Hamilton County Schools Host Public Virtual Budget Meetings For 2021-22 School Year
Published February 10, 2021
Hamilton County, TN – Hamilton County Schools is hosting a series of Virtual Community Budget Meetings throughout the month of February.
The meetings will grant Hamilton County families, school staff and community members the opportunity to share feedback as the district begins crafting their proposed budget for the 2021-2022 school year.
According to HCS, the virtual meeting will be hosted by the community Superintendent of each Learning Community but all are welcome to attend any of the meetings.
Representatives from HCS state, “Your input is vital to the success of Hamilton County Schools, and we hope to see you at one of our Virtual Community Budget Meetings.”
Recently, Hamilton County Schools surveyed over 11,000 people about the budget and school calendar.
HCS reports that a majority of the responses came from parents and the results were shared with the public during the Harrison Bay Learning Community Meeting on Monday night.
The survey results showed that for the use of CARES Act dollars the number one priority is to hire additional staff to support the learning loss that has occurred due to school closures, remote learning and hybrid learning during the last ten months.
Second on the list of priorities is improving access to the internet for students, which includes HCS EdConnect, a fiber optic broadband internet service provided free of charge to economically challenged families with K-12 students.
Through this program, more than 12,000 students currently have internet access to continue their studies from home.
The program aims to offer the service to 28,500 students in Hamilton County out of the roughly 45,000 in the district.
Third on the list of priorities is the purchasing of additional devices for students.
For the General-Purpose Budget, literacy initiatives are the number one most supported, followed by developing teacher pipelines and facilities.
However, the school system is looking to get more feedback through the community meetings.
“We can’t make it without your feedback and we want you to be candid and open about what things are working and where you want to see continued investment,” Superintendent Bryan Johnson said during the Harrison Bay meeting.
Community Budget Session Meeting Schedule:
• Harrison Bay, Monday, February 8, 6:00pm
• MidTown, Tuesday, February 9, 6:00pm
• Missionary Ridge, Thursday, February 11, 6:00pm –Register Here
• Lunch Session, Wednesday, February 17, 12:00pm –Register Here
• North River, Monday, February 22, 6:00pm –Register Here
• Rock Point, Tuesday, February 25, 6:00pm –Register Here
Two Meetings are planned specifically for students:
• Student Session 1, Thursday, February 25, 4:30pm –Register Here
• Student Session 2, Tuesday, March 2, 4:00pm –Register Here
