Obamacare may close an entire school district

By Jason Russell, Jason Russell

Published December 20, 2015

More than 1,000 students might be out of school next week, and an unlikely cuprit may be responsible: Obamacare.

Clay County Schools, in northern Tennessee, is struggling financially and has decided to close the district's three schools indefinitely. Administrators are blaming the high costs of Obamacare for hurting the district financially.

"The Affordable Care Act being a totally unfunded mandate is devastating the finances of the Clay County school system," Clay County Schools Director Jerry Strong told WZTV Nashville. "We are also in a county that just doesn't generate a lot of tax revenue."

The county commissioner opposes raising property taxes to help fund the schools, since the country already has the seventh-highest property taxes in Tennessee. He also insists that that district has enough funding to keep schools open through the academic year. A voter referendum on a vehicle tax will take place in March.

The district's line of reasoning is a good reminder that regulations affect public schools, although regulation debates typically focus on businesses and economic effects.