Skip to main content
Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Opinion: City, county, school district have spent a lot of federal money in 2022; resulting inflation now coming back to bite them

Staff File Photo By Matt Hamilton / School district officials say the Tyner Middle/High building project on the pictured Tyner Academy campus will be more expensive than anticipated a year ago.
Staff File Photo By Matt Hamilton / School district officials say the Tyner Middle/High building project on the pictured Tyner Academy campus will be more expensive than anticipated a year ago. Staff File Photo By Matt Hamilton / School district officials say the Tyner Middle/High building project on the pictured Tyner Academy campus will be more expensive than anticipated a year ago.

By Clint Cooper 5 min read

Who didn’t see this coming?

The construction cost for the new Tyner Middle/High School grew almost 50% over one year, and now noises are being made that the new Chattanooga Lookouts stadium may have to be scaled back because of rising construction costs.

The Hamilton County Commission agreed Wednesday to pony up the remaining $17 million (from the last estimate) to meet the low bid for the new Tyner school, and officials have indicated some Lookouts stadium amenities may have to wait or perhaps be paid for by private developers who build projects adjacent to the stadium.

What none of the principals are saying, at least publicly, is how all the money they were swimming in during 2022 from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed by Democrats in Congress in 2021 is what has caused prices to rise so much on the planned projects.

Hamilton County reaped $71.4 million from the plan, which was passed ostensibly as COVID-19 relief, and the city of Chattanooga was given $38.6 million. The Hamilton County Schools district received $142 million from several COVID-19 relief funds.