Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Jim Scales set out to make the record straight Thursday night.

No schools are yet set for closing, and a list that’s been circulated in local media suggesting otherwise is misleading, he said.

Dr. Scales’ comments come after media reported there was a list of small schools that could be closed at a cost savings in light of budget shortfalls.

“Our 2010 school year has some real challenges, and that’s true,” Dr. Scales said.

“But some of the information that has been spread is misinformation. Because (I) have not made any recommendations to the board about where we would have to make some reductions to balance our budgets, but we have given the board some options.”

Dr. Scales also addressed reports about the board taking a retreat to the four-diamond Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville amid talks of million-dollar budget shortfalls.

He said the retreat is necessary for leadership development, and that the board is squeezing the retreat to the front of a statewide leadership convention.

“Most board members attending arrive the night before the leadership conference begins, so rather than having separate retreats, the Hamilton County (School) Board agreed to arrive early on that day and begin a retreat — four hours on that Friday and three hours on that next morning,” Dr. Scales said.

He also fired back at comments made at Wednesday’s Hamilton County Commission meeting. Commissioners Greg Beck and Warren Mackey warned schools officials Wednesday to be cautious in the steps they take to cut back on costs, especially if they include school consolidations or closings, and Mr. Beck cautioned against a “shotgun” approach.

“I never, in all my administration years, have taken a shotgun approach to doing anything. I try to be very systematic ... so as we move forward in putting together our 2010 budget, we won’t be using a shotgun. That is very, very irresponsible,” Dr. Scales said.

But Dr. Scales did not rule out closing schools. He did, in fact, say it was a likely option if more funding isn’t provided by the county.

“In moving forward we need two things: funding that comes from the county to run the schools as we have been,” he said. “If we don’t have the funding, then we have to change the model ... by which we run schools. Therefore we need to look at the size of our schools, because we have small schools, and those small schools take extra resources.”

For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.