CCA “borrowed” the demographics from Cincinnati Public Schools in weaving a tale of serving low-income and minority students. As a result of their promise to serve underserved students, the school was awarded nearly $2 million in federal education funding.
The reality is that the school is located in a Cincinnati suburb and essentially operates as a free, private, Christian school for predominantly middle- to high-income white students.
The school’s $2 million federal grant received as a result of the application is now under scrutiny:
The Network for Public Education sent a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona protesting the grant and asking that it be rescinded. It was signed by Phillis’s coalition, along with U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), five state legislators who represent the area, the Ohio PTA, both state teachers unions, the Cincinnati NAACP, and more than a dozen public education, civil rights, local teacher associations and advocacy groups.
Hillsdale, of course, is in partnership with American Classical Education, the charter operator opening two schools in Tennessee next year. ACE has plans to open as many as 50 charter schools in the state. If that number is reached, local taxpayers will be on the hook for charter school funding to the tune of $350 million.
One Tennessee school district is taking advantage of a federal reimbursement program to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students starting in January.
Unicoi County Schools will use the Community Eligibility Provision of the USDA’s school meal program to offer meals at no cost to all students with no application required.
The move comes in a state were policymakers have considered and rejected the idea of providing free school meals to all students on multiple occasions.
It also comes in a state that has a massive budget surplus and can afford to invest more in schools – including ensuring all children at school are fed. Instead, it seems Gov. Lee and his allies will spend surplus dollars on creating a new voucher scheme.
The Tennessee PTA has joined the many voices expressing opposition to school vouchers.
In order to ensure that taxes support every child’s education, we must maintain our commitment to a free educational system while also ensuring those in charge of managing the funds are responsible and transparent in their actions.
The group adopted an official position opposing vouchers in 2022. That position reads in part:
The Tennessee PTA advocates that funds raised by general taxation for educational purposes should be administered by public officials and should not be used to support privately operated schools . . .
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Advocates with the Southern Christian Coalition noted that Lee’s plan would harm the state’s public school system and leave students behind. Representatives of the group said the plan is out of alignment with Lee’s proclaimed Christian faith.
Rev. Brandon Berg, Pastor of Norris and Sinking Springs United Methodist Churches in the Knoxville area, said:
“If Governor Lee claims the Christian faith, and we know he does, then he must change course and start to prioritize the education of every Tennessee child by fully funding our public schools and end this voucher scheme that would create even more inequity in Tennessee schools.”
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Lee moves forward with planned privatization of state’s public schools
Despite mounting evidence suggesting that universal school voucher programs are both expensive and ineffective, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee seems determined to deliver on a promise from his 2018 campaign. That promise? Privatizing public schools.
Gov. Bill Lee is preparing to announce a plan to dramatically expand Tennessee’s controversial school voucher program, allowing K-12 students to receive taxpayer funding for private school regardless of need, according to talking points obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
Lee has long been an advocate of using tax dollars to fund unaccountable private schools.
Even though as early as 2016, Bill Lee was extolling the virtues of school voucher schemes and even though he’s a long-time supporter of Betsy DeVos’s pro-voucher Tennessee Federation for Children and even though he has appointed not one, but two voucher vultures to high level posts in his Administration, it is somehow treated as “news” that Bill Lee plans to move forward with a voucher scheme agenda in 2019.
Lee has continued his steady march toward full privatization of schools since 2019. Securing passage of his voucher scheme, advancing legislation that created a charter school commission, inviting Hillsdale to hijack our schools.
He even made a successful push to change the state’s school funding formula to make it more appealing for private schools to accept vouchers.
Now, he’s going for the final blow: A universal school voucher plan.
This plan will be expensive and is not likely to have a positive impact on academic achievement.
Nearly 15,000 students who never attended public school suddenly receiving vouchers would mean a state cost of $98 million. That’s $98 million in new money. Of course, those funds would either be new money (which is not currently contemplated) or would take from the state’s BEP allocations in the districts where the students receive the vouchers.
Since then, two things have happened.
Lee’s plan envisions 20,000 students AND the guaranteed minimum voucher amount has increased.
The cost now would be $141 million. That doesn’t include any local offset for lost local funding (estimated to be about $8 million in Davidson County alone back in 2017).
If the state absorbs the cost, rather than passing it on to local taxpayers, there would need to be a fund of at least $100 million to cover those costs.
So, at minimum, Lee’s plan creates a voucher school district costing an additional $250 million a year.
All while our state remains in the bottom 10 in school funding.
Oh, and if the state does not create an offset fund, local taxpayers would be footing the bill – which would mean either local property tax increases (as happened in Indiana) OR a decrease in services offered in traditional public schools.
Lee is delivering on his promise, even though it’s expensive and even though data from other states and early data from Tennessee suggests it won’t improve student achievement.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Senate Democratic Caucus Chair London Lamar of Memphis says the GOP’s actions are “reckless and irresponsible” and instead is calling on state lawmakers to invest more funds in public schools.
“Our students need more support in the classroom, not less. Our students need more access to tutoring, counselors and mental health specialists, not less. Our students need regular meals and wrap-around support to be the best learners they can be.
“There’s no future success story for students, families or our economy if Tennessee continues down this dangerous, anti-student path.”
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Rev. Matt Steinhauer, Interim Pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Franklin, said, “As a Christian pastor and father of 3 children, one of whom is intellectually disabled who attended and graduated from TN public schools, I firmly believe that all Tennessee children, no matter where they live in the state, the color of their skin, or their ability level, are valuable and they deserve leaders who will ensure students have everything they need to thrive at school and succeed in the classroom and beyond. This is why I cannot begin to comprehend why there is currently a panel of elected leaders meeting to consider rejecting over $1 billion in annual funding annually to Tennessee children in our public schools.”
“As a mother, grandmother, and Christian pastor, I believe that Tennessee children and families are valuable and deserve leaders who will ensure students have everything they need to succeed in the classroom and prepare for their futures,” stated Rev. Dr. Donna Whitney, Pastoral Assistant at Metropolitian Interdenominational Church in Nashville. “This plan from Governor Lee and Tennessee’s Supermajority Legislature would take money out of our community schools, and instead prioritize their political agendas and schemes by denying children who they don’t want to serve, including high risk students across the state.”
Gov. Bill Lee’s handpicked charter school commission reversed a decision by the Jackson-Madison school board and approved locating a Hillsdale charter in the district.
The Commission also rejected an appeal for a Hillsdale charter in Maury County, noting that the application just “wasn’t there yet.”
The Hillsdale charter in Jackson-Madison will be the second in the state after Rutherford County’s school board approved an application from the charter network earlier this year.
Lee outlined his plan to partner with Hillsdale for the development of up to 50 charter schools in the state back in his 2022 State of the State Address. In that address, Lee made clear his allegiance with the ideology of American Exceptionalism and his comfort with Christian Nationalism.
An analysis of the fiscal impact of charter schools found that the Hillsdale charters, as envisioned in their applications, would drain roughly $7 million from each district where they operate.
If Lee’s dream of 50 Hillsdale charters is realized, more than $300 million could be transferred from state and local taxpayers to the charter network.
Even though as early as 2016, Bill Lee was extolling the virtues of school voucher schemes and even though he’s a long-time supporter of Betsy DeVos’s pro-voucher Tennessee Federation for Children and even though he has appointed not one, but two voucher vultures to high level posts in his Administration, it is somehow treated as “news” that Bill Lee plans to move forward with a voucher scheme agenda in 2019.
How did we get here? In 2018 I wrote:
Bill Lee was on the right team and spoke the right, religiously-tinged words and so earned the support of people who will look at you with a straight face and say they love Tennessee public schools.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Legislative leaders move forward with attempt to refuse federal education funding
House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally have appointed a Joint Legislative Task Force to explore the possibility of Tennessee refusing the nearly $2 billion the state receives in federal education funding each year.
More from The Tennessee Journal:
The 10-member panel will also report on the feasibility of the state rejecting federal funds and recommend a strategy to reject certain federal funds or eliminate unwanted restrictions placed on the state due to the receipt of such federal funds if it is feasible to do so.
Sexton has previously suggested using the state’s significant revenue surplus to replace federal dollars for schools.
It’s worth noting here that a bipartisan task force found that the state underfunds schools by around $1.7 billion a year.
This means that rather than use surplus dollars to make up the current funding shortfall, Sexton is suggesting using the surplus to maintain the inadequate status quo.
Rev. C. Don Jones, Pastor of the Andersonville United Methodist Church, said of the proposal:
“Tennessee public schools are primarily locally funded. Extra funds from the Federal government administered by the State government help schools in our rural areas that are cash strapped. I do not understand why the Speaker, the Governor, or the present Supermajority of the General Assembly chose to harm these communities.
“As a pastor in a rural community, I see the Speaker’s proposal as irresponsible to the citizens of Tennessee.”
Senate Democratic Leader Raumesh Akbari of Memphis said the federal funding is a key tool in leveling the playing field for students in economically disadvantaged areas of the state.
“Federal education funding for states is essential to ensure educational equity and opportunity for all American students. It serves as a vital pillar of our nation’s commitment to providing a quality education regardless of a student’s geographical location or socioeconomic background.”
This could the most idiotic discussion I’ve seen in the Tennessee General Assembly probably since not expanding Medicaid and costing our state over a billion dollars a year. If you have a child with an IEP then this will drastically harm your child!
The task force has not yet announced its first meeting.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Now, a former Assistant Commissioner in the DOE says an A-F school grading system, set to be implemented this school year, is designed to further erode public support for public schools.
