IF YOU GO
The board will revisit the issue of its own retirement pay at a called meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the board room at 3074 Hickory Valley Road.
Under intense fire for voting to give themselves retirement benefits, Hamilton County Board of Education members are stuck with their decision until at least next week.
At a meeting Thursday, school board attorney Scott Bennett said that, even though two board members asked to vote again on the controversial item, there had not been enough time to provide adequate public notice under state law.
Local school board policy defines adequate notice as 72 hours.
“I think you’d be ill-advised to ignore your policy,” Bennett told the school board.
Shortly before last Thursday’s meeting, board members were slid a memo outlining the retirement pay policy and voted 7-0 to pass it. Rhonda Thurman and Everett Fairchild abstained, saying they hadn’t had enough time to consider the option.
Fairchild said Thursday he had been misled to believe the retirement pay would not cost the school system any money. As it now stands, the plan would cost the district $6,750 annually. Each board member would be given $750 for each year of service, which would count retroactively.
Fairchild said he didn’t understand why school officials could add the retirement pay to the agenda at the last minute, but the board could hold a re-vote with similarly short notice.
“I resent being put on the spot like that,” he said. “I guarantee you that 90 percent of the people in Hamilton County know about this. And half of them have called me.”
Bennett said last week’s meeting was a regularly scheduled session that the public has known about for months. The public can expect anything to be added to such an agenda, he said.
But state law requires the extra notice when something is added to a called meeting, he added.
Several board members, including George Ricks, expressed frustration over bringing up items on which the board had already voted.
“We made a decision. Move on,” Ricks said. “Majority rules, that’s the democratic way. There have been things that have passed that I’m not happy with.”
The school board is not the only local elected panel whose part-time members receive retirement benefits. Both the Chattanooga City Council and the Hamilton County Commission receive retirement pay.
County commissioners got a private pension plan act adopted in the Tennessee Legislature in 1981, records show. Commissioners and their widows or widowers are eligible for monthly payments based on their years of service.
A 2009 actuarial study provided by County Auditor Bill McGriff’s office showed a range of monthly payments to former commissioners. The lowest was $160 a month to Brenda Bailey, while the highest was a little more than $628 to Harold Coker.
Former Commissioner William Cotton, convicted of extortion and bribery in 2005’s Tennessee Waltz FBI sting, receives nearly $400 a month from his commission pension, according to the 2009 study.
Commissioners must serve at least five years and be at least 55 years old to receive a monthly payment.
The study showed that Curtis Adams, who left the commission this year to take a job as city manager in Crossville, Tenn., would be eligible for $872 a month.
Richard Casavant will be eligible to receive $446; Larry Henry could get $316; and Fred Skillern, $352, according to the 2009 study.
Commissioners Greg Beck, John Allen Brooks, Jim Coppinger and Warren Mackey don’t have five years service yet. Brooks lost his re-election bid in the Aug. 5 elections.
Bill Hullander would qualify to receive $473, but he cannot collect as long as he works for the county. Hullander was elected county trustee on Aug. 5.
Staff Writer Dan Whisenhunt contributed to this story.
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Article: School board to reconsider giving themselves retirement pay
Kelli Gauthier covers K-12 education in Hamilton County for the Times Free Press. She started at the paper as an intern in 2006, crisscrossing the region writing feature stories from Pikeville, Tenn., to Lafayette, Ga. She also covered crime and courts before taking over the education beat in 2007. A native of Frederick, Md., Kelli came south to attend Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism. Before newspapers, ...
Hamilton County School Board Group Photo made after the last vote.
http://wp.me/p10KwY-bT
Harry Statel
What a pleasant surprise to see the TFP report on this scandal, the day after the School Board meeting. That's a big improvement over the full week it took the TFP to report the controversy in the first place.
Funny how the public found out about it anyway, despite the attempts to keep it hushed up by Dr. Scales, Danielle Clark and the TFP.
Ah,part-time politicians rewarding themselves with retirement benefits and fringes; what ELSE is new?
The School Board should not be authorized to vote itself any pay, or benefits increases! This smacks of the California rip-off by elected officials. The voters MUST be given the option to consider such an action and if deemed appropriate, then the voters will say "YES" or "NO". This could be easily added to the upcoming election agenda as a proposition for voter consideration.
If voted for approval by constituents, such benefits must be granted only as current or new School-Board Officials are elected or re-elected. This should not be a retroactive benefit applying to current or previous board members. Additionally, it must not be a lifetime retirement compensation package...go with a 401K match of some reasonable proportion. Remember, no such promise was made to current or previous Board Members . Is it unfair to categorize those who "SLIPPED" this on the agenda for a fast-vote being out for personal gain? In my opinion, there are some very "self-serving" board members! I am not saying the retirement issue is a bad consideration...it is bad in the manner in which it has been presented and voted. More than one elected official is being impacted by such decisions and it appears others could be impacted!! Was the County or City elected officials benefits voted on by constituents?
whats wrong with you people? you are not senators,, or congressmen,,,you are public servants,, you get paid for your service.if you dont like the pay quit.you should not get innsurance,, pensions,, just the pay,,,,money for your time.just something else for the tax payers to take care of...check with the city commissioners they really know how to balance a budget,, they take the easy way and vote a tax increase.
TLP, amen to that!
What nerve these folks have.
In fairness to the TFP, they once had an education reporter who went to all school board meetings. They also once sent a reporter to nearly every high school football game.
As the paper has downsized.
For those who want a better paper.... subscribe or at least buy the print copy.
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