March 12, 2005
Editorial: Chattanooga Times Free press
Chattanooga 'old-timers' recall 'the good old days' when fine neighborhood elementary and junior high schools funneled well-prepared youngsters into the city’s Chattanooga High School and the county’s Central High School, where they were assured educational opportunities on a par with the best that were offered by our community’s very fine private schools.
The city and county schools produced outstanding and successful business, professional and political leaders despite teacher pay that was a pittance, the Great Depression, World War II and other impediments. We never heard of any student who couldn’t read!
What happened to change that happy situation? Many problems have arisen. Our society has changed, not always for the better. Family support has declined. Manners and morals have eroded. Discipline has dissolved. Myriad distractions — TV, music, cell phones, cars and more — have intruded. 'School resource officers' are now needed in schools to assure safety. Rising health insurance costs and transportation devour a huge part of school budgets. Tennessee has mandated higher teacher pay (still too low) — without providing the necessary dollars. Meanwhile, Hamilton Countians pay large amounts in taxes to the state — but a clearly unfair distribution formula sends $4,728 per child to the most-favored of 136 local school systems, while Hamilton County is last on the list of 136 as it receives only $2,214 per pupil!
Facing all this, Hamilton County residents, school leaders, generous individuals, businesses and charitable foundations are valiantly fighting back — with good results, but much more being needed. Dan Challener, president of the Public Education Foundation, provided an emphatic message when he spoke to the Rotary Club this week. He displayed a 'human graph,' inviting 10 local high school students to stand before the club, then had individual students sit down as he contrasted the very different results these young people would experience in things such as the income they would earn and their prospects for a good life, depending upon whether they were school dropouts or graduated from our high schools with good achievements.
Dr. Challener applauded the generosity of national and local foundations and other financial supporters in their special efforts to lift the standards and achievements of our county’s elementary, middle and high schools, emphasizing that more general public support is needed.
Excellence in local public education is a key to achieving personal opportunity as well as prosperity for our city, county, state and nation.