Hamilton County Commission to consider $2.3 million in school projects

When Emily Harmon’s daughter began kindergarten at Thrasher Elementary, she loved school but struggled to play with her friends because the playground was not accessible for her.

The sidewalks were not a safe slope for Harmon’s daughter, Dollie, to navigate with her wheelchair, and the playground was covered in mulch, which Dollie couldn’t roll in. When she came home from school, Dollie would have injuries on her feet and legs from where she would try to scoot around to catch up with her peers, Harmon said.

In June, Harmon addressed the Hamilton County school board, asking its members to make the school’s playground accessible. Her petition has gathered more than 1,000 signatures.

Now, the playground improvement is among the 13 school capital projects the Hamilton County Commission will decide whether to fund at its next meeting Wednesday. The projects, which total roughly $2.3 million, also include a gym floor replacement and roof repairs at several schools.

The school board approved the projects earlier this month.

“It feels unbelievable,” Harmon said by phone. “It feels like an out-of-body experience. We’ve worked so hard and gone to so many meetings and talked to so many people. It’s just really exciting to be heard and for them to make a priority of something that is so important to not only us but to so many other people.”

(READ MORE: Hamilton County Commission approves $3.7 million for roof repairs, security upgrades at schools)

If the county commission approves the projects, the accessibility will benefit more than just her daughter, Harmon said. Other students or community members who are injured or have mobility issues will also be able to navigate the playground more easily.

For Dollie, who is now a first grader at Thrasher Elementary, it will mean she has access to the entire playground. New sidewalks would give her access to each individual part of the playground, and resurfacing the ground would allow her to get out of her wheelchair and safely transfer without getting injured, Harmon said.

The funding for the facilities projects comes out of the $6 million the county commission withheld from Hamilton County Schools’ budget for the 2023-24 school year to lower ongoing funding obligations to the district. By state law, Hamilton County must preserve at least the same level of local funding for schools as it did in the prior year, a requirement called “maintenance of effort.”

(READ MORE: Hamilton County school district reports student enrollment increase)

As the school board put together a budget in spring 2023, it initially increased the amount reserved for deferred maintenance from $2 million to $8 million. In a last-minute resolution, the school board reduced the amount back to $2 million in favor of the county using that $6 million for a more substantial bond issuance. The move was designed to ensure the budget received support from the county commission, which is responsible for approving the district’s budget.

The projects funded by the other $3.7 million were approved by the commission in January and included boilers, chillers and roof repairs at several schools.

Harmon said she hopes the accessible playground will make more children comfortable going to Thrasher Elementary since families will know it’s a safe space to play. Her dream is to help every school in Hamilton County become accessible and inclusive to all.

“If we can use our voice with her disability to change Chattanooga and the way that people view handicaps, the way that they cater to handicaps, then I feel like that’s kind of our duty in life,” she said. “It’s our job.”

Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.