This is part of an ongoing series of updates contributed by members of the town’s School System Viability Committee.
Last week, six members of the School System Viability Committee, along with town of Signal Mountain Mayor Chris Howley and Town Attorney Phil Noblett, traveled to Shelby County, Tenn., to meet with school superintendents and government officials from five of the six municipalities that separated from Shelby County to form their own school districts.
We heard from superintendents of school systems ranging from about the same size as Signal Mountain (Millington, with four schools and 2,600 students) to almost four times as large (Bartlett, with 11 schools and 8,800 students). Each of the five superintendents provided detailed examples of improvements that had occurred in their schools, which they attributed to the shift from a large centralized bureaucratic system to a small system with local control over decision-making. A few of the notable insights were as follows:
- Every superintendent cited how the ability to exercise local control over curriculum, budget and operation of their schools had led to numerous improvements.
- Every superintendent said the separation had not harmed Shelby County School District. In fact, they said it resulted in the county school system having more dollars per student to spend than before the separation.
- In several communities, voters approved a half-cent increase in local sales tax to fund school improvements. In at least one town, voters approved an increase in property tax to fund new construction.
- The municipal school districts created open enrollment policies to attract students from outside their town boundaries. The policies have helped maintain and, in some cases, increase the diversity of the student body. No students were required to transfer schools.
- All municipal school districts offered employment to all of the teachers and staff who had worked in their schools prior to the separation. Almost every teacher and staff member chose to accept the offer.
The SSVC is meeting Wednesday, July 5, at 7 p.m. at Signal Mountain Town Hall to debrief and discuss the impressions gleaned from our meetings in Shelby County, as well as to map out the next phase of our fact finding mission. The public is invited to attend our meetings and to review documents posted on the Signal Mountain town website.