County Schools Facing Future Challenges

Huntsville, TN (2011-02-10) As with many other school districts in Tennessee and across the nation, the Scott County School System will face many challenges in the coming year.

Outgoing Director Sharon Wilson cautioned the Scott County Board of Education that job cuts and capital expenditure are likely in the coming year. Speaking candidly to the Board Thursday night, Wilson reminded the Board that up to nine teaching assistants’ positions might have to be eliminated in the 2011-2012 school year. Those positions, stated Wilson, had been funded with federal stimulus money and those funds will cease on June 30, 2011. The loss of those extra hands will impact classroom instruction, she added.

In addition to job cuts, the district also faces major capital expenditures, including the possible repair or replacement of roof structures at both Fairview Elementary and Scott High School and the pending purchase of three (3) school buses—which will cost the district roughly $250,000.

Wilson’s warning followed a poignant discussion regarding her disdain over recent negotiation tactics and allegation of misappropriations by the school district. “The tactics used in this negotiation are disappointing to me,” she expressed. Wilson was reportedly referring to the methodology being used by some of the district’s employees to urge the Board of Education to approve a proposed $150 bonus. In last week’s work session Ryan Keeton, a member of the administration’s negotiating team, informed the Board that the Local Education Association (LEA) had requested certain funds from the district’s “Race To The Top” grant be used for employee bonuses—a measure recommended by the Tennessee Education Association. After planned expenses, which are largely salaries, the district reportedly has $70,000 in surplus funds—money the administration had intended to use to purchase a new student management software program. However, the local LEA insisted employees be given the recommended bonus, which will cost the district roughly $93,000. The difference, stated Wilson at the work session, would have to be taken from the district’s fund balances.

Wilson also defended the administration’s use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and “Race To The Top” grant funds. “(We thought) we used the money in the wisest ways,” she responded. Given the current employment situation in Scott County, much of the federal money was used to hire personnel. “A lot of the money went into jobs,” Wilson added. The district also used the money to beef up programs in an effort to attain new state and federal achievement benchmarks.

A counteroffer has reported by offered to the LEA; however, as of the meeting, the administration hadn’t received an official response. The Board, stated Wilson, would vote on the issue at its next meeting in March.