After months of volleying budget concerns, Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales presented the School Board Finance Committee his proposal to close Howard Middle School and the high school portion of 21st Century Academy at a School Board work session last week. Some school board members balked at the plan, only complicating what has seemed a “Who’s on First” political hot potato with time running thin. School consolidations have taken center stage, and many are wondering if the administration can pull out an agreeable plan by April 2nd when the administration presents its 2009-2010 fiscal year budget to the School Board. From November to March, here’s the play by play.
In November, Dr. Scales recognized that the school system was facing a major budget crisis. He said, “This is the most challenging budget I’ve seen in 40 years." And he quickly began hinting at school consolidations and layoffs. “Some (schools) might have to be larger and the community will have to come to grips with that...That’s going to be the hard sell.” In late November Chief Financial Officer, Tommy Kranz, suggested closing 11 schools, but as Dr. Scales predicted, it was a hard sell. “There’s no way we can do this,” board member Rhonda Thurman said. “These are things that are going to take a lot of time. It will not get done. It can’t be done.” To help build community support for the administration’s approach, Dr. Scales initiated a “blue ribbon committee” made up of 21 highly qualified citizens, later named the Citizen Advisory Panel. The Advisory Panel was charged with analyzing the budget crisis, providing suggestions for dealing with the 2009 $20 million budget shortfall and providing greater transparency for the administration’s decisions. In January, the Advisory Panel echoed the administration’s call for school consolidations and layoffs. Citizen Advisory Panel Member Kurt Faires asked, “Why not just go around to each of the nine districts and start closing the lowest-capacity school?” And Advisory Panel Member Bob Greving later added, “It’s really going to amount to school closings and layoffs.” While School Board Members resisted plans for quick and sweeping school consolidations, the Citizen Advisory Panel continued its push for a comprehensive plan to close inefficient schools and cut personnel by next school year. The administration, however, had a plan of its own. Last month, Dr. Scales and Mr. Kranz submitted recommendations to the School Board Finance Committee to close only 2 schools—Howard Middle and 21st Century Academy—drawing heated criticism from the public, disarray among Advisory Panel members, and a wary response from the School Board, including Chairman Kenny Smith who observed, “I don’t know that we can effectively do it this quick.” Another problem for the administration was that their proposal didn’t go over well with members of the Citizens Advisory Panel, the group Dr. Scales envisioned working with the school board and helping the community buy the administration’s hard sell. Advisory Panel members voiced concerns over the “band aid” approach, citing the lack of urgency, the lack of a comprehensive plan, and the disparity between the reported budget shortfall, $20 million, and the actual budget shortfall, $40 million. “I think the focus has completely shifted,” said panel member Kurt Faires. “At first we were going to come up with a plan, and now we’re suddenly just closing two schools. I think it’s a cop-out.” He later added, “If you know what needs to be done, go ahead and take your medicine and do it. I think we’re lacking a sense of urgency.” Regardless of the Advisory Panel’s concerns, just last week during a School Board work session, Mr. Kranz and Dr. Scales laid out yet another revised proposition for school consolidations. This time they proposed closing only a portion of both Howard Middle and 21st Century Academy—a further disparity between the 11 school closings Kranz referenced in November. Despite backing off from sweeping consolidations, School Board members remain wary, if not disagreeable. The Chattanoogan reports:
Jeffrey Wilson, another board member, said he was "not too thrilled about moving so many students around just to save a minuscule amount in the scope of the overall budget." The savings on closing the two schools was put at around $450,000.
And School Board member Everett Fairchild warned, “We need to stop these stopgap things if they don’t fit into our long-range plans. Without a plan, I think we’re just shooting ourselves in the foot.” So what began with hints of 11 school closings is now shaping up as a partial closing of just 2 schools. Both the School Board and the Advisory Panel are concerned about the administration's lack of a comprehensive plan. However, while the Advisory Panel seems insistent upon quick broad-scale consolidations and personnel cuts, the board seems content with a long term plan and other measures like scaling back benefits. With a reported $20 million budget shortfall and an additional $20 million in deferred expenditures, the community eagerly awaits the administration's next round of recommendations, wondering if it will include school closings at all.
Aaron Collier
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