Bredesen says he’ll look for more urban system school funding

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? Gov. Phil Bredesen says he will look for ways to distribute more money from the state budget to metropolitan area school systems.

The mayors of Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Shelby counties met with Bredesen earlier this week to petition him for more funding for urban school systems.

Urban school systems receive some of the smallest shares of state education money through the Basic Education Program, the formula used to divvy up funds among school districts.

“(Bredesen) acknowledged that we were entitled to some help, and they were going to look at it,” Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey said Wednesday.

Earlier this year, a special committee appointed by the governor has recommended changes to the funding formula that would result in additional dollars for urban schools.

The Basic Education Program was adopted by state legislators in 1991 to address the funding inequalities between rural districts and their wealthier urban counterparts.

Bob Corney, Bredesen’s communications director, said the governor feels very strongly about finding extra education funding in the state budget.

“As a former mayor of Nashville, he really understands the unique challenges these school systems face,” he said.

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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com