Former Hamilton County Board of Education Chairman Kenny Smith addressed the board as a citizen Thursday night, lobbying for the career and technical high school he’s wanted for years.
“I know I’m a broke record, but it’s what I’m passionate about, and I think it can happen,” Smith told the board at the end of its meeting.
Smith said last week he was looking at the feasibility of creating a vocational charter school, but he said Thursday he thinks a magnet school is a better option.
Public charter schools in Tennessee can, by law, serve only students who receive free or reduced-price lunches, who are zoned for a failing school or who have themselves failed a core subject on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program test. Smith believes that a magnet — a regular public school with a specific area of focus, such as career and technical education — would make training available to more students.
Smith said he met Thursday with elected officials and community leaders, including Chattanooga State Community College President Jim Catanzaro; Hamilton County Commissioners Jim Coppinger, Warren Mackey and Chester Bankston; and Chattanooga City Court Judge Russell Bean, to talk about his plan.