Feature article
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Seven school districts serve region
By staff report
Sullivan has the largest system in area
Seven school districts and several private Christian schools serve the Northeast Tennessee region with counties and cities operating separate districts.
Here’s a quick overview of each system:
SULLIVAN COUNTY SCHOOLS
Enrollment in Sullivan County’s 28 schools is around 12,500. The largest system in the region has 15 elementary schools, one kindergarten through eighth-grade school, one intermediate school serving students in grades 5 through 7, seven middle schools and four high schools.
The system employs about 823 teachers at an average salary of about $37,000.
The system’s per pupil expenditure is $6,707. Local funding come from the Sullivan County Commission and makes up 48 percent of the system’s budget. All schools operate on a traditional calendar.
KINGSPORT CITY SCHOOLS
One high school, two middle schools and seven elementary schools make up the Kingsport City School System.
The system has more than 6,300 students and pays its nearly 500 teachers an average salary of more than $45,000, nearly $9,000 more than the state average.
Local funding, from the Sullivan County Commission and the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen, makes up 59 percent of the system’s $54 million budget.
The per pupil expenditure is about $8,070, about $1,000 more than the state average. All schools operate on a traditional calendar.
BRISTOL CITY SCHOOLS
The Bristol City School System has around 3,700 students in eight schools — one high school, one middle and six elementary schools. The system’s 248 teachers earn an average salary of about $42,500 — almost $4,000 more per year than the state average.
The per pupil expenditure is more than $7,581 with nearly 55 percent of the system’s budget coming from the Bristol City Council and the Sullivan County Commission. All schools operate on a traditional calendar.
WASHINGTON COUNTY SCHOOLS
The 13 schools in Washington County serve around 9,000 students. The system has two high schools, two middle schools, eight elementary schools, and offers a laboratory school — University School — on the campus of East Tennessee State University.
The system employs about 520 teachers at an average salary of about $36,500. The per pupil expenditure is just more than $6,000 with about 40 percent of the system’s budget coming from the Washington County Commission.
All of the schools operate on a traditional calendar with the exception of University School, which operates on a year-round schedule.
JOHNSON CITY SCHOOLS
The city school system in Johnson City is home to 10 schools — one high school, one middle school and eight elementary schools — and serves approximately 6,900 students. Its 442 teachers earn an average salary of about $40,500.
The per pupil expenditure is about $7,267 with about 55 percent of the system’s budget coming from the Johnson City and Washington County city and county commissions, respectively.
Two of the system’s elementary schools, Woodland and South Side, operate on a year-round calendar.
HAWKINS COUNTY SCHOOLS
The 17-school system serves around 7,300 students with 492 teachers at an average salary of about $32,500. The system has two high schools, one K-12 school, four middle schools, and 11 elementary schools with a variety of organizational patterns.
The per pupil expenditure is about $6,500 and the county contributes about 29 percent of the system’s budget. All of the schools operate on a traditional calendar.
ROGERSVILLE CITY SCHOOLS
The Rogersville School system operates one school serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. High school students in that district go to Cherokee High School in Hawkins County’s system.
The Rogersville School serves about 650 students with 43 teachers at an average salary just more than $35,500. The school’s per pupil expenditure is about $6,700 and the city of Rogersville and Hawkins County provide about one-third of the school’s funding.
HOME SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
A number of associations and support groups serve the growing population of parents and students opting for a home school education.
They include Kingsport Area Christian Home Education Association; Association of Greater Appalachian Parent Educators of Johnson City; Christian Home Education Association of Rogersville; Rogersville Enrichment Association of Christian Homeducators; East Tennessee High Schoolers Educated Lovingly At Home, serving Carter, Unicoi, Washington, Sullivan and Johnson Counties and any others interested; and the Tri-Cities Catholic Home Educators Association.
The Northeast Tennessee Home School Education Association is a Tennessee Home school Education Association affiliate serving the eight counties of Northeast Tennessee.
All of the associations can be accessed from tricitieshomeschool.org
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Northeast Tennessee is also served by a number of private, Christian-based schools. They include Cedar View Christian School, Apostolic Lighthouse, Christian Life Academy, Appalachian Christian School, Providence Academy in Johnson City, St. Anne’s in Bristol and St. Dominic in Kingsport.
The largest Christian school system in the area is Tri-Cities Christian Schools, which offers infant care, preschool and K-12 programs in all three cities.
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