Hamilton County Commission -- budget hearing on Department of Education -- May 7, 2008	- Download MP3-

Hamilton County commissioners on Wednesday called for the school system seriously to consider building larger schools and consolidating empty buildings.

“You reduce costs if you reduce the number of schools. Has anyone considered that?” Commissioner John Allen Brooks asked during a presentation of the school system’s balanced budget for fiscal year 2009.

Hamilton County operates 12 elementary schools with a student population of under 300, the school district’s Chief Financial Officer Tommy Kranz said Wednesday. Additionally, local schools hold an average of 513 students, the smallest number per building of any of the state’s five largest systems, he said.

Jim Scales, system superintendent, said district administrators would consider larger schools in the future. A decision to have small schools in Hamilton County was made years ago, and reversing that choice would take between 10 and 20 years to implement fully, he said.

“Small schools have a lot of heart,” Dr. Scales said. “But there’s not a lot of hard data that says a larger school is any less effective at educating students.”

In response to a question from Commissioner Jim Coppinger, Dr. Scales said classroom size is more important than building size.

“As long as we keep the pupil-teacher ratio at a manageable level, instruction should not be hampered by the size of the building,” he said.

In April, the Hamilton County Board of Education unanimously approved a $298 million general-purpose budget, a 2.33 percent increase from fiscal year 2008. The first proposal of the budget for fiscal year 2009 had an $8.5 million shortfall, forcing school administrators to cut personnel and operating expenses districtwide.

School administrators found out Wednesday they may have to shuffle resources or make additional cuts because Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has suggested eliminating the $3.8 million in new Basic Education Program money.

The County Commission will vote on the school district’s budget in June.

In order to consolidate schools, officials would have to consider whether spaces such as parking lots, cafeterias and school offices could accommodate more students, Mr. Kranz pointed out. Mr. Brooks called these issues “simple problems.”

“It’s a lot easier to fix these problems than to raise taxes,” the commissioner said.

After asking Dr. Scales to list some of the highest-performing schools in the district, Commission Chairman Bill Hullander ended the meeting with a statement.

“Your larger schools are your better schools,” he said.

Hamilton County will open the new Signal Mountain Middle-High School in August and another middle-high school in the East Brainerd area the following year.

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