In the wake of the town of Signal Mountain’s decision to study separating from the Hamilton County School District, residents in Walden and the unincorporated parts of the mountain are wondering what that split would mean for them.
Since the Signal Mountain Town Council’s vote last week, Walden Mayor Bill Trohanis said he has received calls from Realtors who have sold homes in Walden or Hamilton County who are now worried their clients’ children might one day be unable to attend Signal schools – a big selling point for families.
Though the Signal Mountain Town Council has only decided to create a committee to look into the viability of creating a new school district, the apprehension is shared by many on the mountain.
“Our concern is just taking care of the kids that are up there,” Trohanis said.
Currently, 282 students from Walden attend Signal schools, as well as another 646 from the unincorporated areas.
Originally, Trohanis said he was told that if the town of Signal Mountain decided to create its own school district and Walden was not included, students would be able to attend Red Bank schools. But with Red Bank also considering a split from the Hamilton County School District, Trohanis fears his town’s students could be left with nowhere to go.
“It would put us in a real predicament,” he said.
During a Walden Town Hall meeting Dec. 13, town of Signal Mountain Mayor Chris Howley assured officials of the neighboring municipality they had nothing to worry about.
The preliminary proposal made by an advocacy group for an independent Signal school district stipulated that the district would have the freedom to establish its own zoning policy and that students from Walden and the unincorporated areas would be given priority enrollment. Howley said he would not support the plan if further research showed the new district could not include students from these areas.
“I can’t speak for the other council members, I’m only speaking for myself but I don’t think it goes a lot further if we can’t include everyone on the mountain,” said Howley. “That just doesn’t work to me.”
Still, two municipalities cannot run one school district, so residents from Walden and unincorporated areas would not be represented on the new school board.
Another question on Walden officials’ minds is the town’s financial contributions to the mountain’s newest school. In 2007, after a referendum in both towns on the mountain, Walden contributed $2.3 million to help fund construction of Signal Mountain Middle/High, a share based on the number of students the town had at the time. Now, officials are wondering what will happen to that investment if Signal gains sole ownership of the school.
“[We] don’t know the answer to that because that’s all hypothetical,” Trohanis said.
Answers to questions like these are what the research committee, to be selected by the Signal Mountain Town Council in January, is expected to find. The council will choose up to seven members from a pool of applicants both for and against the split, and Walden Vice Mayor Thom Peterson, who is expected to apply for a seat on the committee, is hoping to be one of the chosen few.
“I welcome and appreciate the fact that [Signal officials] have openly stated that they want representation on the exploratory committee from the Hamilton County area and the Walden area,” Trohanis said. “I’m being positive and open-minded, and we’ll see what this committee has to say.”
Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com.