Reporter’s Note
Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger is expected to unveil his fiscal year 2020 proposed budget at a workshop this morning. Follow the Times Free Press and me on Twitter @memangrum for live updates!
– Meghan
THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION NEWS
As budget season continues to heat up, something that remains unclear is how much – if any – money Hamilton County and the school district will invest in school buildings and maintenance.
News broke last week that the merger of Tyner Middle and Tyner Academy, originally slated to be completed by January 2020, had been stalled. This means Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts is no closer to a new school building than the school was before a 2017 capital building plan was approved by the Hamilton County school board.
District 1 board member Rhonda Thurman was astounded at the news.
She told the Times Free Press Monday that the school board had not made that decision and expressed continued frustration with the $500,000 facilities audit from which the district is awaiting results.
Thurman has continually said that the district could have invested that money in actual renovations. She hinted at money promised in Hamilton County’s fiscal year 2020 budget for capital projects, but Mayor Jim Coppinger has not revealed his budget request yet, so it is unknown if it will include funding for school buildings.
District 8 board member Tucker McClendon, who represents CSLA, said that he wants to be sure the district makes a good financial investment.
“We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to make a financially sound decision,” McClendon said.
For this story, and more, keep reading!