In a media event, a group of pastors and parents affiliated with the Southern Christian Coalition said Gov. Bill Lee’s school funding formula proposal, known as TISA, fails to provide adequate funding for all Tennessee schools.
Rev. Laura Becker, Pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, opened the virtual press conference sharing that her children have been in the Hamilton Public School system since 2008. “We are here today as pastors in the state of Tennessee, calling on our legislature to adequately fund our public schools, and invest and care for the children of Tennessee, knowing that they are each made in the image of God. All Tennessee students deserve the right to high quality and fully funded education that prepares them to achieve their full potential and successfully contribute to our communities and to our state. Unfortunately, from threats to dissolve school boards, to corporate private charter schools that make money from public schools, Tennessee’s Supermajority Republicans are doing everything to avoid dealing with the fact that Tennessee provides less in state funding per student than almost any other state in the country.
Becker specifically addressed the TISA school funding overhaul being advanced by Lee:
“I’ve been following some of Governor Lee’s new school funding plan usually called TISA, and unfortunately, it just isn’t enough and it isn’t right. Instead of addressing the issue at the root by funding our public schools as much as every other state, this new funding plan would still require too much funding from local governments.
“This so-called ‘student centered funding approach’ shows a clear motive of Gov. Lee and the Supermajority Republicans that they have of privatizing our public schools and turning our tax dollars over to private schools and corporate funded charter schools.”
Rev. Dr. Donna Whitney also shared why public school funding is a priority to her as her daughters graduated from Metro Nashville Public Schools.
“The goal of our school funding system should be to ensure that all children, all children, no matter where they live, or the challenges they face, have the opportunity for a public education that prepares them to be responsible and productive citizens. The purpose of funding public education is to ensure that there are adequate resources to serve the educational requirements of all children. And that funding is distributed equitably, so that all children can access equal educational opportunities.
“Unfortunately, Governor Lee’s TISA funding plan is neither adequate nor equitable, while claiming to be student centered, the TISA plan now before our legislature is anything but truly student centered. TISA is actually corporate centered, using students as vehicles to escort dollars, our public tax dollars out of public schools and into corporate treasuries.”
The Tennessee Public Education Coalition is out with a piece on why Gov. Bill Lee’s school funding plan (TISA) is a threat to strong public schools in our state.
Here are some highlights:
Perhaps this year’s greatest threat to legislator incumbency is Governor Bill Lee’s new K-12 funding bill, which he calls the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement act, or TISA. In spite of continued statements from the governor and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn that the administration’s “student-based” funding formula was developed in response to dozens of stakeholder meetings and hundreds of public comments, this funding plan is model legislation developed in 2010 by ALEC, the school privatizing think tank.
In spite of how this bill is being promoted, the primary purpose of this bill is to shift even more of the cost of K-12 education to local taxpayers.
The Tennessee Public Education Coalition has advocated for increased state funding for K-12 education for years. While the Governor’s plan appears to increase the total amount of funding for Tennessee schools, the Governor’s TISA bill actually would increase funding for vouchers and privately-run charter schools.
The state has the means to invest billions of new dollars in public schools. But as Commissioner Schwinn’s recent testimony and The Tennessean’s recent reporting have revealed, local governments eventually will be on the hook for additional local funding if TISA becomes law. And city and county governments do not have billions of dollars in surplus.
TISA’s increased local match requirements will lead to property tax increases that local governments and taxpayers will blame on the new school funding formula if it becomes law.
READ MORE in the Tennessean about why key public school advocates oppose TISA.
The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is out with a report on teacher compensation across the region. Not surprisingly, teacher compensation in the South is about 16% below the national average. Of course, Tennessee teacher compensation lags behind even the average in our region. We are low in a region that is low.
Not only is Tennessee behind other states when it comes to compensation, but Tennessee also has the lowest annual pension benefit for retired teachers. So, we pay teachers at a rate that is somewhat below average and in retirement, our teachers earn less than all their counterparts in our neighboring states.
The average pension in Tennessee is $29,000 while in the region it is $39,000.
SREB actually recommends an overhaul of retirement systems to support a more portable retirement plan. That said, it’s not exactly encouraging to teachers when they see both low pay and relatively low benefits.
As SREB notes:
Higher salaries alone can’t address teacher shortages — but they can help. Many SREB states have work to do to catch up with regional and national averages.
And as it relates to retirement:
Retirement should pay better. Most professionals don’t stay in one career anymore. States can save money and help teachers build more retirement savings through optional portable investment plans. States should bring teachers to the table to build new options.
Of course, this news is important as our state faces a growing teacher shortage crisis.
If only our state had a huge budget surplus AND a pending redesign of the school funding formula. It would seem a perfect opportunity to hire more teachers, provide them with excellent compensation, and give them the tools for a secure retirement.
Unfortunately, Gov. Bill Lee’s TISA plan does none of those things.
Here’s how we know this plan won’t boost student achievement. First, it does nothing to shore up the shortage of teachers needed to adequately support students now. That is, according to both TACIR and the Comptroller, Tennessee districts hire MORE teachers (11,000 more, to be exact) than the current formula funds. Guess what? TISA does nothing to change that. There is no indication that the weights will mean more teachers hired and supported by state funding.
Next, TISA does nothing to boost overall teacher pay. Sure, TISA “allows” lawmakers to earmark certain funds to give raises to “existing” teachers, but that doesn’t mean they will. Nor does it mean those raises will be significant. This year’s $125 million set aside for teacher compensation will mean what is effectively a 2-3% raise for most teachers. Based on current inflation rates and rising insurance premiums, this essentially amounts to a pay cut.
When it is time for evaluating organizations to release reports on school funding and teacher compensation, it’s best to start at the bottom of the list if you want to find Tennessee.
Bill Lee has done nothing to change that so far as Governor and his new funding plan continues to leave us as among the lowest of the low.
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If you are wondering what it looks like when school privatizers are close to total victory, Tennessee is a prime example. Here, the forces that want to take public money and hand it over to private entities are on the verge of completing their conquest.
Tennessee’s current legislative session features a range of attacks on public schools. Some of these would have immediate impacts, while others take a longer-term approach to fully privatizing K-12 education in the state.
First, it is important to understand that groups backing privatization in the form of charter schools and vouchers are among the top spenders when it comes to lobbying state legislators. For example, the American Federation for Children—an organization founded and previously led by the family of Betsy DeVos, a school privatization advocate and former President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education—spent $887,500. Another big spender, the Tennessee Charter School Center, spent $732,500.
Based on this year’s full-frontal assault, these investments appear to be paying off. There are three key issues that currently pose the most significant threat to Tennessee’s public schools. They include: a partnership with Hillsdale College, a private fundamentalist Christian college in Michigan, to run fifty or more charter schools; legislation that would create a charter school real estate grab; and school funding reforms that set the stage for a statewide voucher program.
In his State of the State address, Governor Bill Lee restated his commitment to set aside $32 million to help launch new charters in Tennessee and announced the Hillsdale College partnership, which could bring close to fifty Hillsdale-run charter schools into the state.
Beyond the use of public funds to open schools run by a private, Christian college, there is reason to be concerned about the nature of the Hillsdale curriculum. As educator and blogger Peter Greene explained, “[Hillsdale President Larry] Arnn has been a Trump supporter, and the college has fallen right into MAGAland as well. . . . The college uses Trump mailing lists to raise money. They used to sponsor Rush Limbaugh’s show. They get grads placed on the staff of legislators such as Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy.”
Of course, any charter schools—Hillsdale or otherwise—must be approved by a local school board, right? Wrong! Tennessee’s State Charter Commission, created by Lee, can override local decisions. And Lee is now seeking to expand the authority of this unelected body.
Legislation currently advancing in the state Senate (SB2168/HB2833) would allow charter schools to apply directly to the State Charter Commission. This means a group of unelected appointees of a pro-privatization governor could decide to place charter schools in districts where the local elected officials and public don’t want them.
Another part of the same bill creates a real estate grab for charter operators. The relevant section states:
The proposed legislation authorizes a public charter school operating in the LEA to have a right of first refusal to: lease at an annual cost not to exceed the annual capital funding received by the public charter school leasing the building; or purchase at or below fair market value any underutilized or vacant property submitted by the LEA under this section.
Just to be clear, public money in the form of local property taxes pays for facilities run by public schools. Should this new legislation pass and become law, an unelected state board will be able to place charter schools in a district, and those charter schools can take over public buildings at a reduced cost. So much for the free market.
Potentially millions of dollars worth of real estate assets in local districts across Tennessee could soon be up for grabs at prices below market value. No wonder privatizers tied to the charter industry have spent $8 million lobbying the legislature.
The final element in the push for privatization is being billed as a “reform” of the state’s school funding formula. Governor Lee recently released his plan to revamp how the state directs money to local school districts for public schools. The bottom line, according to Lee, is that the approach is “student-centered” and that funds “follow the child” no matter what. This plan is based on model legislation from the rightwing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
This statement, first of all, creates the erroneous impression that charter schools operate as “public” schools. Although called public schools under Tennessee law (as in most states), these schools function with less government oversight and an array of private operations, from real estate management to the sourcing of substitute teachers to overall school management.
Second, the proposed change to school funding is quite simply the gateway to a full-on voucher scheme. As Tennessee teacher Mike Stein wrote on his personal blog, the final form of funding reform is a workaround for a school voucher law that Lee enacted and was ruled unconstitutional.
Step one, according to Stein, is to create a funding allocation for each individual student; step two is to allow that funding to follow the individual student to whatever “public” school they attend; and step three is to let parents take these funds to any school, public or private.
The short-term impact of this formula would be an influx of funds to charter schools and their operators. In the long term, a transition to a fully operational “choice” economy of schools seems likely.
Lee has been fighting to redirect public money to private schools since before he was elected governor. It now looks like a fight he’s poised to win. And if he does, defenders of public education should learn to resist next time the small, subtle cuts to public education that he used to lay the groundwork.
Gov. Bill Lee is proposing a significant change to the way the state funds public schools. His proposal would replace the decades old BEP formula with something he calls TISA – Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement.
Except, well, the plan does nothing to invest in student achievement. Rather, it is a complicated system of weights applied to students that supposedly will lead to improved student achievement based on how districts use funds for targeted interventions.
In other words, the same old stuff in a shiny new, complicated package.
Here’s how we know this plan won’t boost student achievement. First, it does nothing to shore up the shortage of teachers needed to adequately support students now. That is, according to both TACIR and the Comptroller, Tennessee districts hire MORE teachers (11,000 more, to be exact) than the current formula funds. Guess what? TISA does nothing to change that. There is no indication that the weights will mean more teachers hired and supported by state funding.
Next, TISA does nothing to boost overall teacher pay. Sure, TISA “allows” lawmakers to earmark certain funds to give raises to “existing” teachers, but that doesn’t mean they will. Nor does it mean those raises will be significant. This year’s $125 million set aside for teacher compensation will mean what is effectively a 2-3% raise for most teachers. Based on current inflation rates and rising insurance premiums, this essentially amounts to a pay cut.
If Lee actually wants to improve student achievement, he’d make a significant investment in teacher salaries. First, we have a teacher shortage that is only getting worse – more pay is not the only remedy, but it is a good tool to stem the tide.
Next, a recent study shows that boosting teacher pay has a direct, positive impact on student achievement.
Researchers have conducted a massive, unprecedented statistical analysis of public school teacher salaries and student standardized test performance in the United States, finding that when teachers are paid more, students score higher.
Why does this happen? The researchers offer this suggestion:
Prior research has shown that increased teacher salaries prompt higher quality students to seek careers in education. Additional pay also lowers teacher turnover, keeping talented, experienced teachers in their jobs and resulting in more educator continuity for students, which builds trust between teacher and pupil.
This recent study of teachers in the United States can be compared with a study by researchers at the London School of Economics which also demonstrated that higher teacher pay was causally related to higher student achievement:
“. . . we find that a 10% increase in teachers’ pay would give a 5-10% increase in pupil performance.”
But Lee’s plan doesn’t do that. Or even approach that. At best, this year’s raise will mean 3%. Going forward under TISA, every indication is that the state increase to base teacher compensation will be between 2-4% a year – or, a mere inflationary adjustment – no real boost in actual income.
Here’s what Lee’s plan does do: Raise local property taxes.
Meghan Mangrum in The Tennessean offers an analysis of how local property taxes would increase under TISA:
“Under TISA, the required local match for Davidson County is anticipated to increase by $35 million between FY23 and FY24, while the state’s investment in Nashville’s students will only increase by $12.6 (million) under the projections they have provided,” spokesperson Sean Braisted said in an email.
And that’s just Nashville. 28 districts will have to increase local contributions (raise taxes) beyond current levels in FY 2024. Then, in FY 2027, after TISA’s hold harmless expires, it is likely many more districts will see increased costs.
TC Weber dives deeper into the funding issue – the bottom line: Your local taxes will likely go up to fund TISA.
Why is this happening? Because the new formula is NOT addressing the underlying issue: Our current formula doesn’t pay for the teachers we need. The secondary (and very important issue) is that TISA does not address the need to significantly boost teacher compensation.
Here’s the deal: Tennessee COULD address this issue.
Governor Bill Lee and state lawmakers just used some of Tennessee’s largest ever budget surplus to fund a historically large incentive package for Ford Motor Company. Even after that deal, policymakers may still have at least $3 billion in unallocated funds to appropriate next year. This total includes a record-setting $2 billion for recurring items – and that’s before even speculating about routine revenue growth. For comparison, Tennessee’s total budget from state revenues this year was about $21 billion before the Ford deal passed.
We’ve got $3 billion in extra cash just lying around!
Well, and we’ve got even more. The Department of Finance and Administration reports the state is more than $2 billion OVER estimated revenue collections this year so far!
Year-to-date revenues for six months were $2.15 billion more than the budgeted estimate. The general fund recorded $2.02 billion in revenues more than estimates, and the four other funds totaled $126.7 million more than year-to-date estimates.
So, here’s what a student-achievement focused budget would look like:
$1 billion to close the gap in needed teachers – that’s $1 billion from the state allocated to local districts to fund the teachers local dollars are already providing.
$1 billion to raise teacher pay by 15% or more for ALL teachers – This assumes the state covers the cost of the increase for the newly state-funded teachers (7000-9000) plus all teachers currently covered.
Guess what? We can do that with billions of dollars left over.
Guess what else? Implementing a plan like this can be done by making adjustments to the current BEP formula.
And you know what else? This can be done without raising local taxes one cent. No state tax increase, no local tax increase, more teachers covered with state dollars, and better pay for all teachers. That’s an evidence-based, affordable solution to the problem Lee says he’s trying to address.
Which begs the question: Why does Lee’s plan rely on local property taxes and why doesn’t Lee’s plan improve the number of teachers or pay them significantly more?
The answer could be in the millions of dollars spent by pro-voucher and pro-charter (privatization) interests to influence state education policy.
Members of the Tennessee Public Education Coalition spoke out in opposition to Gov. Bill Lee’s education agenda which includes sending public money to private schools by way of school vouchers and charters.
In an OpEd, the group said:
We have a clear choice in Tennessee. We can choose to adequately fund our public schools, pay our teachers a fair wage, and support our neighborhood schools — or we can choose grift.
Here are some of the examples offered by the group to demonstrate the danger of rapid expansion of charter schools:
Memphis Academy of Health Sciences closed, displacing 750 students, after three leaders were indicted for stealing $400,000 for personal use – for trips to Las Vegas, a hot tub, NBA tickets, and auto repair.
New Vision Academy in Nashville shut down after state and federal investigation into financial irregularities, failure to comply with federal laws concerning special needs students and English language learners, and cramming too many children into classrooms in violation of the fire code. The husband/wife team leading the school of 150 students earned $563,000 per year.
Gateway University Charter School in Memphis shut down after it was accused of falsifying grades, using uncertified teachers, giving credits for a geometry class that didn’t exist, and pulling children out of classes to clean the school’s bathrooms and other areas.
Knowledge Academies in Nashville lost hundreds of thousands of tax dollars in an online phishing scheme (after which its founder and CEO suddenly disappeared); used uncertified teachers; understaffed the school and stopped paying teachers; operated with a deficit of $835,878, despite an annual revenue of $7.1 million; failed to meet federal requirements for English language learners and special needs students; and ran side businesses out of the school building. Nashville shut the school down, but the state forced it back open. It’s now operating with a $7.9 million deficit.
Nashville Global Academy forgot a child on a bus parked offsite all day, misappropriated funds to the tune of $149,000, and collapsed over $400,000 in debt with unpaid bills worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
READ MORE from Tennessee Public Education Coalition on Lee’s efforts to privatize our state’s public schools.
Of course, Lee has some powerful (and wealthy) friends pushing privatization:
NewsChannel5’s Phil Williams has been following the money to find out who is behind efforts to privatize Tennessee’s public schools. It’s no surprise that Lee’s longtime friend Betsy DeVos is among the key backers of privatization.
As Williams notes, among the big spenders on school privatization efforts when it comes to lobbying the General Assembly is the American Federation for Children. That group is funded by Betsy DeVos. In fact, Bill Lee has even been a donor in the past.
In fact, the American Federation for Children appears to be funded by billionaire Betsy DeVos and her family.
DeVos, who has worked with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, previously suggested to a gathering of evangelicals that part of her goal is taxpayer funding for religious schools.
“Our desire is to … confront the culture in which we all live today in ways which will continue to advance God’s kingdom,” she said.
Another name that came up in Williams’ story was that of Tennessee’s Shaka Mitchell, now serving in a multi-state lobbying role with the American Federation for Children.
Readers of TNEdReport may remember that Mitchell once led the Rocketship Charter Schools in Nashville.
Here’s what Mitchell had to say about his work on behalf of school privatization when he talked to Phil Williams:
“Who speaks for the children? We really view that as our job,” said Shaka Mitchell with the American Federation for Children.
It’s not exactly clear that Mitchell is the best choice to talk about what’s good for kids. At least based on his record as a school leader.
In fact, while Mitchell was failing in his attempts to expand Rocketship, the State Board of Education noted:
In fact, Rocketship’s appeal to the State Board was rejected last year in part because of low performance:
“They did have a level 5 TVAAS composite, which is the highest score overall you can get in growth,” Heyburn said. “But their achievement scores are really low, some of the lowest in their cluster and in the district.”
The MNPS review team addressed this as well:
In summary, with no additional state accountability data to consider, and no compelling evidence presented that provides confidence in the review team, converting an existing low-performing school before Rocketship has demonstrated academic success on state accountability measures would not be in the best interests of the students, the district, or the community.
According to the Metro Schools letter, Rocketship is not providing services to children with special learning needs, like English language learners and students with disabilities.
The notice was sent from Metro Nashville Public School’s top administrators after a monitoring team with the Tennessee Department of Education came in to conduct a routine audit of special services, primarily programs adhering to The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
A Michigan billionaire proposing using public funds for religious indoctrination and a guy who repeatedly failed at serving kids while running a questionable charter operation – that’s who Bill Lee is counting on as he continues to push his radical education agenda.
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Nashville education blogger TC Weber has a couple of pieces out that break down Gov. Lee’s proposed school funding reform.
The bottom line: Be afraid, be very afraid.
I mean, if you like using public money to fund private schools OR if you’re a fan of the state taking over districts, this funding scheme is for you.
Here are a couple hits from TC’s analysis:
While we are on the subject of the funding bill, let’s flip to section 66. This is the portion of the bill that lists amendments to existing legislation. It reads as follows,
SECTION 66. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-10-1405(a)(1), is amended by deleting the language “the per-pupil state and local funds generated and required through the basic education program (BEP) for the LEA in which the student resides and is zoned to attend” and substituting “the total funding allocation that the student generates under the Tennessee investment in student achievement formula (TISA)”.
Did you get that?
Read it again.
I’ll wait.
Under current legislation, a student who qualifies for an IEA, or disability voucher receives around 6k to use for qualified expenses. It’s long been argued more students haven’t taken advantage of the education account opportunity, because the number is too low to make an adequate investment in a different educational opportunity.
If the new law passes, that student will receive exactly the amount generated through the funding formula, potentially making a voucher worth $16k. If you think that won’t increase enrollment and eventually bleed into a full-blown voucher plan, think again.
So, it turns out Mike Stein was right to warn about a BEP Voucher Plan.
READ MORE from TC on the funding formula and vouchers >
Then, TC digs into the section in the reform bill about school takeovers:
(c) An LEA that operates or authorizes a public school that receives a D or F letter grade pursuant to § 49-1-228 may be required to appear for a hearing before an ad hoc joint committee of the general assembly to report on the public school’s performance and how the LEA’s spending decisions may have affected the ability of the LEA’s public schools to achieve certain performance goals. The speakers of the senate and house of representatives shall each appoint members to serve on the joint ad hoc committee from the members of the general assembly serving on the education or finance committees of the senate and house of representatives. At the conclusion of a hearing conducted pursuant to this subsection (c), the joint ad hoc committee may direct the department to impose one (1) of the following corrective actions:
(1) Require the LEA or public charter school to develop, submit to the department for approval, and implement a corrective action plan consistent with a corrective action plan template developed by the department. The department shall report to the committee regarding the LEA’s or public charter school’s implementation of the corrective action plan; or
(2) Appoint an inspector general selected by the comptroller of the treasury to oversee the LEA’s or public charter school’s academic programming and spending. The department shall report to the committee regarding the outcomes of the inspector general’s oversight. The department shall promulgate rules to effectuate this subdivision (c)(2) in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.(d) The department shall apportion the costs of implementing a corrective action imposed pursuant to subdivision (c)(2) between the department and the LEA on a case-by-case basis, subject to the approval of the joint ad hoc committee.
The desire for the state to takeover MNPS and SCS has long been the worst kept secret in town. This bill will provide the vehicle to take such action.
Never mind that the General Assembly passed legislation over half a decade ago that called for the creation of the A-F grading system, it’s never been implemented. as pointed out last year on the Senate floor. Now it’s suddenly going to be implemented and its first year out of the box it’ll have potentially dire consequences for districts.
MORE on ALL the requirements for districts included in the reform plan.
Then, there’s former Nashville school board member Amy Frogge. She also warns that the funding package may not be all rainbows and unicorns. In fact, it seems highly problematic for the future of K-12 public education in our state.
This new rigged funding formula is the BIGGEST threat to public education that TN has seen in years. Legislators better beware because it’s a Trojan horse for school privatization that will direct a disproportionate share of unregulated funding to private pockets and
In sum, TISA REMOVES LOCAL CONTROL of education spending and programming, and IT WILL RESULT IN MASSIVE LOCAL TAX INCREASES after three years. After Lee and Schwinn are long gone, Tennessee’s taxpayers will be left holding the bag.
Now, WKRN in Nashville reports that taxpayers funded a trip by Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn to a conference at Hillsdale.
With the governor’s new education spending plan, that could mean public dollars going to Hillsdale, a private Christian school in Michigan with close ties to former President Donald Trump’s administration.
According to the Transparent Tennessee website, in June of 2021, Tennessee taxpayers paid for Commissioner Penny Schwinn’s trip to Hillsdale to attend the school’s ‘American Classical Education 2021 Summer Conference”.
According to WKRN, Lee’s office said of the interactions with Hillsdale:
“We have invited Hillsdale to undergo the application process in an effort to introduce another high-quality k-12 public education option for Tennessee students.”
Two years ago, I traveled to Hillsdale College to participate in a Presidents Day celebration and spend time with champions of American exceptionalism.
For decades, Hillsdale College has been the standard bearer in quality curriculum and the responsibility of preserving American liberty.
I believe their efforts are a good fit for Tennessee, and we are formalizing a partnership with Hillsdale to expand their approach to civics education and K-12 education.
So, the press statement suggesting that Hillsdale has been “invited to apply” sounds a lot different than Lee’s words saying that Tennessee is “formalizing a partnership.” How does one walk back a nearly formalized partnership and turn it into a mere “invitation to undergo an application?” Does Hillsdale know Lee is backtracking amid pressure? Or is Lee attempting to obfuscate what is likely already a done deal?
