December 2005 Paying the Tab A fiscal hot potato may soon land permanently By Drew Ruble
Photo Courtesy of Baker Donelson
Attorney Lew Donelson successfully closed the book on a landmark 14-year case increasing teacher pay in rural counties. Now, the city of Humboldt is wielding his expertise in its lawsuit against Gibson County
A seven-year tussle over education funding in Gibson County may soon get resolved—but not before a lot of money that could have been spent in the classroom has instead been spent in the courtroom.
The feud originated in 1998 when officials with Humboldt, Gibson County’s largest city, filed a lawsuit claiming the county should support its schools financially. Gibson County is one of only two counties in the state not responsible for funding its schools. Instead, funding comes through five special school districts with taxing authority, including Humboldt city schools. In the past decade, however, Humboldt has been locked out from enjoying the benefits of population and revenue growth occurring in other parts of Gibson County because its school district’s feeder lines are set in stone.
Davidson County judge Ellen Hobbs Lyle originally ruled in favor of Humboldt, ordering the Gibson County Commission to establish a countywide tax for the funding of education. This September, however, a state appeals court overturned that ruling, saying Gibson County was not constitutionally or statutorily required to fund schools of any kind. Current methods for school funding in Gibson County, the court found, “do not result in disparities in educational opportunities.”
Eyeing the end-game, aldermen in Humboldt recently voted to appeal the case to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Simultaneously, they’ve re-enlisted the services of high-profile Memphis lawyer Lew Donelson—the man who won the benchmark “small schools funding” lawsuit that shook the state’s education funding formula just a few years ago.
Some fed-up citizens of unincorporated Gibson County have launched a boycott of retail outlets located in Humboldt. But the lawsuit is taking its toll on more than just emotions and gross receipts for business. Because of the uncertainties of litigation, school officials with the Gibson County Special School District (GCSSD) have had to delay construction of a much needed new high school in Medina, a burgeoning town increasingly seeing an influx of residents from neighboring Madison County.
Combined, the litigants have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting in court. GCSSD board chairman Sara Meals agrees its money that could have been used to cultivate the minds of Gibson County’s youth instead.
“We’ve tied up money in this lawsuit that could have been better spent,” Meals says. “I hate to think about the amount we’ve spent on this.”
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