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Voters view of Hamilton County public schools rises, survey finds

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ From left, third grade teacher Dawn Schnitzer, school psychologist Kilee Reed and speech language pathologist Julie Ana Boozer greet students as they arrive at Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. Roughly two-thirds of Hamilton County voters rated the quality of public schools as fair or better in a recent survey.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ From left, third grade teacher Dawn Schnitzer, school psychologist Kilee Reed and speech language pathologist Julie Ana Boozer greet students as they arrive at Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. Roughly two-thirds of Hamilton County voters rated the quality of public schools as fair or better in a recent survey. Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ From left, third grade teacher Dawn Schnitzer, school psychologist Kilee Reed and speech language pathologist Julie Ana Boozer greet students as they arrive at Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. Roughly two-thirds of Hamilton County voters rated the quality of public schools as fair or better in a recent survey.


Roughly two-thirds of Hamilton County voters rated the quality of public schools as fair or better, and most parents were satisfied with the education and safety at their child’s school, a voter survey found.

About 30% of voters surveyed by reporters during the election rated public schools’ quality as good or excellent, and another 38% rated it as fair, according to a Chattanooga Times Free Press poll of nearly 500 voters. Around 17% said the schools were poor.

That indicates that voters’ perception of the quality of public education in Hamilton County has been rising.

In 2022, about 24% of voters asked by the newspaper believed the school district’s quality was good or better, 39% called it fair and 27% rated it poor.