Commissioners Grill School Superintendent Over State Report Card

School leaders have blamed their report card scores on new, tougher standards in Tennessee.

But today, some of the people who pay the bills were a bit more skeptical.

Superintendent Jim Scales today faced some tough questions from county commissioners over where the school system is heading.

An "A" in math in some Tennessee counties might not be an "A" in all them because the standards differed. That's why the state yesterday "recalibrated" its report card...and turned "b's" in Chattanooga into "c's".

Superintendent Dr.Jim Scales talked about that with the county commission.

DR. JIM SCALES, DIR. OF SCHOOLS "We make no excuses, because excuses won't get us to where we need to be...but now we have a new baseline ..And that new baseline affected the entire state."

Dr. Scales was spared harsh criticism, but the comments and questions were tough.

FRED SKILLERN, COMMISSIONER "We as a county are spending so much more than some other counties..I just don't see us getting the value for what we're spending."

DR. SCALES "I don't want us to feel all gloom and doom about what we saw yesterday..but on the other hand we need to have a controlled sense of urgency."

Scales said despite the change on paper, local students don't know any less than they did last week...the yardstick changed...and he said..

DR. SCALES "Kids don't come to us on a level playing field ...We get kids spread throughout the strata ...But its our responsibility to educate all those youngsters."

MAYOR CLAUDE RAMSEY, HAMILTON COUNTY "My question to you would be this..having known that it was coming, have you and the board discussed, and do you have a plan on how to deal with what is now very obvious has to change?"

The superintendent said the plan is on the table but needs work.

Meanwhile, Mayor Ramsey pointed the finger at parents and guardians.

CLAUDE RAMSEY "We have pockets all over this county ..Not just the inner city but all over this county that does not ..TYou can find a complete list of school report cards on our website- WDEF-dot-com.here's not a value on education ...And we've got to change that as a community."