John Friedl As the Signal Mountain School System Viability Committee begins the process of finding answers to questions about what a separate school district would look like, its members are looking for ways to make the process quicker and more efficient while still being transparent for residents.
In past meetings, the committee has heard research compiled by the ad hoc group of parents and other community members advocating for a separate school district.
During the March 15 session, Councilwoman Amy Speek said it's time to start using that information to move forward.
"We're in March now," said Speek, who serves as the town's liaison to the committee. She has also been collecting questions posted on the website by community members. "We want to start answering some of those."
Committee Chair John Friedl said he is also anxious to get started, and noted that two formal meetings a month might not be enough to compile the necessary research in a timely manner. And speed will be essential, he added.
The committee is planning to meet with administrators from districts like the six that broke away from Shelby County Schools in 2014, but before any travel plans are made, the committee needs to know what information it has and what it is looking for, Friedl explained. If the committee members don't schedule those meetings before the end of the school year, they risk delaying the process until September.
To help the research move faster, he suggested dividing the committee into working groups that would begin tackling questions in different areas, like finances and facilities, for example.
"My thought was if we're just going to meet for four hours a month it's going to take us a real long time to get through all the stuff that we need to get through," Friedl said in a follow-up interview. "It's still going to take us a long time, but we could get more done more quickly [with working groups]."
Friedl said one of the most pressing areas the committee plans to address is the budget for its potential new school district.
During the Feb. 25 meeting, members of the ad hoc group told the committee that Signal's three schools would receive the same amount of per-pupil funding from the state and county - about $20 million - if they broke away from Hamilton County Schools. With a lean central office and only a few administrators, that would leave the new district about $1.7 million to spend on classroom needs, they said.
The budget sub-group, made up any of the viability committee's seven members who want to join, will meet Monday, April 3 at Signal Mountain Town Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. They will make calculations that will either validate or debunk the ad hoc group's presented budget numbers. They will also identify any costs the budget may be missing and look at what the school district's budgetary needs will be 5-15 years from now, factoring in elements like the hit the town's budget will take from the loss of the Hall income tax.
"We don't just want to come to you and say that in 2018 it could work, if in 2028 the taxpayers will be hit with a heavy burden," Friedl told Town Council members during a work session last Friday, when reporting on the group's progress.
The committee will also have to look into the town's school buildings to answer questions regarding overall capacity, maintenance costs and capital needs. Sub-groups or topical meetings will research these and other subject areas during later sessions. Friedl will sit in on all sub-meetings, and the findings will be presented at the regular bimonthly committee meetings.
All related meetings are open to the public.
Residents are encouraged to continue submitting any questions they have via the town's website. To keep the process transparent, Speek suggested that committee members also post questions they'd like to address on the town's website so there will be record of it, instead of merely bringing it up in one of the meetings.
"... It'll be out there for everybody else who may want to know what we're talking about and what we're interested in," Friedl agreed.
Speek reminds residents that questions submitted on the town's website will not be answered right away. The delayed feedback is by design, she explained, and will allow the committee to address those questions methodically.
"I am getting every one of your questions," she assured. "I just wanted everyone to know that."
The next viability committee meeting is Wednesday, April 5 at 7 p.m.
Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com.