Date: January 15, 2026
To: Hamilton County Board of Education presented by Governmental Affairs Director Josh Branum during the HCDE January 15th meeting
Good evening. I am Josh Branum, Governmental Affairs Director for Greater Chattanooga REALTORS®. On behalf of our nearly 3,000 members, thank you for the opportunity to comment on the information we circulated yesterday, requesting you delay any vote on the Growth Capacity & Enrollment Management Policy.
Since our initial communication, we have learned that, surprisingly, the Growth Capacity & Enrollment Management Policy was not only introduced but also voted on at your December meeting. It is extremely disappointing and frustrating to learn of the rushed nature in which this policy was approved. A matter of this significance deserves much more notice and debate, as such a policy impacts all current and future families of Hamilton County School and all those who call Hamilton County home.
It is our understanding that this Board may revisit any matter previously approved. Thus, we request and strongly encourage you to pause the implementation of the Growth Capacity & Enrollment Management Policy to allow time for meaningful conversations among all parties, including the school district, local government/planning, Realtors, homebuilders, and community stakeholders.
This issue matters because families often choose where to live based on the schools. As written, the policy’s “tier” triggers development redirection language, and boundary adjustment timelines indicate an effort to limit or stop growth in parts of the county that families are actively trying to move to, namely Signal Mountain and Ooltewah. That’s why this policy, in its current form, is detrimental to housing availability, affordability, and neighborhood stability.
Greater Chattanooga Realtors feel the Growth Capacity & Enrollment Management Policy in its current form would:
Shake confidence in school-based home values. School assignments are a major driver of where families buy. Anything that makes zones feel less predictable can rattle the market.
Implement a roundabout way to cap growth. The policy redirects new development away from certain zones, suggesting an attempt to limit growth where people actually want to live.
Create many “unknowns” for families and builders. If school zones can change or be reviewed as projects move forward, families can’t plan with confidence.
Add a new layer of process without clear rules. “Capacity impact analysis” sounds reasonable, but it’s not clear what counts as a “large” development, what the analysis looks like, who pays for it, or how it will be used.
Make housing more expensive. If new construction gets pushed into fewer areas, land and home prices in those areas can rise, and overall supply can tighten.
Be reactive, rather than solution-oriented. The policy establishes tiers, reports, and boundary processes, but it doesn’t guarantee that new classroom capacity will be delivered quickly where needed.
Set up “capacity” as a moving target. Utilization can change based on programming and how space is used, so people worry the goalposts will move year to year.
Mean longer commutes and bus rides for parents, guardians, and school children. If students are reassigned farther away due to zone shifts, that’s more time on the road for families and higher transportation costs.
Again, Greater Chattanooga REALTORS® request and strongly encourage you to pause the implementation of the Growth Capacity & Enrollment Management Policy to allow time for meaningful conversations among all parties, including the school district, local government/planning, Realtors, homebuilders, and community stakeholders. Thank you for your time and consideration.