UnifiEd calls for accountability, multi-year plan for school funding

In an open letter to Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Bryan Johnson and school board Chairman Steve Highlander, UnifiEd called Tuesday for the Hamilton County Board of Education to initiate an audit of the school system’s capital needs and the creation of a multiyear capital plan.

The move comes after the Hamilton County Commission’s action last week to allocate $100 million of new money for school capital projects.

The letter from the local education advocacy nonprofit states that the new money is not sufficient to fully fund all the immediate capital needs in schools, which have been estimated in recent years from approximately $180

million up to double that amount. No definitive dollar value is known because a comprehensive facility assessment has not been conducted, according to a news release from UnifiEd.

“Without an audit of needs and a multi-year plan, decisions on capital projects will be subject to political maneuvering rather than an equitable distribution based on actual need,” said Jonas Barriere, UnifiEd executive director. “Accountability measures need to be in place to restore public confidence that their tax dollars are

well spent with this new money allocated by the county commission.”

UnifiEd says such an audit should provide an unbiased assessment of facility safety issues because of deferred maintenance, student capacity and population growth trends, building quality, and estimated cost to repair or replace schools. Audit findings should then be the basis of a multi-year capital plan.

A multi-year capital plan and budget was also backed by a group of business and community leaders whose independent review of school system spending and report on recommendations for efficiencies was released this spring.

On the need for a multi-year capital plan, Barriere said, “It’s hard to justify investments in year one that will produce savings or results in year two or three or ten without a long-term plan.”

The letter calls on the Board of Education to pass a resolution as soon as possible to hire an external audit firm or allocate dedicated staff to perform a thorough review of the state of the schools’ facilities and needs. It further calls for the board to commit to making the resulting audit report publicly available and using it as the basis of its decisions on allocation of funds for capital projects.

The Hamilton County Department of Education, in a statement issued Tuesday, said a complete facility plan for schools, which includes assessments on new construction and additions, current building needs, mechanical, electrical and plumbing needs, and athletic repairs, was completed in January and highlights needs facing local schools.

“The Hamilton County Department of Education looks forward to tackling some of the $200+ million in deferred maintenance and construction needs with the funds created after the Hamilton County Commission voted 8 to 1 to approve a resolution keeping the millage rate at its current assessment,” the department said. “HCDE Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson will work closely with the HCDE School Board to decide which projects on the comprehensive facilities plan will benefit from the additional revenues generated.”