Chattanooga City Councilwoman Carol BerzChattanooga City Councilman Russell Gilbert wants the state "to slow it down" when it comes to creating a special oversight district for five struggling Hamilton County schools.
Today, the council will consider whether to formally request that the Tennessee Department of Education give new Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Bryan Johnson two years to turn things around first.
The five schools - Orchard Knob Elementary, Orchard Knob Middle, Woodmore Elementary, Da lewood Middle and Brainerd High - have many students who live in poverty and rank in the bottom 5 percent of schools statewide. They have labored to achieve academic gains for more than a decade.
Gilbert's resolution also calls for the state to "allow for additional discussions with, and input from, the community" concerning the five schools and to continue to give additional funding to make academic improvements for those schools.
In a recent meeting, council members discussed whether to make other demands on the school system and whether any program would make a difference.
Councilwoman Carol Berz said the resolution was too vague without requiring Hamilton County Schools to meet certain conditions as part of asking the state to delay its proposed intervention. She called for improved nutrition programs, facility upkeep and faculty expertise at the schools.
"I don't want to get in the county's purview, but the money's there to do it," Berz said. "These aren't dummy kids, they're very bright kids who know they're being treated second rate, and that's not OK."
Berz cited conversations she heard during public meetings with Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen last week.
"If we are going to send a letter to the state, I don't think we muddy the water with issues that are local," Councilman Chip Henderson said. "We ask the state to do something very specific and wait two years. Period."
Henderson also questioned whether tying conditions to the school system would give the state "more ammunition" for intervening.
Berz's requests did not make the resolution draft.
Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod described the special school district plan as "just another Band-Aid."
"It's not going to change until we start having conversations around the core issues of why we're in these conditions anyway," she said, citing poverty, lack of school funding, inexperienced teachers and little parental and community support.
Coonrod asked Deputy City Attorney Phil Noblett to research whether Chattanooga could take its schools back from Hamilton County.
The Hamilton County Board of Education meets this Thursday and will have its first opportunity to discuss the issue with the new superintendent, said board member Karitsa Mosley Jones, who represents three of the schools.
While she appreciates the right of any constituent, community member or member of government to reach out to the state on the matter, she would like the school board - which was elected to represent the community - to have a chance to "collectively discuss and share our thoughts," Mosley Jones said Monday.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleach_tfp.