David Eichenthal with the PFM Group discusses a Hamilton County Schools budget suggestion plan drafted by members of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce during a chamber meeting at Bessie Smith Cultural Center on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The plan offered suggestions for budget consolidation and improvements in efficiency.Earlier this year, a group of business and community leaders compiled a 69-page report detailing a handful of strategies Hamilton County Schools could implement to improve efficiency and boost student outcomes.
“We absolutely believe there are ways to make the school system more efficient,” David Eichenthal, a member of the group and managing director at the PFM Group, said Thursday.
Speaking to a group of downtown Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce members, Eichenthal said the community must improve education in Hamilton County, as many kids are not receiving the educations they deserve. But the report alone will not make a difference, he added, and will bring a change only if its recommendations are owned by county officials, the school district and board, along with the community.
The report recommends that the district:
- Reduce the number of schools and teachers to boost efficiency and student outcomes.
- Increase teacher and principal salaries with savings from the consolidation of schools and reduction in staff, and align teacher compensation to quality.
- Improve accountability by the county hiring two full-time performance auditors and the district employing a chief information officer, chief operating officer and a chief talent officer.
- Establish a new tax dedicated to schools infrastructure, tech and innovation;
- Make the district a part of the planning commission approval process.
The savings from consolidation would help free up savings for the district to spend on teacher quality and reduce the concentration of poverty in certain schools, the report states.