MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Schools was given nearly $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to fund this year’s budget, and Wednesday the County Commission Budget Committee voted to give SCS $7.9-million more.
That was just over half of the $14.9 million it asked for.
This money will be used to fund support staff and social worker positions within the district.
Wednesday’s conversation centered around money for computers to make sure kids are ready for a major change in the way they take tests.
The TCAP has been around for years, but this year it’s getting a serious upgrade.
It’s going completely digital.
That means this year students will be putting down their number two pencils and getting comfortable on the keyboard.
“Students have been judged on a TCAP, which is essentially a scantron, multiple-choice test. Well, this year all assessments throughout the state will be taken online,” Superintendent Dorsey Hopson explained.
The problem?
Shelby County Schools doesn’t have enough computers to handle this change yet.
“The good part is they were able to get some of that money from the state,” Commissioner David Reaves added.
The state kicked in some money for upgrades, but some of the cost will come from what budget developers called “one-time expenditures.”
That’s because these new computers should last for a while.
But it’s not just computers.
The network that connects these computers to the internet and the rest of the school district was also a key concern.
“Early in the year we will do a dry run, just to check the states bandwidth and the school district’s bandwidth. They are doing their due diligence, and we are doing our due diligence,” Hopson explained.
These tests are known for being a major stressor for kids and teachers.
Superintendent Dorsey Hopson admitted it doesn’t matter how well the kids are prepared if the computer system isn’t working.
Commissioners said the TCAP scores are a way to determine success, but the real proof comes after they leave the classroom.
“The more kids we have who actually go to the workforce, and stay out of prison and juvenile court. To me, that’s the measure of success,” Reaves pointed out.
Hopson said about 22,000 kids in the system have chronic attendance issues.
He said this number is very troubling to them, especially the young kids in kindergarten who just aren’t getting to school.
The final vote for this extra $7.9 million was set for Monday.
