The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above during an August 2013 meeting. (File photo)
Note: This story was updated at 7:40 p.m. June 4.
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson on Monday recommended a budget that does not raise the property tax rate, setting up a potential conflict with school officials, who have requested a 37-cent tax increase to avoid cuts.
The Oak Ridge Board of Education already approved its budget in in two meetings last week. That budget, which was scaled back from an earlier proposal, could include an extra $3.3 million to start implementing a technology initiative known as 1:1 that would provide electronic learning devices to all students over three years, add five technology positions, and give 2 percent pay raises to staff.
But the budget is still subject to the amount appropriated to the schools by the city. Oak Ridge provides a little less than one-third of the school system’s funding.
While the schools have approved a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, the city has not. The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the municipal budget in two separate meetings this month, one on June 9 and the second on June 16. The city budget also includes a 2 percent pay raise for employees.
It’s not clear that Oak Ridge City Council members will agree to raise taxes to accommodate the school system’s request. In his budget presentation to Council on Monday, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said Council members have endorsed keeping the tax rate unchanged for the seventh year in a row.
The tax rate is currently $2.39 per $100 of assessed value. The school’s proposal would raise it to $2.76 per $100 of assessed value. That could cost the owner of a $100,000 home another $7.62 per month, and the owner of a $200,000 home would pay another $15.25 each month.
The school’s budget request could be complicated by several factors, including the possible leasing of the 1:1 devices, which might reduce the initial upfront cost, and potential donations by the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation.
In his presentation to Council on Monday, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers—who has emphasized a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)—said the devices are necessary so students can access technology easily and adeptly at school and at home. America is only graduating one-fifth of the STEM workforce needed, said Borchers, who briefly summarized 1:1 initiatives under way in other nearby school districts, including in Maryville and Blount County.
“This is too great of a town, too great of story to let us go backwards,” Borchers said. “I don’t want to be a part of going backwards. I think our kids deserve this. I think we can be a leader in the country, and that’s the type of budget I propose tonight for you.â€
In his presentation, Watson said the school board has a strong desire to maintain an innovative and creative school system that attracts new residents and retains current ones, but the school system’s budget request will require a major tax increase to retain all services. He said city officials have to be concerned about permanently maintaining that level of funding in later years.
Watson said changes in the city budget include a roughly 4.8 percent increase in sales tax revenues, with most of the increase in the Anderson County portion of the city. No new staffing is proposed, but the budget does include a 2 percent pay adjustment starting July 1 and recommends continuing the increases for the next two years as well. Watson said employees have not had raises in several years.
The municipal budget would keep $175,000 in funding for activities related to the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, continue private economic development consulting contracts with Ray Evans and Steve Jones, and reduce funding to the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau by $25,000, dropping it to $275,000, according to a June 2 letter from Watson.
Watson said overall revenues have only slightly increased.
With full funding from the city, the school’s budget in all funds would be $62.8 million. The school’s transfer from the city would be $17.9 million. The city has been providing a little less than one-third of the school system’s funding each year.
Meanwhile, the city’s budget in all funds, including schools, would be $182.8 million. The general fund would be $20.5 million. The largest fund is the Electric Fund at $53.2 million.
The Monday, June 9, City Council meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. The meeting will include a public hearing.
See the June 9 agenda, which includes Watson’s letter to City Council, here.
Watch the June 2 City Council meeting here.
See Borcher’s budget presentation to Council here:Â Oak Ridge Schools FY15 Proposed Budget.
Angi Agle says
Just to be clear: the City’s proposed budget assures 2% raises for City employees, but not for school employees. To provide 2% raises for both requires additional funding for the schools.
Trina Baughn says
To be clear, the city has no authority to issue raises to school employees. That decision is solely up to the BOE regardless of the total funding amount provided by the city. The average OR police officer salary is $39K. The average teacher salary is $59K.
Philip W Nipper says
I can only assume that the point you are attempting to make is that our police officers don’t make enough and our teachers make too much?? But as usual, your analogy is a poor one. Neither profession have many similarities to one another except that both groups are typically looked upon as leaders and roll models in the community. However, to compare job descriptions and their respective compensation is simply unfair. For what both professions undertake on a routine basis, I would say both are underpaid.
bill bradley says
Ms. Baughn, you brought this up again, so I’ll ask for the umpteeth time!! I’m not sure if your figures are correct re: the average teacher’s salary, but let’s assume that they are. Last July you claimed that “droves” of teachers were leaving. Surely ALL those replacements didn’t come in making somewhere in the range of $59K. If they did, we’re really out of whack financially. So, does your statement above contradict your July statement? Please explain, in somewhat general terms, how droves of starting teachers, probably making what, $36K, allows the average salary to remain at $59K?? Or are we really paying some teachers upwards of $80,000???
Trina Baughn says
Mr. Bradley,
Your relentless pursuit of me combined with your emotional volatility are mildly disturbing; however, knowing who you truly are might make me more willing to re-engage in a conversation with you. Is Bill Bradley your real name and do you live in Oak Ridge?
bill bradley says
Wow. You’ve decided I’m emotionally volatile because I’ve asked you the same question 5 or 6 times over 11 months and you won’t answer? Does that sound as weird to you as it does me?
The math just doesn’t add up.
Yes. No. Ask John. He’s verified me.
Trina Baughn says
No, you don’t live in Oak Ridge?
bill bradley says
You’ve spoken with John?
Trina Baughn says
Do you not know where you live?
bill bradley says
certainly I do. And answered your original question.
And what communities I pay taxes in. And I have complied with all the requirements, per John.
Now, do you not want to answer my question? Have I hit a nerve?
You’ve avoided it for 11 months. I wonder why. Contact me when you decide to answer it.
Trina Baughn says
I have no problem answering to my constituency. In fact, I have no a problem answering questions from most people as long as they remain civil and sincere. But I’m not sure why you can’t answer a simple yes or no question. Do you live in Oak Ridge?
bill bradley says
I have answered your question for the third time tonight. No. I pay, I’m fairly certain, far more taxes on my properties than you do. I am part of the board’s constituency.
Now, Ms. Baughn, you’ve run for 11 months. I asked you to name one of the “droves” that left due to bad working conditions. You could not. You left the impression there are 50 or so. Even retirees or ones that moved. None came forward to say the same. Why? Did I miss something?
I asked you how “droves” of new teachers could keep the avg. salary at $58,800+. The math just doesn’t work, not at a normal starting salary. You made the charge. Please prove me wrong.
You’ve had 11 months to come up with a response. It’s time to put up. Two questions above require two complete answers. I’ve been civil and most assuredly sincere. You chose to ignore the question.
I await your response to these two questions. Thank you.
Trina Baughn says
No, sir, you have not been civil. I have answered your questions in the past and you did not like my answers to the point that you became hostile. Every year, between 20-40 teachers leave. I will not name names but you can find confirmation of that fact in the Oak Rider archives where they annually publish new and departing teachers.
As far as explaining why the average salary has not declined, I have that same question. ORS have a consistent history of having the highest paid teachers in the state and I don’t believe the average has declined at all in the last 10 years. With that kind of turnover, there should be at least a leveling off of salary expenditures. That is not evident in their budget.
Now I’m sure you’ll respond with a litany of what you think are “gotcha’s.” I will not be replying to you again. Not because YOU DON’T LIVE IN OAK RIDGE, but because your primary desire is to berate me at every turn.
You don’t like what I did. I get that. Let it go and try to find some happiness.
bill bradley says
I’m very happy, and it has nothing at all to do with this situation. I do not, at all, like how this has developed. You made a mistake and apparently couldn’t find the strength to admit it. It was unfair to the new supt. and to the OR community. It cast the community in a horrible light. An apology would have gone a long way.
I have been very factual with you. No fluff. You’re a politician and to be one, that skin has to be a little thicker than most. Hostile, most definitely not. If the council ignored your question for a year, how might you respond? I feel that my words have been no more harsh than your actions last year. Maybe that’s unfortunate for both sides.
I don’t doubt 20-40 teachers leave, and I’m willing to take your word on that. That doesn’t surprise anyone. You said they were unhappy, unwilling to work under the present conditions. With no proof of said dissatisfaction.
I have no desire to “get you”. What I asked for was some proof. Proof would have gone a long way towards helping some of understand your concerns. Turns out it was all apparently just supposition.
Jeanne Hicks Powers says
I admire Trina for now rising above this ( Mr. Bradley) and to continue to tend to the issues that REALLY matter! Thanks again, Trina! Your skin is thick enough and ready to serve the residents of OR well. Stay strong and focused as always. We’re counting on you!
bill bradley says
you know, Ms. Powers, I was all set to go to bed and forget all this and walk away. Then I saw your reply to something that didn’t include you at all. And then I remembered that you “liked” the following comment:
Joe Collins to Angi Agle: it is a false argument to say the tax rate was over $4 back in the ’80s.There have been reappraisals since then, which changes the tax rate. You should know better than trying that, and talking about the City percent back in ’92.
It was you who requested that people should “respond to each other with civility”. Do you see any part of the third sentence that resembles civility. And you liked it??
Since when did civility become a one way street? I’m dismayed that one person can respond to Angi that way (more than once), and you “like” it, but then you’re all concerned about how Trina gets addressed. Double standard?
Please, jump off the train. Step back for a moment and realize no one is 100% right here. Blindly following the party line serves no one.
Unfortunately, Ms. Baughn didn’t rise above a thing. And she had every opportunity to apologize, correct a mistake and misquotes, and turn a negative into a positive.
She didn’t. And I give up on this one. Good evening.
Jeanne Hicks Powers says
Mr. Bradley, Joe Collins’ response was civil … and accurate. If you don’t want people to respond to comments, posting them in a public forum may NOT be the best way for you to achieve that! I appreciate Trina’s efforts and choose to give her encouragement and support for her to continue to ask the tough questions. My support will show up on Facebook sites, in blogs etc.. My eyes are open. Perhaps you could use your own advice and you might want to “jump on the train” that leads you to try to “help” your own community instead of trying to stir the pot in OR, where you don’t even live. I am amazed at how many apologies you are looking for in just about every response you post! BTW, Good Morning!
Dave Smith says
The average salary for a police OFFICER (all ranks) is about $47k. The average salary for an instructional employee (i.e., teacher) in the OR Schools is about $46k.
What’s your point?
Trina Baughn says
Factoring in the supervisors certainly inflates the officer pay. As of last year, there were 6 supervisors making an average hourly pay of $32.63. The majority of our officers (54) were averaging $18.90 per hour. According to state data, “instructional personnel” average salary at ORS is $61K and classroom teachers are average $59K. I don’t care to pit teachers against cops as both are valuable and under appreciated. But when the BOE (and you) continue to make misleading statements, it is important that the facts be made clear. Table 6 of the following is my source for school data. The personnel director provided me with the ORPD data.
BTW, Dave, am I mistaking you with someone else or didn’t John remove some of your previous posts because your true identity could not be verified?
Dave Smith says
First, “supervisors” are police officers, plain and simple. Even the police chief is an officer. As a matter of fact, I think he’s made an arrest or two since he’s been in office here. Hard to do that if one is not an officer, right? So why would you NOT include ALL the police officers in a calculation of the average compensation?
Second, your statement that “The majority of our officers (54) were averaging $18.90 per hour†testifies that you don’t understand the meaning of the word average. What you have done is chosen a subset of police officers for the purpose of deriving a compensation level that you think supports your original intent, which was to imply that teachers are highly compensated when compared to a favored group of city
employees. There really was no other reason to compare the compensation of those two groups.
Third, I reject your assertion that what I wrote was misleading. The fact is that ALL our city employees have enjoyed regular annual increases in pay that were approved by council with scant dissent or even discussion. During this time council has refused on principle to increase the city’s contribution to the school system. In what can only be described as bizarre management of their top employee, council recently granted a large pay increase to the city manager, who then promptly returned thanks by interviewing for another job. You – as well as a few others on council – are in
a state of perpetual hostility to the BOE, school administrators, and by extension the entire school system. I remember some years ago when Ms. Trina Baughn stood at the back of the room during a BOE meeting with a sign calling for the firing of
the school superintendent. That was really classy.
Fourth, you are chasing a red herring of your own smoking by calling into question my identity. My name is Dave Smith and it has been all my life. It has been all the time I’ve lived and worked in Oak Ridge, which let me assure you is considerably longer than you’ve been here. By the way, have you ever had a job or owned a business here? I think I remember you as a blogger or some such during your pre-council past-time. Then you were appointed by council to the tourism board, right? Tell me something you did while serving there that has made a difference in Oak Ridge? (Complaining about a “too large” tourism budget doesn’t count.)
Fifth, your “BTW†remarks give me the impression that you are stalking me. I suspect you are looking through the phone book or the property tax records to find out where I
live, much the same way you apparently researched bill bradley. That is just plain creepy and borderline scary. Yeah, definitely creepy and scary.
Finally, though none of the BOE members need defending, I will say that I am acquainted with the majority of them, and have been for many years, and I can say without any reservation whatsoever that you can’t hold a candle to any one of them, either in service to the community, in understanding the complexities of 21st century public education, in holding the public trust, in representing the community, or just plain forthrightness. Their agenda is to advocate for the public school system and they need make no apology for it.
Dave Smith says
“Watson said employees have not had raises in several years.”
Did he really say that? Just last year the city employees got a 1% increase
http://oakridgetoday.com/2013/05/28/council-passes-no-tax-increase-budget/
and Watson himself received a 10% increase
http://oakridgetoday.com/2013/11/11/council-approves-10-percent-pay-raise-city-manager/
Mike Mahathy says
It appears Mr. Watson told a fat one, not that I’m against city employees or even him getting a raise; but let’s be truthful.
Mike Mahathy says
Some confusion and misinformation has been floating around about the amount requested extra (beyond last years’ allocation by the city council). That amount is roughly $3.3 million dollars, not $7 million or $8 million. Most agree though on the needed tax hike of 37 cents.
Trina was right when she said only the school board can approve pay increase for school staff. City Council has one and only one role with management of schools. That is to approve an allotment of city funds for a portion of the schools budget, meeting with maintenance of effort requirements. City council has no role in approving line items in the school budget and I venture to guess that most council people would not want such a role.
Some confusion and misinformation has been floating around about the amount requested extra (beyond last years’ allocation by the city council). That amount is roughly $3.3 million dollars, not $7 million or $8 million. Most agree though on the needed tax hike of 37 cents.
Trina was right when she said only the school board can approve pay increase for school staff. City Council has one and only one role with management of schools. That is to approve an allotment of city funds for a portion of the schools budget, meeting with maintenance of effort requirements. City council has no role in approving line items in the school budget and I venture to guess that most council people would not want such a role.
http://www.citizennetmom.com/?p=925
Jeanne Hicks Powers says
Who are the “most” you’ve referred to in duplicate in this post?
johnhuotari says
I think this thread has gotten personal, so I’m closing it. I believe the question about teachers leaving in droves has been asked a few times on a few different posts, so I won’t allow that particular question to be asked again. It may not have been answered to the satisfaction of everyone here, but our commenting guidelines do ask those who comment to keep their comments to a reasonable number. I think there has been sufficient back-and-forth on that question. Thank you, and thanks for reading Oak Ridge Today.