On Wednesday, the Hamilton County Commission is expected to vote on Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger’s fiscal 2020 budget, the funding of which will require a 34-cent property tax increase for schools.
We have said before that we believe Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson has made the case that the district needs more money. We especially believe the district should have more competitive teacher salaries with nearby counties. We also know the district must add special education employees to comply with the law and wants to add more mental health professionals to fulfill the desires of the public, who want to see prevented – as much as can be – any violence perpetrated by students.
If the budget request had been to fulfill those specific needs, plus the investments in safety and security suggested by Sheriff Jim Hammond, we could enthusiastically support this budget with whatever smaller tax rise it would demand.
However, we find ourselves worried that the school district is adding nearly 300 non-teaching positions in what seems to be a stock-the-pond-while-we-can budget scenario. And just around the corner is the revelation of a requested school facilities audit. Conspiracy theorists believe it’s already in hand and being held, pending the vote on the tax increase. School sources say it’s not likely to be revealed until later this summer.
Either way, the school facilities report is a ticking time bomb. It is likely to reveal deferred maintenance costs of more than $500 million dollars in district schools, note specifically how many schools are underutilized and how many are overcrowded, and hint at – if not suggest – the closing of a number of schools to right-size the district.