Community Renewal Good Stories - Knoxville

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Knoxville Improves Schools through QZAB Financing and Public-Private Partnership

Knoxville, Tennessee, EZ

In 2000, 13 out of 14 schools in the Knoxville, Tennessee Empowerment Zone were failing. In order to address this growing problem, the Knox County School Board entered a public-private partnership in 2001 to implement Project GRAD Knoxville, a program aimed to positively impact more than 7,500 children per year. To satisfy high funding demands for this effort, Knoxville has utilized $10.6 million in Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs), covering roughly half of the public cost of the aggressive school reform program. The Federal government allows State or Local governments to issue the interest-free QZABs to finance upgrades for schools located in federal Empowerment Zones (EZs), but private entities must also contribute to the project.

In 2001, the Knox County School System entered into a public-private partnership called the Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams) Knoxville partnership. This program, piloted in Houston, Texas and supported nationally by the US Department of Education and the Ford Foundation, is a research-based long-term school reform model designed to produce capable graduates who are committed to success in college and other post-secondary opportunities. This twelve-year partnership required the formation of Project GRAD Knoxville, Inc., a non-profit that raises and provides the costs of the reform initiative. Then-director of the City’s Community Development Department and lead implementor for the Knoxville EZ, Laurens Tullock, was integral in bringing this innovative partnership together for the EZ schools.

QZAB financing helped the Project GRAD Knoxville program reach its significant funding requirements. Private-sector partnerships committed half of the $42 million in funding needed to administer the program and public sources provided the other half. Bond proceeds were used to cover extensive teacher training and new curricular materials for reform initiatives focused on improved math, reading, higher education preparation and parental/community involvements programs. Project GRAD has already secured $7.32 million in QZAB funds toward these expenses and is requesting an additional $3.335 million in QZAB authorization to continue improving Knoxville EZ schools over the twelve-year period.

For more information on this story and the programs of the Knoxville EZ, please contact Madeline Rogero, Director of Community Development for the City of Knoxville, at (865) 215-2865.