Here are my suggestions:

1.  Secede to Georgia, which spends lots of money on education.  This can
be done simply by moving the TN/GA line about 6 miles north.

2.  Get either an income tax or lottery for Tennessee.  Apparently the
former has no chance, so let's go with the latter.  I used to think it was
a bad idea for the government to be involved in gambling.  I still don't
like the idea much, but I like even less the idea that a state does not
raise enough money to support education at an acceptable level (especially
at the K-12 level!).  In fact it makes me see red when I think about
how--in this boom economy we're in--we have dilapidated public schools, no
raises at UTC, and entry salaries so low we lose a lot of excellent
candidates.

3.  If (1) and (2) don't happen, let's go for replacing football by
baseball. The latter is a lot cheaper than the former, and not only that,
there's a glorious old baseball stadium right down the street that is going
to be unoccupied by the end of this year.  Sure it's not in good shape --
but hey,that's a relative term. Compared to the condition of a lot of
buildings we already have at UTC, it's in great condition!  (It's true that
the prime example of a UTC building in lousy shape is now gone.  THey tore
down  the Math Building this past year.  But I can assure you, as one who
has spent a lot of time in both Engel Stadium and the Math Building, that I
would've picked Engel Stadium any day.)

Personally, I'm all in favor of secession....

Mathematics Department, UT-Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave, Chattanooga, TN  37403
phone:615-755-4580;fax: 615-755-4586; email: [log in to unmask]