Debating school size

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a frequent series of stories examining school expenses and budget challenges.

Hamilton County school officials last month began a schoolwide audit to count every classroom and create a document some officials say could be a blueprint for how many schools will be serving students this time next year. "We are going to account for every single space," said Schools Superintendent Jesse Register. "This is in response to a legitimate question raised by county commissioners, ‘Do we have extra space in some schools?’"

County commissioners asked school officials to prepare a list of schools that could be consolidated before budget talks begin in May. Commissioners Fred Skillern, Curtis Adams and Larry Henry said some schools are underused while others are overcrowded. The answer, they say, is to consider closing buildings. "I believe in large schools because they are so much more efficient," Mr. Skillern said. "And you can offer a wider selection of electives."

Larger schools can offer more, said Charlene Becker, schools director of secondary instruction. "Ooltewah High offers three languages compared to Sale Creek, which only offers one," she said. "But there are trade-offs in a larger school. They are impersonal, and kids can get lost."

Most school board members have said they support the concept of smaller, neighborhood schools. One said he is adamantly against shutting any of the district’s 79 schools.

"I am opposed to closing any schools," said board member Marty Puryear.

School board member Rhonda Thurman already has proposed the consolidation of three schools and the sale of one. Before any schools are merged, the board needs an up-to-date accounting of school space, Dr. Register said. Earlier this month, school administrators walked through schools to update student capacity numbers and survey building use. "We’ve remodeled several buildings to fit the programs," Dr. Register said.

One example is Normal Park Museum Magnet Elementary school in North Chattanooga where several classrooms have been remodeled to showcase student art work, officials said. Administrators will present the updated report to school board members Thursday at a 5:30 p.m meeting at Tyner Academy on Tyner Road.

Some county commissioners said the updated report should provide a plan for consolidating schools along the lines of the county’s population migration. "Many years ago when Soddy-Daisy and Sale Creek (schools) were small, I would have supported closing them," said Mr. Skillern, whose district includes residents of Soddy-Daisy and Sale Creek. "But I don’t support closing a school when I see the growth that has taken place in those areas."

Soddy-Daisy High is the last high school built in Hamilton County. It was built in 1980 to hold about 1,000 students, but enrollment has grown to more than 1,600, according to school records. Sale Creek Middle and High School, as well as schools in Ooltewah, Tyner and East Brainerd also are enrolling more students.

But enrollment is dropping. Enrollment is down in some innercity schools, according to school records. Other schools such as Lookout Mountain and Nolan Elementary are about 100 students below capacity, and rural schools such as Birchwood and Soddy-Daisy elementaries have about 200 students each and are more than 100 students below capacity.

SMALL VS. LARGE

Hamilton County educators said the community first voiced support of small, neighborhood schools after the 1997 merger of county and Chattanooga Public Schools. Officials said that support was shown again last year during the education summit, a series of public meetings to develop a community vision of the kind of school system the district should be.

"People were asked to envision a model school system by 2008," said school board Chairman Chip Baker. "They wanted neighborhood schools with small classes."

In 1999, a cross section of community leaders developed a facilities plan that set parameters for enrollment.

There was "general consensus" that elementary schools should have no more than 400 to 500 pupils, middle schools should handle about 750 students and high schools should teach 1,000 to 1,200 students, said Gary Waters, assistant superintendent of auxiliary services.

Educators said research indicates small learning groups "are powerful, effective strategies to improving student achievement," said Dan Challener, president of the Public Education Foundation. "There is 10 years worth of data that show the outcomes are good, and even the federal government is beginning to look at the importance of creating small learning communities," Dr. Challener said.

In the last two years, the federal government began funding small learning community grants for districts working to break up large schools. In 2004 Hamilton County announced the receipt of $1.5 million in small learning community grants over a three-year period, schools officials said.

SHELBY COUNTY’S EXAMPLE

Still, some county officials question keeping all the schools open at a time when budget deficits are forcing cuts in operating money. They point to Shelby County, where large schools are the rule. Shelby County has 46,000 students in 49 buildings, compared to Hamilton County’s 40,000 students in 79 buildings. Mr. Skillern said it would be foolish not to consolidate schools if Hamilton County could do so and still get good or improving test scores.

"If I have 20 McDonald’s restaurants, but I could close all but seven and still make the same gross profit, that’s what I should do," Mr. Skillern said. Shelby County officials chose to build larger schools for economy, said Richard Holden, assistant superintendent. There, most elementary and middle schools have more than 1,000 students, and several high schools have more than 2,000. However, school officials personalize large schools by maintaining the same number of administrators and counselors as would be present if the system had more, smaller schools.

"In addition to a principal and a vice principal, we have an assistant principal for every grade level and a guidance counselor for every grade level," Mr. Holden said. "We typically assign an assistant principal and guidance counselor to the incoming freshmen, and they stay with them through their high school years." Shelby high schools separate the freshmen in academies, he said.

"We have test data that would indicate we are not being adversely affected by size," Mr. Holden said.

Hamilton and Shelby counties reported the same scores on the 2004 State Report Card, a B in math and C’s in science, social studies and reading/language arts. Both districts also scored similarly in the value-added portion of the report, each earning three B’s and one C. Shelby County students outscored Knox and Davidson counties, and bested the state average score.

POVERTY’S EFFECT

But Hamilton County, with its mix of urban, suburban and rural students, differs from the mostly white, suburban Shelby County school district, local educators said. Hamilton County has more minority students, 33 percent to Shelby’s 25 percent, and more high poverty students, with 31 percent students on the free-and-reduced-price federal lunch program, compared to Shelby’s 13 percent.

Poverty is one of the biggest factors affecting academic performance, said Jonah Edelman, executive director of Stand For Children, a Portland, Ore.-based, children’s rights group.

"Look at demographics, when comparing schools," Mr. Edelman said. "Poverty plays a big part." Local educators say demographics also should play a role in decisions to consolidate schools. Discipline and school environment would be a challenge to manage, especially without enough administrative staff, officials said.

"I taught two years at Franklin Middle (now closed)," said U.S. history teacher Todd Grainger. "There’s no way I can imagine putting 750 of those students in one building. We served four different neighborhoods, and they all brought their issues to school."

COMMUNITY VALUES

Commissioners have not approved a tax increase in five years, and some are saying there won’t be a tax increase this year, despite a poll last May that showed a majority of residents supported a tax increase to improve education. Commissioners disputed the poll, which was conducted by Wilkins Research for the Public Education Foundation.

An August 2004 election exit poll by the Chattanooga Times Free Press found that 63 percent of 256 Hamilton County voters agreed with the commission’s June rejection of a property tax. Asked whether they would support increasing taxes to provide more public school funding, respondents in the same unscientific survey split: 48 percent said they would, and 48 percent said they would not.

Last year, after commissioners voted down County Mayor Claude Ramsey’s proposed property tax increase, school board members cut teaching positions, janitors, assistant principals and guidance counselors. They cut high school bus service and middle school sports and deferred textbook purchases and maintenance projects. Many of those same items will be on the table again this year, board members said.

School board members and parents say commissioners’ talk of closing schools raises the issue of what kind of system the community wants and how much it is willing to pay.

"We say people value smaller, neighborhood schools," school board member Debbie Colburn said. "But the public needs to understand the various ramifications. If it’s not the will of this commission to increase funding for education, are they willing to accept 1,000-pupil elementary schools?"

Soddy-Daisy High School parent Jill Carrier said school funding is more than dividing the dollars evenly among students. "The real question is equity for all children, and it won’t be the same per child at every school," said Mrs. Carrier. "All children should be provided a chance at a good solid education, whether in a school downtown, the suburbs or wherever." Mrs. Carrier, who moved with her family to Soddy-Daisy in 1991, said her daughters received a good education in the public school system.

"This area is a conundrum," she said. "We moved here and heard so much about how the community supports the United Way and gives private dollars for downtown development. Yet the most solid investment a community can make in its future is in its public schools. The community as a whole has to change its attitude, and without a change in leadership, I don’t see that happening." E-mail Beverly A. Carroll at bcarroll@timesfreepress.com

SCHOOL CLOSINGS

Before the 1997 merger of Hamilton County and Chattanooga public school systems, the city system closed 16 elementary schools in 1989: Avondale East Chattanooga Mountain Creek G. Russell Brown James A. Henry Oak Grove Highland Park Ridgedale Elbert Long Booker T. Washington St. Elmo Charles A. Bell Piney Woods Sunnyside Eastdale John A. Patten Since 1997, the combined system has closed five schools: Signal Mountain Elementary Bachman Elementary Apison Elementary Mary Ann Garber Elementary Franklin Middle Source: Hamilton County Department of Education