Community members listen as SSVC members describe the findings detailed in their final report Oct. 18. (Staff photo by Myron Madden)The School System Viability Committee’s final report was met with a flurry of mixed opinions from the community when it was formally presented to the Signal Mountain Town Council last week.
Signal Mountain resident John Riddle said he was impressed by the amount of work the committee put into the study and that he was open-minded about the possibility of forming an independent school district.
“I have children in elementary school here, in middle school here and in high school here,” he explained. “I believe in public education. So my goal has always been the highest quality public education you can get.”
The father said he was particularly surprised by the $1.9 million surplus an independent school district would have to devote to educational enhancements after paying salaries and other operational costs, saying it “highlighted the waste going on off the mountain.”
Riddle added that the breakdown of financial contributions from the Mountain Education Foundation and supply fees paid by parents also put the issue in perspective for him.