A lawsuit against the state of Tennessee by seven Chattanooga area school districts over the full funding of local schools apparently was a fait accompli.
Seemingly, it would have happened anyway unless Gov. Bill Haslam had said during the hour-long, closed-door meeting with four large district school chiefs Monday that he miraculously had found the money to fully fund the state's Basic Education Program. But no such words were going to come out of the governor's mouth, and both Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith and Hamilton County Board of Education members knew that.
So, on Tuesday, the boards of education of Hamilton, Bradley, McMinn, Marion, Grundy, Coffee and Polk counties filed suit against Haslam, Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, House Speaker Beth Harwell, Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen and members of the Tennessee Board of Education.
Smith, for his part, said he was "pleased" with Monday's conversation with the governor and answered that "yes, certainly," he would talk to the Hamilton County school board about recommending the county delay the lawsuit.
It must have been a short conversation for the superintendent, who also wants to sell the county on a large tax increase for schools.
School board member Jonathan Welch, who made the original motion to file a suit, maintained on Tuesday the county needed "to press forward at this point."
Whether the lawsuit will serve as a catalyst for further talks and more money for the schools or an attorney-driven, arbitration-type settlement or an actual court trial remains to be seen.
It is a shame, though, that Monday's meeting, in hindsight, looks like a waste of everybody's time instead of the beginning of a dialogue that might have led to substantial progress and avoided a costly lawsuit.