Standing at roughly $674 million, Hamilton County Schools’ proposed 2024-25 budget would raise teachers’ wages and provide additional funding for school staffing.
The district’s budget proposal comes with an ask for the Hamilton County Commission to increase the percentage of county funds generated by property taxes that the school system receives to about 49%.
Superintendent Justin Robertson has been encouraging the county to increase the school system’s proportion of these funds since at least February, saying the portion reflects the value placed on funding public education. He is not calling for a property tax increase.
As state law requires, Hamilton County has been providing at least the same level of local funding for schools as it did in the prior year — a requirement called “maintenance of effort” — but the proportion of funds generated by property taxes allocated to the school system has decreased. At its peak more than a decade ago, the school system received 54% of these funds. For the 2023-24 budget, it received 43%.
“Our slice of the pie has gotten smaller, and also our dollars aren’t going as far,” school board member Jill Black, D-Lookout Mountain, said. “Everybody in our community knows that a dollar doesn’t go as far now as it did two years ago, as it did six years ago. As our piece of the pie is shrinking, our dollars aren’t going as far, and so we’re kind of getting it from both ends. We’re just asking to go back to where we have a bigger slice of the pie.”
Robertson said the district’s $673.9 million budget proposal is built around the five pillars of the district’s strategic plan — every student learns, every student belongs, every school equipped, every employee valued and every community served. Almost half of the budget is dedicated to priorities that fall under “every student learns,” including increases in funds for the overall school-based staffing model and strategic staffing funds that give principals the ability to tailor staff to meet student needs. It also funds a teacher for every middle school to provide literacy and numeracy intervention support.
The district’s proposal also earmarks $31 million for increased compensation, giving the school board the option to give employees either roughly a 5% raise or a $2,800 flat raise. Both result in the same investment. It also recommends a pay step increase on the salary schedule ranging from zero to 2.5% per certified employee.
Robertson said that would ensure every teacher makes at least $50,000.
“This is super important, super awesome, that we are taking care of the teachers,” school board member Ben Connor, D-Chattanooga, said. “This isn’t something that we just found in the budget. We are fighting to make sure that we are taking care of our teachers, especially after the increase in benefits costs.”
In March, district officials told board members that they projected a budget squeeze, largely due to the end of pandemic-era relief funds. The proposed 2024-25 budget is $39.9 million less than the district projects it will receive this school year.
About half of the $54 million in federal relief funds the school system received for this year were spent on one-time facilities projects, such as the construction of a new Tyner Middle/High, according to the district’s latest update on its use of those funds. The proposed budget also cuts $2.4 million from central operations. The majority of the affected positions were reallocated or not filled, and no one lost a job, Robertson said.
District officials’ budget presentation started by noting the growth the school system has seen in recent years. In 2023, Hamilton County Schools out performed the state in 22 of 28 tested areas, compared to 2015, where it out performed the state in two areas.
The presentation also noted as the district’s total funding has increased since 2021, so has the percentage of students demonstrating proficiency. The latest benchmark test results put the district on track to continue that trend this year.
“The investments that are being made in our education are making a difference in our students’ lives,” school board member Marco Perez, independent of Signal Mountain, said. “We need the community’s support. We can’t do this without you.”
The board is expected to vote on the budget May 9. It must then get approval from the Hamilton County Commission, which is expected to finalize the county’s fiscal year 2025 budget in June. The county’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.