Clinton City Schools & City of Clinton

The Spark

Clinton City Schools Director Kelly Johnson wasn’t losing teachers to other districts. She was losing them to motherhood—not because they wanted to leave the classroom, but because they couldn’t find or afford child care. In a small district expecting 13 babies this year alone, some of her highest-rated teachers were walking away rather than face $600-a-week daycare bills or months-long waitlists. City Manager Roger Houck was hearing the same thing across the street. His court clerk was paying $600 a week for two children under three—on a $50,000 salary—and debating whether his wife should quit her job entirely. Two public employers, same town, same crisis.

The Solution

Rather than each go it alone, Clinton City Schools and the City of Clinton are building a shared solution. A former National Guard armory—a solid, city-owned building sitting in Clinton’s largest park—is being renovated into a birth-to-Pre-K early learning center. The building’s deed requires educational use, and after decades as an alternative school and a Roane State campus, the space fits child care almost perfectly: existing classrooms, a commercial kitchen, and a large open area for indoor play.

The Boys & Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley will operate the program, handling licensing, curriculum, staffing, and day-to-day management. Neither the school district nor the city has to become a child care provider. Clinton City Schools and City of Clinton employees receive priority enrollment at approximately $150 per week—compared to the $360–$600 families currently pay at area providers.

Remaining seats will be sold to local industries through the city’s business development office. Industrial employers can purchase blocks of slots at a moderate rate and decide how much to subsidize for their own workers. The center opens at half capacity in August 2026 with 65 slots, with plans to double once operations are running smoothly.

The $2.3 million renovation was funded through three sources: a $953,000 DHS child care grant (applied for by the Boys & Girls Club on the partnership’s behalf), a $500,000 CDBG grant secured by the city, and $800,000 in city funds. The city covers the building, utilities, and ongoing maintenance. The Boys & Girls Club manages operating costs through enrollment revenue.

The Results

The center has not yet opened, but demand is running well ahead of supply. Teachers ask Johnson regularly whether the August timeline will hold. Within the city limits of Clinton, there is only one for-profit daycare and one nonprofit that doesn’t accept children under 18 months—nowhere near enough slots for the workforce that needs them.

Houck frames the financial impact in concrete terms: for employees currently paying $600 a week, dropping to $150 is the equivalent of a 15–20 percent raise. He noted that in a labor market where a police officer will cross the street for a quarter-an-hour more, that kind of savings changes the math on retention entirely. Johnson puts it simply: the return will be measured in teachers who stay.