School Board objects to Hamilton County Commission action on redistricting

"We call that the resolution be amended back to the resolution of Nov. 3 and that the School Board be given the respect to explore options at our disposal."

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The Chairman of the Hamilton County School Board is objecting to a redistricting plan.

The County Commission discussed a resolution that would increase the school board from nine to eleven members because of redistricting.

They stripped out language dealing with the new state law about partisan election of school boards.

They won’t vote on it until next week.

But chairman Tucker McClendon issued a statement for the school system objecting to the rush to vote.

When we asked him today, he did not express whether he actually supports the 11 district proposal, itself.

Here is the statement today from School Board leaders:

On behalf of the Hamilton County School Board, we want to strenuously object to the action the Commission is to take this morning. We were informed Tuesday afternoon that Resolution No: 1121-5A had been materially changed to now commit the Hamilton County School Board to an 11-member school board district. The resolution also mentions the need to move forward due to new legislation in which school board elections may be partisan, but as of this statement that legislation has yet to be signed into law by the Governor.

As of this morning, we still have not been given formal or informal notice of this change from the county commission itself. 

We believe the documented record of our wishes, going back to the joint meeting of our two bodies and the Nov. 1 letter board leadership sent the Commission, in which we have requested that the Hamilton County Commission defer any redistricting of the Hamilton County Board of Education until after the Board of Education has had the opportunity to discuss this issue in-depth and, perhaps, to formulate its own proposed redistricting map to reflect the needs of the school system’s stakeholders.

We request to move forward and separate the newly agreed-upon commission map with the Hamilton County Commission to determine how we can better define the current nine districts to best serve the people of Hamilton County.

We call that the resolution be amended back to the resolution of Nov. 3 and that the School Board be given the respect to explore options at our disposal.

Fervently, 

Tucker McClendon, Board Chairman

Tiffanie Robinson, Board Vice-Chair