Trust Dr. Johnson; invest in students

“You have to spend money to make money” is a wellknown adage. Periodically, businesses lay out large investments with future growth in mind. A similar proposal is at hand for our county schools.

Dr. Bryan Johnson came to us two years ago with a vision in mind. At his earliest community meetings, he impressed me as he answered questions about “what works in education” and his specific plans for our school system.

Since then, his support program for first-year teachers has increased HCDE’s first-year teacher retention rate from 70% to 90%. That is huge! That makes for satisfied teachers, parents, students, administrators and a more stable school system. With this as just one reason, I trust Dr. Johnson to decide how to staff and program our school system. HCDE is a big ship to turn, and it is turning.

On Wednesday, our county commissioners are expected to vote on the school district’s budget. If you support funding the positions and programs that Dr. Johnson has proposed, contact your commissioner to encourage him or her to do the same.

Dr. Johnson knows what he’s doing. Let’s let him do it. Let’s invest in our students. Meg Brasel Signal Mountain