School rezoning, budget at top of Council members’ minds

Rezoning, the school director search and financial matters dominated concerns raised by Metro Council members Monday, when representatives of Metro Nashville Public Schools visited to answer questions.

Council member Jerry Maynard wanted to know where money to implement the district’s newly passed rezoning plan will come from. School district officials expect the closing of schools as specified by the plan to save a net total of about $1.2 million, but that additional resources promised by the plan to total about $4.6 million in costs.

“If you’re looking for a place by which to [have] some savings, I suggest you suspend the rezoning plan,” Maynard said.

Interim Director of Schools Chris Henson said that until the budget process begins, it can’t be determined where the money will come from. Board of Education Chair David Fox pledged that money will be spent on the plan as promised.

“It’s going to be built into the budget, so I don’t have any doubt that [the spending] will occur,” Fox said.

Questions were raised as to the rest of the budget as well. Fox updated Council members on “soft” hiring freeze that the district announced and put in place three weeks ago. There has been an “unwelcome trend” of sales tax revenues coming in below the budget projects, Fox said, and the district is also dealing with millions in expenses added after the budget was approved.

Council member Eric Crafton raised a specific set of concerns related to the growth of the MNPS student population in comparison to the growth of district staff members. According to Crafton’s study of MNPS budgets for the past few years, the growth of non-teaching staff members has increased far more significantly than the growth of students, costing the district millions. Crafton also questioned where the district’s teachers are placed — the student-to-teacher ratio indicated in the budget is less than what can be found in most Metro classrooms.

“It seems like a very inefficient hiring process there,” Crafton said.

District officials said they will research the matter and then respond directly to Crafton.

Council members also requested updates on the search for Nashville’s next director of schools. Fox said the board expects prospective candidates to be presented Dec. 2. If there is no candidate that every board member agrees would be outstanding, the search will be conducted again, Fox said. Board members are hopeful, however, that excellent candidates have been recruited by the board’s hired search firm.