Thirty years ago, Chattanooga voters went to the polls and confirmed their desire to merge city and county schools into one system. It was the second vote on the issue in two years, but the 1996 vote required those who supported the merger to vote “no” and those who were against it to vote “yes.”
Confusing? Let’s explain.
In November 1994, Chattanooga residents decided by about 3,600 votes to dissolve the city school system and force a merger with its Hamilton County counterpart. The merger was set for June 30, 1997.
But anti-merger forces, led by the Rev. Amos Baker, pastor of God the Word Missionary Baptist Church and founder of the grassroots organization People Wanting a Change, led a successful petition drive in 1996 to get the issue put back on the ballot. Among the concerns of Baker and his compatriots was what they said was the confusing way the 1994 ballot initiative was worded.
“Because the measure to abolish the Chattanooga school board in 1994 very narrowly passed, and because we are persuaded that a majority of voters actually opposed the elimination of the city school system, we now wish to make it clear to all citizens of Chattanooga that they are entitled to an opportunity to be heard once more,” Baker told The Chattanooga Times, then the city’s morning newspaper, for a story June 6, 1995.