The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is pictured above.
Note: This is a copy of a May 30 letter sent to Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and members of City Council.
Mayor Beehan and members of Council:
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has a long-standing tradition of supporting education in our community.
Education is critical in the development of the workforce and is the foundation for a community’s economic vitality.
Our Oak Ridge Schools is an internationally recognized system of excellence and is known for being a leader in new, innovative programs. These educational opportunities, rigor, and performance provided by Oak Ridge Schools have been, and continue to be, the key attraction for new residents to our community.
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors adopted a 2014 program of work and legislative policies which support Oak Ridge Schools in their efforts to become the premier STEM school district in the country, while implementing The Keys to College and Career Readiness program. And, the Oak Ridge Chamber has been a long-standing advocate for appropriate funding for education on both the local and state levels.
Just as financial investments are required to maintain and improve our homes and our businesses, financial investments are required for Oak Ridge Schools to continue to educate our workforce and prepare our community’s children to be productive members of society. The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors encourages the Oak Ridge City Council to fully fund the Oak Ridge Schools budget request and we support any new revenue generating options, such as a property tax increase, that might be needed to accomplish this funding.
We fully acknowledge the financial challenges you are faced with during this budget development process. However, we encourage you to allocate Oak Ridge Schools with the financial resources needed in order to provide the best possible education for the children of our community.
Chris Johnson
Chairman of the Board
Oak Ridge Chamber
Melinda Hillman
Vice Chair for Pro-Growth Advocacy
Oak Ridge Chamber
Parker Hardy
President and CEO
Oak Ridge Chamber
Rick Hasbrouck says
Maybe the Chamber should give up its funding from the city and ask to have it allocated to the schools.
bill bradley says
Yes, that would send a great message to the business world!! 🙂
Parker Hardy says
Under terms of our partnership with City, funds from the City may only be used for hard marketing expenses such as data collection and dissemination, prospect servicing, outbound non-local travel. The Chamber pays all salaries , wages, benefits, office, operating and capital expenses. We even provide our staff to assist City economic development consultant in responding to requests for proposals.
I will be happy to clarify or explain more fully. My phone number is 865-483-1321.
Parker Hardy
President
Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce
Rick Hasbrouck says
Parker,
Perhaps you misunderstood me. Instead of saying “thank you” to the city for money that is budgeted for the Chamber, you should say “No thank you, please contribute this to the schools”.
Charlie Jernigan says
Events in the world are rarely zero sum games, Someone need not lose for someone else to gain.
Perhaps the city needs the Chamber’s data and the Chamber’s members need better educated workers, and children of the Chamber’s members’ workers need a better education to compete.