At least one school board member admits he made a mistake in granting himself retirement pay and has asked for the motion to be reconsidered at the board meeting today.
Chester Bankston, who now has less than a week left as a Hamilton County Board of Education member, said he received so many complaints from his constituents over last Thursday's vote that he has changed his mind. Mr. Bankston, who served four years on the school board, will begin his duties as a Hamilton County commissioner Sept. 1.
"I shouldn't have voted for it," he said. "All of that money we've got needs to be going in the classroom. If I do get it, I'm going to put it in the classroom."
Board members now will re-examine the shotgun vote that would allow them to receive retirement pay of $750 for each year they've served on the board. Both Bankston and board member Rhonda Thurman requested the item be added to tonight's agenda.
A memo from Chief Financial Officer Tommy Kranz didn't make it onto the agenda last Thursday, but was given to board members before the meeting.
Bankston said he looked at it in a hurry and didn't have time to process what it said.
Thurman said she initially thought the school system would let board members invest part of their salary in the state's retirement plan. She didn't realize officials were actually suggesting a move that would cost the school system money.
She said she was frustrated at being given so little time to consider the option.
"Evidently they knew they had five votes. I want to know when the other board members knew about this," she said. "I will vote 'no' on this."
Even though the move was rushed, school officials claim it was not meant to be secretive.
"Is the timing of it bad with the economy? Yeah, but there's nothing sinister about it," Kranz said.
Unless the vote is reversed, the school system will now pay $6,750 annually - $750 for each of the nine-member board. The benefits also would be effective retroactively for current board members, so outgoing member Janice Boydston, a 29-year school board veteran, would be eligible to receive nearly $22,000.
Longtime school system employees and incoming board members Mike Evatt, Joe Galloway and David Testerman, as well as current member Everett Fairchild, now would be eligible to receive pension payments from the school system as well as 30-plus years of retirement they earned from the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System.
Although the measure passed with seven "yes" votes, members Fairchild and Thurman abstained, saying they didn't have time to investigate the details.
Fairchild, Boydston and board members Linda Mosley, Chip Baker and Jeffrey Wilson did not return messages seeking comment Wednesday.
Kranz said that because he had worked with the current board since coming to the school district in 2006, he wanted to get the retirement benefits into effect before outgoing board members left office.
"It was unfortunate that the board didn't have the opportunity to have it for a week's time and really think about it," he said. "I truly apologize in not being able to give that to them."
Members of the Hamilton County Commission and the Chattanooga City Council are eligible to receive retirement pay.
Council members can receive 2 percent of their highest salary for each year of service, said Donna Kelley, the city's personnel administrator. Council members make between $22,000 and $25,000 per year, depending on if they are serving as chairman or vice chairman.
"The only thing unique about our elected officials is they receive credited service of 1.5 times their service, so a councilperson that was here for a four-year term would have six years of credited service," she said.
East Ridge resident Glen Pope, who worked nearly 27 years for the city before taking a job as a deputy in the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, said the idea of part-time elected officials receiving retirement pay is "absolutely ridiculous."
All the board members knew what their positions paid - $10,372.70 - when they signed up, he said, and they shouldn't be looking to get more from the system.
"This is just arrogant beyond belief. And then they want to come up and holler that, 'It's for the kids.' I'm sick of hearing that," he said. "It's taking money from the taxpayers that could be better utilized."
Board member George Ricks disagreed, saying he will vote again to approve the retirement benefits at tonight's meeting.
"All elected officials receive benefits. We should have known about the benefits a long time ago," he said. "I don't have a problem with it. People serve their time. I think it's right to do that."
Outgoing Chairman Kenny Smith, who earlier this month lost his bid for a spot on the County Commission, said he would listen to the discussion tonight before making a decision on how to vote.
"I was comfortable with the vote," he said. "As we look at it [tonight], I'll listen to everyone's opinion."
Online: Follow Kelli Gauthier on Twitter at twitter.com/gauthierkelli.