The Hamilton County school board has narrowly voted to retain its lobbyist despite concerns from some members around the cost and value of having an advocate in Nashville.
Hamilton County Schools, along with Metro Nashville and Memphis-Shelby County school districts, form the Coalition of Large School Systems, which advocates for the needs of the Tennessee’s largest districts. Knox County Schools, originally part of the coalition, withdrew its membership in 2022.
The board approved a three-year contract with its lobbyist just under a year ago, but the issue was raised again Thursday because the lobbying firm dissolved. The name change required the board to update its contract.
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Under the one-year agreement the board approved in a 6-5 vote, Hamilton County Schools will pay Gowan Public Strategy $60,000 to track legislation and represent the interests of the coalition, as well as other government relations services.
Board members Ben Daugherty, R-Signal Mountain; Jodi Schaffer, R-East Brainerd; Steve Slater, R-Soddy-Daisy; Jackie Anderson-Thomas, D-Chattanooga, and Joe Smith, R-Hixson, voted against the contract.
Daugherty noted that $60,000 is more than the district pays its teacher assistants and said the Tennessee School Board Association does a great job of keeping its members in the loop.
“I’m not minimizing what that individual does with Gowan,” he said. “I’m sure he does great work. I just think it goes back to where we are in a season right now with a budget where there’s a conversation that needs to be had about must-haves or nice-to-haves.”
School board members Felice Hadden, R-Ooltewah, and Larry Grohn, R-East Ridge, raised similar concerns around costs, though both ultimately voted to keep the lobbyist.
Several board members praised Ben Connor, D-Chattanooga, for his work keeping the board informed as its legislative representative. He does that job well, he said, with help from the lobbyist.
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While he notices, for instance, when something is sponsored by State Sen. Bo Watson, a North Chattanooga Republican who as finance committee chair holds more weight behind his proposed legislation, Connor doesn’t know if other lawmakers have a relationship with other school systems or activities that may mean the district needs to watch a bill more closely, he said.
“As much as I try and as much as you guys know that I love it, I don’t have the same level of touch in Nashville that this allows us,” he said. “In today’s day and age, we need to have something of this nature to be constant. I’ve heard this dais say a few times, ‘The squeaky wheel gets the oil.’ We need somebody that’s even more squeaky than me that’s there every day.”
The lobbyist advocates for the priorities in the board’s legislative agenda, Connor said. If there’s a disagreement among the districts, which Connor said has only happened a few times, the lobbyist has made it a point when speaking to lawmakers to differentiate what the districts want.
Of the over 140 school districts in Tennessee, five are Hamilton County’s size or larger.
“It’s a drastically different animal,” Connor said. “It’s something that we require to have a different level of touch.”
Based on Vice Chair Karitsa Jones’ experience, the state school board association often lobbies for the positions of smaller counties. While the board should look at its budget and be good stewards of tax dollars, she said, she’s willing to throw her support behind the coalition.
“Based off of what’s happening at the federal levels, we don’t know what that could look like when it gets to the state level, so it’s a lot of convolution right now,” she said. “I just would hate to not have someone who has their ear and finger on the pulse there daily to do that.”
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.