Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger on Tuesday said local public schools need more funding, but he has not signaled whether he'll recommend boosting revenue for schools in the upcoming budget.
During a two-hour budget workshop with the Hamilton County Commission, he also acknowledged the community continues to have a negative view of county schools.
"It's been that perception, I know over a decade ... to be able to turn that around is going to take a lot of people," Coppinger said. "At the end of the day, people have to be willing to want to invest in education in this county."
He applauded the school board for sending commissioners a $372 million balanced general purpose budget, including $9 million in growth money, along with a list of prioritized needs totaling $24.3 million, for this upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1.
Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger speaks to interim superintendent Kirk Kelly during a combination announcement by VW and Hamilton County Schools stating that eight area schools will receive new "e-labs" this upcoming school year. The event which announced VW is donating $1 million to build the labs was held at Dalewood Middle School on Tuesday, April 25, 2017.
After the meeting, Tiffanie Robinson, chairwoman of the school board's finance committee, said she hopes board members will learn in the coming weeks if the mayor and commission are leaning toward a funding increase.
"At this point, we need to hear from them and what they're thinking about our proposal," Robinson said. "We know nothing."
Coppinger emphasized during his presentation that education is a priority for him and the commission.
"It's 61 percent of our budget, so it's extremely important we get it right," he said, adding that 51 percent of the district's revenue comes from the county.
Funding all of the school district's list of additional needs would require the county to raise property taxes by about 26 cents or dip into reserve funds, Coppinger said. Hamilton County has not raised taxes for schools in 12 years, and commissioners have not publicly voiced support for a tax increase this year.
Coppinger gave his presentation Tuesday to the commission and a couple of dozen members of the community. School district leaders also were present to answer questions.
After addressing the district's balanced budget, Coppinger walked the group through individual line items and the proposed return on investment included in the $24.3 million in additional needs. Funding the first priority would cost about $13.2 million.
Robinson said she's optimistic the mayor will advocate for more funding for schools.
"The mayor has taken the approach of presenting this to the commission and presenting a case for more funding," she said.
If the county decides not to increase school funding this year, the board will want an explanation why, Robinson said. The county commission needs to work with the board, she added, "because this isn't working."
The base budget the district presented to the county includes a 3 percent raise for the district's employees, and the additional needs list includes money to provide another 2 percent raise.
Teacher pay in Hamilton County is 35th out of the state's 142 school districts and slightly lower than neighboring counties and Metro Nashville and Knoxville, Coppinger noted in the presentation.
County Commissioner Joe Graham asked if the higher cost of living in these counties is being taken into account.
"I think if we could pay our teachers a 20 percent increase, I'd be for it if we could afford if," Graham said. "But I just want to say that as a comparison if we are going to pay apples to apples, or county to county, or school system to school system, there's other things to compare than just the salary itself."
Hamilton County Schools Interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly responded, saying new teachers are "really just looking at starting salary."
School board member Karitsa Mosley Jones said she's had friends come to Hamilton County to teach and then leave.
"Some of them are across county lines that are touching us because of the pay," she said.
County Commissioner Sabrena Smedley then asked what the district is spending to recruit and retain teachers.
"Not just from a salary standpoint, but is there a process in place? Who goes out to find the right talent?" she asked. "To me, that is the most important thing we can be investing in today."
Stacy Stewart, assistant superintendent of human resources for the district, said she only has one full-time recruiter who also works scheduling teacher field experience and student placement.
"So really I have half of a recruiter," Stewart said. "We do the best we can with what we have."
County Commissioner Tim Boyd said he wants to give teachers a raise, but clarified that the district is budgeting to give all employees a raise.
"I don't have a problem giving those 3,017 [classroom teachers] a 5 percent increase," Boyd said. "I want teachers to make more money put the freakin' money in the teachers ... you're not putting money in the teachers."
Hamilton County will hold budget hearings on May 31 for individual departments, and Hamilton County Schools will give an overview of the budget. Coppinger is expected to present the county's overall budget on June 7.
Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at krainwater@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @kendi_and.