In one Tennessee school district, the desks will remain empty for the foreseeable future.
This is almost unimaginable in the United States. A small school district in Tennessee has actually been
forced to close due to lack of funding:
Clay County Director of Schools Jerry Strong said the school board made the decision Thursday night after struggling with budget concerns for three years. He said the district doesn’t have enough revenue to pay for partially unfunded mandates from the state.
Strong said the county commission, which funds the schools, has declined to increase property taxes and a proposed wheel tax referendum vote won’t take place until March.
Strong said school administrators plan to meet with county officials in an effort to resolve the problem. He said he hopes classes for the 1,150 students in the district will resume sometime in November.
Clay County, Tennessee consistently ranks
as one of the most impoverished counties in the nation, something that isn't likely to change if their children can't get even the most basic education.