Out of the Gate

Bill Powers is brand new to the Tennessee State Senate. He was elected in a special election on Tuesday night to fill the Clarksville-area seat vacated when Mark Green was elected to Congress.

During the campaign, Powers promised he’d be against vouchers if elected. The race, decided by around 1000 votes, was relatively close. It’s possible if he’d said he supported vouchers, he would have lost the race.

While new to the body, he’s apparently not new to the art of creative deception. The very first bill Powers voted on was Governor Bill Lee’s voucher proposal. How did Powers vote? He voted YES.

Less than 48 hours after winning an election where he told voters he had one position on vouchers, he “changed his mind” after talking with Bill Lee and voted the other way.

That seems like a pretty big deal. Powers will face voters again in 2020 should he choose to run for a full 4-year term. It will be interesting to see how he explains his outright lie to the voters next year.

Photo/text courtesy of TN Holler

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5 thoughts on “Out of the Gate

  1. You assume the guy lied, I infer that Gov Lee was elected for a reason and made a compelling argument to Powers as to why this is important. Does it ever get tiring working all the time attempting to keep kids chained to failing schools?

    • Vouchers are the same beverage in a different cup and have already been proven to totally fail to deliver on promises made. Recent research in several states and DC have proven they do not deliver as promised and in LA many kids are doing worse. There is no improvement to come when you have the voucher school required to teach the same crap that is taught in the failing school. Now WHY are public schools so bad???? They are bad because of ignorant legislators like Lee and most of our elected that haven’t a clue about education making bad decisions and following mandates from DC. Vouchers are failing in other states because the promises made were based on lies. The REAL agenda behind vouchers is to get all kids into the same system so they can collect the comparable data the corporate elites and government so desperately crave. Same beverage different cup. Perhaps you should take some time to read these studies. There is one from DC, our federal government data collection agency IES, OH, IN, LA. The name of the game is privatization, control and replacing academics with work force training.

      • Karen, you completely ignore the demand side of the equation. Not one seat at a charter school would be filled if not for parent demand. Not one parent would use a voucher if not for parent demand. One size fits all business model produces mediocre results. As for voucher studies. For every study you find against vouchers, I can find one in support.

        • Except many of those “parent demands” isn’t the government’s job to provide. Like the demand for religious instruction.

          Also, if you’re going to make the argument for an alternative to failing schools, a valid argument, then where’s the accountability? Why are the testing requirements by which you’re labeling a school as failing not being required of the for-profit institution so results can be measured and accurately compared? Why aren’t guidelines and protections in place about accepting all categories of students?

          (hint: because it’s about the money, not the kids)

  2. Pingback: Policy of Truth – Tennessee Education Report

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