Hamilton County school board members have spent roughly $45,000 to attend training and conferences over the past two years, according to records obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
From August 2022, when the newest school board members took office, through the end of 2023, the 11-member board spent $45,781.93 on expenses related to professional development. Roughly a third was spent on training and conference registration fees, around 40% was spent on hotel stays and the rest was used for daily meal allowances and transportation costs.
In January, the school board voted to give each member a $3,000 yearly allowance for professional development opportunities and related travel expenses. Potential activities for which the allowance could be used include participating in conferences, workshops and conventions held by the Tennessee School Boards Association, as well as local and district-sponsored training sessions.
“The public needs to understand it’s always been there,” Board Chair Joe Smith, R-Hixson, said by phone. “This is not something that’s new. All this policy does, it just cleans it up.”
The policy creates a separate line item for board development opportunities, rather than having them fall under the general operations budget, he said. It also limits each board member to the same amount of funds.