across our community—open, transparent, and inclusive. Only a couple of County Commissioners chose to attend. In my nine years on the Board, Chairman Eversole has never attended a single School Board meeting. Yet now, he wants to question why we made difficult cuts?
"Let me be clear: we started this budget cycle with a nearly $18 million funding gap. We brought forward a balanced budget that included zero increase in local funding. We trimmed, we cut, and we made painful decisions—hoping those reductions won’t negatively impact student outcomes. Only time will tell.
"Chairman Eversole claims he wants collaboration between the School Board and the Commission - yet in the same breath, he insults our members and discredits the hard, honest work that went into this budget. For someone so concerned with transparency and unity, this entire ordeal is starting to feel like The Jeff Eversole Show. As my good friend would often say 'Ray Charles can see what is going on here ' "