Every time we approve another position we are taking another dollar out of the classroom. I will never vote to add more people to [the] Central Office.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith said the school district can no longer neglect the importance of technology to classroom instruction, and it is time to hire an assistant superintendent of innovation.
According to Smith, money has been set aside in the budget for years to fund the position, and he's been waiting until the time is right to make the hire. He assured members of the county school board last week that funding for the position will come from the personnel budget and not take away funds designated to schools.
The board voted in favor of adding the high-ranking position without much discussion. Board member Rhonda Thurman cast the only dissenting vote.
Kirk Kelly is the director of testing and accountability for the Hamilton County School system.
Staff File Photo
Hamilton County Schools finance director Christie Jordan speaks to members of the Hamilton County Board of Education as they meet to rework their 2016 budget request on June 1, 2015, in Chattanooga."Every time we approve another position we are taking another dollar out of the classroom," Thurman said. "I will never vote to add more people to [the] Central Office."
The decision to add a fifth assistant superintendent follows on the heels of Smith's spring tour in which he criss-crossed the county touting a 15 cent property-tax increase, hoping to raise $34 million to be spent primarily on instruction and technology inside schools. And the lawsuit the Hamilton County Department of Education filed against the state over the Basic Education Program funding formula, saying that the state does not provide enough funding for numerous expenses including teacher pay and insurance.
A figure was not readily available about how much the new assistant superintendent will be paid, but each of the district's current four assistant superintendents make more than $100,000 annually. According to a report from the Tennessee comptroller in 2014, Hamilton County operates with a comparatively lean administrative cost, as the district spends below the state average on administrative spending as a percentage of total current spending, and ranks below other districts of equal or larger size.
On Tuesday, Smith said the "personnel budget really never changes" in the district, and having an assistant superintendent of innovation will help with implementing technology into daily classroom instruction. He also said the person will serve as a presence and advocate in Chattanooga's growing innovation and tech community.
"It's time for us to have a position that every day focuses on the idea of innovation and what that could look like for our kids, the idea of what that might look like in classrooms," Smith said Tuesday. " we have evidence of [technology's] importance in instruction."
Smith said the position will be officially posted this week, and a background in education is not a requirement for the job, although he wants whoever is hired to understand the importance of best practices when it comes to instruction and the ability to help the district implement a plan for innovation and technology.
The board also voted last week, upon Smith's request, to promote Christie Jordan, the system's director of finance, and Kirk Kelly, director of testing and accountability, to assistant superintendents.
Smith said Tuesday that both Jordan and Kelly have been directors of their departments since the county and city school systems merged in 1997, and they have been doing the work of an assistant superintendent as department heads.
"They've had the position at the table, they just haven't had the title," Smith said. " they are both deserving of the recognition of assistant superintendents."
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.