Editiorial

Chattanooga and Hamilton County benefit greatly from the work and financial backing of many private foundations.

One such organization is Carnegie Corp. The Hamilton County school system has an $8 million grant from Carnegie to promote high school reform. The Public Education Foundation provided a $6 million local matching grant.

There is evidence, in the form of higher standardized test scores and higher rates of students being promoted from the ninth to the 10th grade, that these generous gifts are making a difference.

Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corp., visited the county recently. He was here both to laud the academic advancements being made in our schools and to challenge county residents to continue supporting the reforms that are under way here even after the Carnegie grant money runs out in another year.

The county went through a fierce battle over local education funding recently, with concerns about higher taxes leading the County Commission to reject a desired increase. Then there is the flawed, unjust state education formula that leaves Hamilton County dead last in per-pupil funding from the state.

We are grateful for the educational support of private organizations. But Hamilton County needs more money from the county, and the state funding formula should be revamped if local schools are to build on their progress so far.