Oak Ridge Today

Steve Fritts seeks re-election to Anderson County School Board

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Steve Fritts

Steve Fritts

Steve Fritts is seeking re-election to the Anderson County School Board in District 7, which includes the Pine Valley, Glenwood, and Highland View precincts in Oak Ridge.

Fritts, who has lived in the district since his youth, was first elected in 2010, a press release said.

Fritts graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1967, and he was an All-State football player, the release said. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in history. Fritts also served as captain of the Vanderbilt Commodore football team in the early ’70s.

Fritts worked as a carpenter until his retirement and was a member of Local 50. [Read more…]

Guest column: 2015 school budget considerations

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Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

I have reviewed your budget proposals and would like to share my thoughts for consideration in your final deliberations. I should clarify that because our charter forbids City Council, as a body, from “modifying or deleting any item in school estimates,” my statements do not reflect the opinions of my fellow council members.

As you know, we are blessed to live in a community that actively and generously supports education. Not only do we rank fifth in the state for our level of local funding (54 percent), but, at $12,075 per pupil, we continue to outspend the state average of $9,293 and the national average of $11,068.

Our generosity, however, has taken a toll that we can no longer ignore. Having the third highest tax rate ($4.74) in the area has been counterproductive to attracting new residents. One need only look to the phenomenal growth in Farragut, whose property tax rate is less than half of ours ($2.32), to appreciate the negative impact of our high taxes. [Read more…]

ORHS hopes to win top reform prize in Nashville on Oct. 28

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Oak Ridge High School

Representatives of Oak Ridge High School, selected as one of the best three public high schools in Tennessee for growth in student achievement, will be in Nashville on Oct. 28, when they hope the school wins top honors at the SCORE Prize event.

Leaders, teachers, parents, and students of Oak Ridge High School, selected as one of the best three public high schools in Tennessee for growth in student achievement, will be in Nashville on Oct. 28, when they hope to win top honors at the SCORE Prize event.

The SCORE Prize, sponsored by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education, or SCORE, is the hallmark award for Tennessee public schools and districts that have made the greatest gains in student achievement. The prize will be awarded during an event that begins at 6 p.m., Oct. 28, at Laura Turner Concert Hall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.

SCORE is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan education advocacy and research institution that works collaboratively to support Tennessee’s work to prepare students for college and the workforce and was founded by Bill Frist, former U.S. Senate majority leader. [Read more…]