Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith speaks Wednesday morning about the plan by Hamilton County officials to make $50 million available for new school construction.With $50 million on the table for new Hamilton County school construction projects, the tug of war has begun over who decides how it’s spent.
On the Hamilton County Commission’s side is fundraising power. On the school board’s is, arguably, state law.
After county commissioners voted Wednesday, for the second time in a month, to grab control of money from sales of school property, school board Chairman Mike Evatt lamented “the lack of transparency between the commission and the board.”
“That’s why we feel blindsided, stepped on and micromanaged,” Evatt said Wednesday afternoon.
Commissioners voted to amend a 2004 agreement between the county and schools about how to finance and approve school projects.