Williamson County Board Of Education Leveraging Teacher Raises To Compel County Commission To Raise Property Taxes

Image Credit: Williamson County Schools

The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –

This month at the Williamson County Commissioners meeting, the budget items for the entire county were discussed and appropriations were voted on and passed. 

All items in the county budget were appropriated with the exception of the General-Purpose budget for Williamson County schools. 

The reason for this is because there seems to be some discrepancy on what that number is, and where it is going to come from. 

According to recent comments from Mayor Rogers Anderson at this month’s County Commissioners meeting, the mayor is in support of and encouraging the idea of another property tax increase, even though the property taxes were already increased back in 2021. 

Mayor Anderson stated in remarks he gave during the May session of the County Commissioners when the budget was being discussed, that “property taxes are just going to have to go up a bit. I know no one wants to hear that, but it is just a fact”. 

When it comes to the budget for Williamson County schools, there seems to be some confusion as to what number the budget has been agreed to eventually be, which will determine if a proposed 6 cent property tax increase will be the next item to be decided.

The Tennessee Conservative has obtained the evolution of the WCS budget proposal from its introduction, through to the present day and where it currently sits from sources within the County Commission Budget Committee.

Below is a general timeline of how the WCS General Purpose Budget evolved during the county commission’s budget review:

• April 8 – Education Committee & Budget Committee joint session for 1st review of WCS Budget – Initial request of $566M

• April 29 – Education Committee 2nd Review – Due to insurance savings, request reduced to $557M. Vote of 3-3, which is a “no recommendation”.

• April 30 – Budget Committee 2nd Review – Request of $557M which was reduced by a motion to amend by Mayor Anderson to $555M, which passed unanimously.

• May 14 – Budget Committee review of Consolidated Budget. All funds were adopted unanimously except the General-Purpose School Fund. Motion to amend with no tax increase and reduce to $545M, which passed 3-2, as noted above.

• May 20 – WCS Board meeting in which the Board adopted a budget of $555M, which is in conflict with the Budget Committee’s recommended budget of $545M.

There is no video of the respective committees listed above, as those committees are not required to be recorded. 

Based on this information, it appears that the Williamson County Commission was provided a proposed number of a 555-million-dollar budget, voted not to pass it, sending back a number to the school board, and Superintendent Jason Golden

The reason the committee chose not to vote in favor of the higher number, was because the only way that number would be able to be provided would be through a tax increase of 6 cent for all county property owners. 

In other words, the Williamson County Commission and its respective committees were instructing Superintendent Golden, and the school board to work within the $545 million dollar budget that they were willing to approve without the necessity of a property tax increase. 

However, based on a review of the May work session video for the Williamson County School’s board, the message the County Commission was sending didn’t seem to be effectively communicated to Superintendent Golden, who characterized the instructions from the County Commission differently. 

In the video of the work session which can be found here, at about the 45 minute mark, Golden states that the County Commission passed the budget the WCBOE proposed at the $555 million dollar number. This, as previously stated, is in direct conflict with what the budget committee conveyed after their second review.

Each board member asked questions about what the budget consisted of and where the recommendation for cuts exists. 

The largest issue discussed was the inclusion of the recommended raises being given to all county employees, which should also include all WCS employees.

Pay rates for teachers in Tennessee is toward the bottom, based on national averages. For a county like Williamson, one of the wealthiest in the nation, it remains a bit of a dark mark on the otherwise stellar reputation WCS has enjoyed state as well as nationwide.

However, despite the great reputation the district has enjoyed over the years, they have been suffering from a rash of defections  within the district on every level, to neighboring counties promising mostly higher wages, and also a lower cost of living. 

The disparities in cost of living for their teachers and the salaries they were being paid which did not enable them to live in the county in which they work, did not seem to have a huge impact on teacher retention for quite some time. 

That all seemed to change after Covid. 

In May of 2022, the district sent out an anonymous survey, asking about teacher satisfaction. 

The results: Less than a third of respondents that they felt valued by the school board. And just over a third said they felt valued by the district administration.

Compound that level of dissatisfaction with extraordinarily low pay for the district, and a serious issue with teacher retention becomes apparent. 

All of these facts are setting the stage for major issues for the district who are endeavoring  to once again draw and retain experienced capable teachers, which will in turn produce high rates of teacher efficacy. 

The County Commission has conveyed to the WCBOE that they are willing to supply a budget that does not require a property tax increase. 

The WCBOE has determined that they will not be prioritizing teacher and staff raises with the funds they are being given, but might have to cut the salary increases, since they represent the largest portion of the increases to the budget. 

In work session conversations, Jen Aprea District 5 representative was the first to raise the notion when she stated, “I  would hate to say, ok, we have to go back and look at this budget that we’ve worked on, and find something else to cut from a formula that’s obviously already working, very well, OR cut this pay raise that our teachers deserve. 6 cents is what the county recommended, and asked us to provide, and I think it’s only fair. I don’t think we should have to chose between the bare minimum of what we have put in this budget, OR raises for teachers.”

Eric Welch, District 10 representative on WCBOE stated that even though the County Commission doesn’t dictate how the board spends the allocation they care given by the county and various other funding mechanisms, that should they fail to prioritize the teacher raises, it would be the fault of Williamson County Commission for their refusal to burden the property owners of Williamson County with yet another tax increase.

Welch stated on his official social media page, “Last night the Williamson County Schools Board of Education passed an Operational Budget for the 2024-25 school year by a vote of 10 Yes – 0 No – 1 Abstain.  I am proud to put my name on it.

The budget passed was lean budget focused on classroom education.  It was a flat budget with the exception of some mandated inclusions (new textbooks, etc.), County-directed increases to healthcare costs, and a promised and deserved raise for our teachers.  The approved budget now heads to the full County Commission for approval.  Any Commissioner voting to reduce the budget is, in effect, voting to either reduce student services and/or reduce or eliminate a teacher pay raise.” 

All of the assertions here are based on a report made to the board, from Superintendent Golden, and not a 3^rd party, unbiased audit of expenses and their necessity for inclusion in the ever increasing school budget.

The budget that has steadily increased as school enrollment has flattened and even in some years, tapered off.

None of the members of the Williamson County Commission have publicly suggested that teacher raises be the cut that should be made, rather, they have made other suggestions to the board to assist them in prioritizing the raises above all else. 

D5 County Commissioner Mary Smith was contacted for a comment, and she had this response:

“Several proposals have been made to the school board on ways to trim back on expenses, including prioritizing teacher raises over the more highly compensated admin, reviewing contracts, developing a technology plan, optimizing staffing models, and centralizing operations. Ultimately, it is up to them to adopt these proposals. I would also like to see the county, as a whole, to research some of these cost savings opportunities along with adopting merit-based increases to appropriately compensate those team members who go above and beyond in their job responsibilities.”

County Commissioner for D7 Chris Richards stated in a response to constituents who asked him about the issue, “When WCS learned the Commission might not fully fund their budget request, they informed teachers that their raises were at risk, which is not true. Prioritizing teacher salaries could solve this, but it’s not their focus. I also oppose giving mid-level staff making over $100K another 7% raise; I’d prefer to allocate that money to teachers.”

Based on the comments from both bodies, it appears the only implications that teacher’s raises are at risk are being made by members of the Williamson County School Board. The WCSB are completely in control of how their budget is allocated and spent.

Comments made during the May work session indicate that the board intends to “stick to their guns” and force the County Commission to fund their additional $10.4 million dollar “shortfall”. 

In 2021, the Williamson County Commissioners approved a 13-cent tax increase to balance their 2021-2022 budget of 650 million.

At the time the needs were to help fund school construction projects; raises for county employees; staffing increases in certain areas; building a new Juvenile Justice Facility and a new adult Jail Facility with Sheriff Administrative Services; expanding the courts; road improvements, and increased demand for other county services. Also, the budget report advises that it is necessary to “maintain adequate fund balances to ensure funds are available to operate during the first five to six months of each fiscal year until current year property tax collections begin.”

While Williamson County is one of the wealthiest in the nation, many who live there would not see this as a valid reason to continually raise taxes for property owners, all because those who utilize the funds from those taxes, don’t want to be troubled with creative fiscal management and working within the means they have been given. 

Residents of Williamson County can hold their county officials accountable and avoid property tax increases by reaching out to their county commissioners at Commissioners@williamsoncounty-tn.gov .

 

About the Author: Kelly Jackson is an escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers, she has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member.  An outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty, Kelly also has a YouTube channel @Tennessee_Truth_Teller and is planning on expanding out to other channels soon. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.