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Joshua French urges commission to stop "siphoning" funds as he cites rising test scores
Summary
Public commenter Joshua French told the Sullivan County Commission that local education funding has declined since 2016 and cited recent state test‑score gains as evidence the schools deserve more stable county support.
Joshua French, a Kingsport resident, urged the Sullivan County Commission on June 29 to halt what he called the “systematic siphoning of funds” from the county’s three local school systems.
French, who introduced himself for the record, cited Tennessee Department of Education figures and told commissioners that countywide English‑language arts proficiency rose from 35.6% in 2023 to 41.5% in the latest release. “Let us end the systematic siphoning of funds from the 3 local school systems and begin exploring how we can work together to move Sullivan County forward,” he said.
French pressed the commission to explain whether the resolution under consideration would reduce the county’s share of property‑tax funding to schools; he noted the county allocation had fallen from 57.11% in 2016 to roughly 36.9 last year. He framed the issue as one of return on investment: the test‑score increases, he said, showed measurable gains for students that he believes merit continued or increased county support.
The chair closed the public‑comment period after French’s remarks. No formal action occurred during public comment, but commissioners and the superintendent later addressed the funding and staffing questions raised by French.
