Image Credit: Knox County Commission
Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
In finalizing their budget for the next fiscal year, the Knox County Commission approved a resolution on Monday diverting $4 million away from the school system’s allocation and instead using it to fund raises for county employees.
While the initial budget proposal prepared by Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs already included a 3% step raise, Commission Chairwoman Gina Oster proposed doubling that amount to 6%. To cover the cost of the additional 3% increase, Oster’s amendment moved $0.02 of property tax from the general-purpose school fund to the general fund.
The pay increase added approximately $700,000 to the $1.15 billion budget proposed by Jacobs.
County employees like engineering and public works staffers, waste workers, sheriff’s deputies, and other county department workers will benefit from the raises, which Oster says are necessary to meet rising costs.
“We are not keeping up with the rising cost our employees are feeling in rent, food, gas, etc. Any successful corporation knows to value its employees. We cannot continue to expect more and more without compensation,” said Oster, who lost her Republican primary challenge in May after a strong turnout of conservative voters.
But not everyone is enthused about the result. Community members and school officials voiced objection to the reallocation, saying it will force the school district to reconsider planned services and staffing.
According to Jennifer Hemmelgarn, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Talent at Knox County Schools (KCS), the district has $71 million in reserve, which is about $20 million more than the state requirement, so KCS “will make it work”, but officials will “need a little time with our budget as a result.”
“We really shouldn’t be putting fund balance toward recurring costs, so we would probably be revisiting our staffing allocation formula to our schools,” Hemmelgarn said. She also noted that $0.11 of property tax had been directed away from the school budget in previous years.
And earlier this year, the KCS Board of Education voted to cut 57 teaching positions and 27 administrative positions. However, the county budget does include a 2.5% raise for teachers, and KCS upped its minimum teacher pay to $50,000 to come into compliance with new state law.
KCS spokesperson Carly Harrington said the board has not yet set a meeting date to discuss next steps, though the board is not required to meet before the start of the next fiscal year on July 1. District leaders will likely work to identify internal-cost saving measures before presenting a revised budget plan to the school board.
Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
