City considers forming separate school district
School Board representative David Testerman said East Ridge considering breaking away from the Hamilton County public school system should have no effect on the board’s decision whether to deed over the East Ridge High School athletic facilities.He referenced the deterioration of the facilities in saying forming individual districts is something all municipalities should at least consider.“There is so much uncertainty, and the public has seemed to lose a lot of trust in our system,” said Testerman.Starting individual districts could provide increased funding for maintenance and new construction, along with the ability to provide things like art, foreign language and music to students in lower grades, which are currently not offered in many of Hamilton County’s schools, he said.Testerman said he hopes the board will vote to allow East Ridge to take responsibility for the athletic facilities because it will benefit the school and bring needed repairs, reiterating that the city taking control of the athletic facilities is a totally separate issue than municipalities taking control of schools.— Kendi Rainwater, staff writer
Seen in August, Raymond James Stadium at East Ridge High School was closed down due to structural problems with the home bleachers.The long-unusable athletic facilities at East Ridge High School may soon again be accessible to its students - as well as the community.
Last month, the Hamilton County School Board voted to have its attorney, Scott Bennett, investigate the possibility of giving the run-down facilities to the city of East Ridge, which has offered to pay for repairs and maintenance in return for ownership of the property.
The transfer would allow the city to use state grants to cover the cost of repairs and upgrades and hire a full-time employee to oversee maintenance, saving the school district maintenance dollars.
"We feel that with minimal amount of time and effort, the city can get those fields into a playable condition," said East Ridge City Manager Scott Miller.
The fields won't just be playable for ERHS students.
If the school's two soccer fields, ball field, tennis court, football stadium and track were to become city property, they would become accessible to the public, giving residents recreational amenities in the center of the city, in addition to the facilities at Camp Jordan at the eastern edge of the city.
"To me it looks like a win-win situation for everybody, because we're not able to maintain these facilities with our existing funding," school board member David Testerman said in reference to Hamilton County Schools, explaining that maintenance of athletic facilities has had to be postponed across the district due to limited funding.
Though the fields, court and track at ERHS will be shared between students and residents, Miller said students would have first use of the facilities, a right which would be secured in the covenant of the deed's transfer.
The provision would mean that if the school scheduled five home football games, the city would not be able to rent out the field for those nights, Miller explained, adding that other high schools and cities have already expressed interest in using the facilities.
Though Miller estimated it might take $25,000 to refurbish the tennis court, he said no cost estimates have been made on the overall project.
For years, the school's athletic facilities have been in need of repairs. Attention was brought to the facilities' issues last year when the school's football stadium was condemned, forcing the school district to pay for repairs. East Ridge's was one of seven stadiums district-wide that prompted the school board to approve $913,600 for repairs.
"[Now] it's in very good shape," Miller said of the stadium. "But the other fields are not."
The tennis court is spattered with cracks and weeds. The soccer field is littered with rocks. And the quarter-mile track, once consistently trekked by fitness walkers, has not been used in 15 years.
"You can't use them for competition. In some cases, you can't even use them for practice," said Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd, who represents the area, adding, "The county approved $150,000 to help Red Bank [High School] resurface their track. East Ridge [High School's track] is in way worse shape than Red Bank's."
The city's goal is to bring these underutilized facilities back up to Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association standards and put them back into active use for organized sports.
"I know it's pretty much a new adventure for our community," Testerman said. "However, I think it's going to benefit the city of East Ridge, it's going to benefit our school system and it's going to give our kids that are active in sports at East Ridge facilities they can be proud of."
The school board is expected to vote on deeding the property to East Ridge this week, though the Hamilton County Commission will ultimately have to approve the transfer of the property.