Category Archives: Bill Lee

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Doubling Down on a Bad Idea

Lee, Sexton want to expand state’s private school coupon scheme

Tennessee’s school voucher program is already taking a $144 million chunk out of the state budget. When fully implemented, the cost is expected to exceed $1 billion annually.

Vouchers are expensive – and undermine local public schools. Research consistently suggests vouchers do not improve student outcomes – and, sometimes, actually lead to a decline.

Expensive. Hurting local communities. Failing to help students.

That’s the program Gov. Lee wants to expand. And House Speaker Cameron Sexton is cheering him on, calling for at least a doubling of the voucher scheme in the upcoming legislative session.

The governor added that because of the large number of applications, he hopes to persuade the legislature to “provide more scholarships to Tennessee families” when lawmakers return for the 2026 session.

Lee, whose term runs out in January 2027, wasn’t specific about how much he would like to see the program expand. But Sexton’s spokesperson, Connor Grady, said the speaker is committed to “at least doubling” the number of available vouchers to meet student demand, Chalkbeat reported.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Trump Administration Decimates Hunger Relief Programs

Vouchers: Expensive and Ineffective

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Testing Progress Even as Vouchers Loom

One reason Tennessee’s privatizer-in-chief (Bill Lee) suggests the state needs school vouchers is his belief that public schools aren’t always up to the task.

However, the most recent statewide testing data suggests otherwise, noting continuous improvement in scores post-pandemic.

Chalkbeat reports:

Tennessee students continued to show post-pandemic progress on statewide testing this year, though a majority of third graders fell short of hitting a critical reading benchmark.

More third graders scored proficient this year, with 41.7% compared to 40.9% on last year’s reading test, according to testing data released Tuesday by the Tennessee Department of Education.

The article notes an upward trend and cites the current Education Commissioner as among those praising the work of the state’s public schools:

“We are encouraged to see improvements across all subject areas. This year’s TCAP results reflect Tennessee’s strong commitment to investing in our students’ futures and the steady progress we’re making statewide,” education commissioner Lizzette Reynolds said in a statement. “We are grateful to our teachers, schools, and districts whose unwavering dedication has driven significant improvements in student performance and paved the way for lasting success.”

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Bill Lee Battles Sun Bucks

Indiana’s Private School Coupon Scheme

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Bill Lee: Letting Kids Starve to Prove Fealty to Trump

Sad!

In particularly maddening news, Gov. Bill Lee refused to accept federal “Sun Bucks” this year to help kids on free/reduced lunch have meals over the summer.

The program is inexpensive and it works, so naturally, Tennessee policymakers don’t want to participate.

I suspect many of them spent this Sunday in church, singing praises to a Jesus whose teachings they willfully ignore.

More maddening? The Tennessee voters who show up continue to elect “leaders” like Lee simply because these politicians align with their chosen King, Donald Trump.

Here’s more on Sun Bucks and the 675,000 children who suffered this summer so Bill Lee could prove a point:

Sun Bucks is a pragmatic and powerful innovation. After fifty years of relying primarily on congregate meal service, pandemic-era pilots proved that grocery benefits are a high-impact complement. By institutionalizing that lesson, Sun Bucks delivers $120 per child to bridge the summer nutrition gap while preserving meal sites where they are effective. And beyond reducing hardship, the program’s $3.5 billion in benefits may generate over $5 billion in local economic activity each summer, supporting families, businesses, farmers, and communities alike. States that decline to participate are not just forgoing a proven strategy to reduce child hunger—they are turning down fully funded federal benefits that could strengthen their own local economies.

Yep. That’s Bill Lee. “turning down fully-funded federal benefits that could strengthen” Tennessee’s economy.

Sad!

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Freezing Out Public Schools

Private School Coupons Drain Indiana Budget

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Grundy County Says “NO” to Teacher Bonuses

One Tennessee school district is leaving free money for teacher pay on the table. The Grundy County School Board has decided not to accept the state’s $2000 bonus for teachers that was provided as part of the universal school voucher bill that passed this year.

Chattanooga’s NewsChannel9 has more:

“. . . the Grundy County school board did not approve thousands of dollars from the state for teacher bonuses.

Those $2,000 bonuses were tied to the Education Freedom Act and school vouchers.

After the votes failed last week, one board member said he voted against the bonuses because he believes vouchers are wrong.

But another board member said not accepting that money only hurts the county, no matter what strings may be attached.

The strings included passing a supportive resolution to accept the funds that some perceived as a tacit endorsement of Gov. Bill Lee’s voucher scheme.

crop man getting dollars from wallet
Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

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Kentucky Faces School Funding Shortfall

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TN Pastors Challenge Anti-Immigrant Law

A Call to Reject the “Big, Beautiful Bill”

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Bill Lee vs. Sun Bucks

One more story on Gov. Bill Lee letting TN kids go hungry:

For the first time in five years, the majority of low-income students across Tennessee will not receive supplemental grocery funds this summer to help bridge the months when they aren’t receiving school meals.

This is because Lee rejected federal support of Summer EBT – and instead, created a new, TN-funded program. The new program will serve only 25,000 kids in just 15 counties – down from the 700,000 kids served in all 95 counties since 2020.

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How Vouchers Eat State Budgets

Winning the Race to the Bottom

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What’s Eating the Budget?

It’s vouchers – thanks to Gov. Bill Lee

Bill Lee’s legacy will be the undoing of Tennessee’s public education system. First, through the ill-designed TISA formula and then by way of a universal school voucher scheme.

In fact, states with existing voucher programs are already reporting budget woes:

Stateline reports:

In submitting her updated budget proposal in March, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs lamented the rising costs of the state’s school vouchers program that directs public dollars to pay private school tuition.

Characterizing vouchers as an “entitlement program,” Hobbs said the state could spend more than $1 billion subsidizing private education in the upcoming fiscal year. The Democratic governor said those expenses could crowd out other budget priorities, including disability programs and pay raises for firefighters and state troopers.

Tennessee’s voucher scheme will cost nearly $150 million in year one – and the cost of the private school coupon plan could balloon quickly.

Of course, by the time the voucher plan eats so many state dollars that other programs are cut, Lee will no longer be governor.

Still, when public education in the state suffocates under the weight of school vouchers, there is one man who should bear the brunt of the blame: Bill Lee.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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A National School Voucher Scheme?

A Legacy of Hungry Kids

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Voucher Coupon Scheme Starts NOW

May 15th is the launch of TN’s new, $1.1 billion voucher scheme

Gov. Bill Lee spent significant time and energy during his term attempting to pass a universal school voucher scheme that would provide coupons for discounted admission to private schools.

He finally convinced the legislature to pass this plan during a special legislative session early this year. In 2019, lawmakers passed a limited voucher plan – for only Memphis and Nashville – and then expanded that to Chattanooga.

The early results from that plan suggest it isn’t “working” – if by working one means helping students improve academic outcomes.

Results from other states show vouchers consistently cost a ton of money and fail to produce results.

No matter, Tennessee lawmakers are all-in.

So, here we are.

And some lawmakers are issuing a final warning about the dangerous territory Tennessee is about to enter:

Tennessee Senate Democrats said school vouchers will cost state taxpayers more than $1 billion. They also warned the plan could lead to less state funds for public schools. As a result, the Democrats are calling the plan a “billion-dollar boondoggle.”

The plan calls for 20,000 vouchers worth $7295 each to be available for students in grades K-12 to use at the private school of their family’s choice.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Is it Time for Super NAEP?

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Lack of Funding for Schools Leads to Lack of Faith in Lee’s Leadership

Pastors call out Gov. Lee for failing moral test of investing in children

The Southern Christian Coalition is calling out Gov. Bill Lee for his Administration’s failure to properly fund Tennessee public schools.

On news that the state now ranks 47th nationally in per student investment – and last among our Southeastern neighbors, Rev. Chris Warren -a Cumberland Presbyterian minister from Murfreesboro – said:

“Scripture reminds us often to care for both children and the vulnerable in our midst. By prioritizing voucher schemes instead of fully funding our public schools, it’s clear that Governor Lee and the Supermajority Legislature have neglected this scripture’s call. Instead, they have prioritized underfunding public education while funneling millions to vouchers. This benefits powerful outside interest groups while our children suffer.”

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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Hungry Kids, Poorly-Funded Schools

A National Voucher Scheme

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Lee Teaches Hungry Kids a Lesson

Sure, it means short-term hunger – but at least TN is free from “federal interference”

Gov. Bill Lee is among a cohort of GOP governors trying to wean their governments off of “dependence” on the federal government. No Medicaid expansion, for example.

Nevermind that Tennesseans have paid into the federal treasury – Lee doesn’t want the money.

One might think that if there was an easy and affordable way to help feed kids over the summer, a state leader would take it. But, a number of Republican governors are not – including Tennessee’s Lee.

The Wall Street Journal digs deeper into a story I wrote about back in February.

When the federal government offered to cover the cost of feeding Tennessee’s poor children last summer, state officials accepted the cash.

Some $84 million in federal money flowed into Tennessee. The families of 700,000 kids were given $120 per child to buy food during the summer months when school is out.

Washington made the same offer for the coming summer. This time, Tennessee said no.

The WSJ story notes that Republican-led states are conflicted over accepting the Summer EBT funds – 14 are taking the money, 13 (like Tennessee) are not.

Instead of ensuring all kids have access to food this summer, Lee is starting his own program – one that leaves the fast majority of kids in need without access to food.

Tennessee can spend $1 billion to give wealthy families coupons for private schools. The state can spend hundreds of millions to build a stadium for a privately-owned football team.

But we sure can’t accept money from the federal government to ensure hungry families get a boost.

Seems that someone (Bill Lee) has some pretty mixed up priorities.

question marks on paper crafts
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Lee Leads TN to Bottom in School Funding

School Vouchers Kill Local Schools

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Bill Lee Winning Race to the Bottom

A new report shows that Tennessee has hit a new low – now the lowest among our Southeastern neighbors in school funding.

While Tennessee historically ranks in the bottom 10 nationally – usually in the 44-45 range – we’d usually end up with funding above some of our Southern neighbors.

Thanks to Bill Lee, not anymore.

Tennessee ranks dead last among neighboring states when it comes to investment in schools after six years of Lee’s “leadership.”

Instead of seeking to right the ship and push Tennessee forward, Lee has now convinced his legislative allies to embrace a billion-dollar school voucher scheme.

If you think it’s bad now, it will very likely get worse.

Gov. Bill Lee promoting school privatization

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A National Voucher Scheme

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