Sohn: Let's get real about county school needs

The name of Hamilton County Schools interim Superintendent Dr. Kirk Kelly will be on the final list of names search firm Coleman Lew will give to the Hamilton County Board of Education.
The name of Hamilton County Schools interim Superintendent Dr. Kirk Kelly will be on the final list of names search firm Coleman Lew will give to the Hamilton County Board of Education.

Hamilton County Schools officials seem poised to grow a backbone.

Board of Education members in a Thursday night finance committee work session voiced support for Interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly's proposed 2018 budget that seeks $33.5 million in additional revenue. The board is likely to vote on Kelly's proposal next week.

What remains to be seen is whether the Hamilton County Commission is capable of growing a backbone to fund it.

Commissioners need to stiffen their spines, stand tall for our children and pass a tax increase. Even with an already expected $9 million increase in school funding thanks to growth in property and sales tax revenue, Kelly's proposed budget of $397 million would still be $24.5 million short. The extra funding would give teachers a 5 percent raise, provide new technology and post-secondary opportunities, and increase the number of literacy coaches at schools, among other things.

The school board has long sought additional money, but Hamilton County has not raised taxes for schools in 12 years - an entire generation of Hamilton County children.

And today we see where year-after-year of underfunded schools - along with a lack of strong leadership on our school board and in our school system - has gotten us: Only 40 percent of our children are kindergarten ready. Only 40 percent of our third-graders can read at grade level. Only 38 percent of our young adults in the workforce have some sort of technical training or any kind of college degree, and our new employers say they have 15,000 jobs they can't fill with local people because our high school graduates aren't jobs-ready.

Our county leaders, on the other hand, are clamoring for a new jail (which could mean a tax increase), but are coy about a tax increase for schools. Some privately suggest that the current school leadership can't be trusted to use the money well, and there is evidence of that: Over the past four years the state has provided more than $11 million for our county's lowest performing schools and expected local school leaders to use that extra money for needed changes to bring up scores and academic growth. Instead, the district sat on half of that money and, under pressure from the state, had to frantically spend much of the remainder this past fall. Now the state is intervening to right those schools.

But who does it really hurt for us to rationalize that our students don't need more resources because we're too complacent to better police our school leaders?

Ask yourselves: Instead of giving up on our students, why don't we instead give up on those leaders who are stuck on "we've always done it this way" or "we can't upset the apple cart of our school system's central office"?

In coming weeks, you can bet on hearing those arguments both at the school board and the County Commission. You can bet, too, that you'll hear criticism of Kelly and the board if they do not present "a balanced budget."

We think Kelly is right to bring as much attention as he possibly can to the school system's needs, and a "balanced" but inadequate budget proposal - even if accompanied by a "wish list" - would be an admission that the needs are only wants.

Eventually, Hamilton County Schools will have strong, new leadership - hopefully with fresh eyes from the world outside of our political system. As parents and taxpayers, we need to make it clear to Hamilton County commissioners that a tax increase for schools today is an investment in tomorrow's eventual new leadership. It will take both - together and immediately - to save our children from our serial pattern of school failures.

We need to make it clear to Hamilton County leaders that we will not put them back in office again even as dog catcher if they are more willing to commit our tax dollars - current or new - to a jail than to our schools.

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