In this age of transparency, parents often begin their research of neighborhoods they want to live in based upon the schools they want their children to attend. Today a parent can review school test scores, graduation rates, attendance and starting this July in the state of Tennessee, they can even see individual teacher scoring. This information allows parents to make informed decisions about where they want to live, based on where they want their children to go to school.
Take this logic and apply to real estate desirability. If you have two similar homes and one is zoned for a school with all A’s in performance measurement and the second home is zoned for a school that has poor attendance and test scores, perhaps a C rating, does it not make sense that an informed parent would pay a premium to have their child in the A-rated school? Therefore the school zoning can impact the value of a piece of real estate.
As they assist buyers with home purchases Realtors are often the source of information on school zoning. On many occasions I have been asked not only what schools a home is zoned for but also how those schools are performing. An informed Realtor can quickly refer parents to the appropriate websites to review test scores and other performance measures. In addition, having a clear understanding of magnet school programs and “paired schools” are also key tools to have at hand as we work with home buyers.
Upcoming changes in teacher review and scoring of teachers across the state are expected to help move up the quality of teachers across the board.
On the other side of the coin, there is a local need for additional capacity and classroom size, not just in Hamilton County, but in surrounding systems as well. Walker County just broke ground on a new K-8 school to be named Saddle Ridge. New school building projects cost millions of taxpayer dollars per site. Everyone wants a new school, but who’s going to pay for them?