Tennessee Lookout has a story out about the first partisan school board races in the state. The piece examines the issue through the lens of races in Williamson County.
The responses in the District 10 race are pretty interesting. That race features incumbent Eric Welch and challengers Doc Holladay and Jennifer Haile.
In summarizing the race, Welch offers this comparison between his candidacy and that of Holladay:
I’m focused on students, and what needs to be done to provide them a world-class education that they can build a successful future on. Holladay is focused on social media hot-button issues that really aren’t applicable to Williamson County Schools.
Here’s how Holladay sums things up:
The polarization of political views has especially created a divide in how we want to educate and raise our children. The left has held the steering wheel of public education for decades now, and look at what that has produced in our schools: Marxism, socialism, grooming our kids in gender ideology, pornographic material in our libraries, divisive & racist curriculums like (Critical Race Theory), “white privilege,” “guilt training,” vilifying our founding fathers and our country, untold psychological and developmental damage from useless masking, a massive push to jab them with potentially harmful experimental gene therapy drugs and an effort to divide them ideologically from their parents.
And Haile has this to say:
Race, gender and inequality, “CRT” as I understand it, simply does not exist in the K-12 curriculum. What we are talking about is the discussion of the human experience. I think if we approach discussions of race, gender and equality as an issue involving fairness, kindness and understanding, we remove political agendas. Of course, any curriculum must be age-appropriate and reviewed by parties who are knowledgeable about the subject; but the answer is not to pretend it does not exist and/or fail to adequately prepare our students for a diverse world.
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This story about the Williamson County School Board race first appeared on NewsBreak:
Eric Welch today announced a slew of endorsements in his campaign for re-election to the District 10 School Board seat in Williamson County.
Welch is the incumbent representative for the 10th District seat on the Williamson County Schools Board of Education. He was first elected in 2010 and has served three previous terms on the school board, including an appointment by the County Commission in 2017 followed by another successful general election campaign in 2018. Eric’s children attended FSSD and graduated from WCS high schools, where he was active in the PTOs and Booster clubs including multiple leadership roles in these parent organizations.
In announcing the endorsements, Welch noted his appreciation for the support of individuals from across the educational spectrum in Williamson County.
“I’m extremely proud and humbled to have the support of so many individuals that have been a part of making Williamson County synonymous with the best schools in Tennessee, and among the very best nationally,” said Welch. “I look forward to continuing to represent and advocate for our kids and families for another term on the Board of Education as the 10th District WCS School Board Representative,” said Welch.
A group of 13 former Williamson County School Board members said in a statement they believe Welch is the right choice to continue serving District 10 on the Board of Education.
“We believe in the high value of great public schools. As members of the Williamson County School Board, we had the distinct honor and privilege to serve our great community with Eric Welch during our individual tenures. Eric is an effective communicator, a careful listener, and an informed, thoughtful decision-makers who interacts with others with the greatest care, respect, and professionalism. He models the highest standards of personal integrity and performance, always. Eric’s previous School Board experience, outstanding character, and tireless commitment to Williamson County Schools and the community at large make him the best choice to continue the tradition of excellence for Williamson County Schools. We are proud to support Eric for the District 10 Williamson County School Board seat.”
Former Board members backing Welch include:
Pat Anderson, District 8 & WCS BOE Chairwoman (2002-14)
D’Wayne Greer, District 1 (2004-12)
Ken Peterson, District 1 (2012-15)
Janice Mills, District 2 (2002-14)
Janine Moore, District 3 (2007-2012)
Anne McGraw, District 4 (2015-18)
Brad Fiscus, District 4 (2018-21)
Terry Leve, J.D., District 6 (2006-12)
Cherie Hammond, District 6 (2012-14)
Dr. Bobby Hullett, District 7 (2012-2018)
Susan Graham, District 7 (2008-12)
Barry Watkins, District 9 (2005-2011)
Vicki Vogt, District 12 (2010-14)
Welch also announced the backing of a number of former PTO leaders, including:
Pat Anderson, PTO President Franklin High School
Michelle Behan, WCS PTO Leadership Council & PTO President Chapmans’ Retreat Elementary, Allendale Elementary, Summit High School
Susan Graham, PTO President Scales Elementary, Brentwood Middle, Brentwood High School
Cherie Hammond, WCS PTO Leadership Council & PTO President Ravenwood High School
Sabrina Kronk, PTO President Franklin High School
Janine Moore, PTO Trinity Elementary, Page Middle, Page High School
Stacy Parish, WCS PTO Leadership Council & PTO President Allendale Elementary & Bethesda Middle
Ken Peterson, PTO President Westwood Elementary School
Debbie Roth, WCS PTO Leadership Council & PTO President Woodland Middle & Ravenwood High School
Shelly Sassen, PTO President Centennial High School
These leaders issued a statement saying:
“We enthusiastically endorse Eric Welch for Re-Election to the Williamson County Schools Board of Education. Eric has a servant’s heart and has been a faithful volunteer in the WCS and Franklin Special School District for nearly two decades. We have witnessed his dedication to and advocacy for Williamson County Schools and all its stakeholders: students, staff, and supporters. He leads by example and that leadership is needed back on our Board of Education.”
Finally, the campaign announced the support of former school system leaders and education organization leaders including:
Dr. Michael Looney, Past WCS Superintendent of Schools and 2016 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year
Dr. Donna Wright, Past WCS Assistant Superintendent for Middle & High School Education and 2020 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year
Denise Goodwin, Past WCS Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education
Tim Gaddis, Past Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
Leslie Holman Judd, Past Assistant Superintendent of Finance/CFO
Kevin Fortney, Past Director of Facilities and Construction
Dr. Alicia Spencer Barker
Robin Newman
Tim Stillings
Kevin Townsel, J.D
Matt Magallanes
Dr. Richard Ianelli
Eric Welch
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Williamson County School Board member Eric Welch provided an analysis of the agenda of Moms for Liberty on a Twitter thread recently. Then, he outlined the reality of the curriculum selection/textbook adoption process in Williamson County and highlighted an alternative text proposed by Moms for Liberty – all in a public meeting of the school board.
Here’s video of Welch discussing the manufactured controversy driven by parents who often don’t even have kids in public schools:
Williamson County School Board member Eric Welch offers this commentary on TNReady and vouchers:
HAPPY TN READY WEEK!!! Are you excited???
Oh wow…..that’s a lot of one finger salutes….😟.
So you’re saying you aren’t a fan of the state’s mandated TN Ready testing and your satisfaction levels so far are akin to the Comcast customer service line?
Well you may want to stop reading now because the fact is that under the proposed Voucher bills currently before the Tennessee legislature, those tests are just for your kids. Those using public dollars for private for-profit schools in the form of vouchers wouldn’t be subject to the same apples-to-apples testing requirement.
“Students receiving education savings accounts — a newer kind of voucher now under consideration by the Tennessee General Assembly — would have to take half as many tests as their counterparts in public schools.
The retreat in accountability for a proposed pilot program even has some of the new Republican governor’s supporters scratching their heads.
“I would think that we would want the recipients to go through the full battery of assessments that students in public schools would receive,” said freshman Rep. Charlie Baum, a Republican from Murfreesboro, of the need to “compare apples to apples” in measuring the program’s success.”
The information on the site indicates that students in 3rd grade can expect to spend 5 hours and 45 minutes testing. Of course, this all happens over a week, and means students effectively lose days of instructional time.
This year, many Tennessee students are taking tests on pencil and paper since our TNDOE can’t predict when hackers or dump trucks will attack the integrity of our state’s tests.
Next year, as we shift to a new vendor, we’ll also see students take pencil and paper tests. Then, back to online TNReady for testing in the 2020-21 academic year.
No word from our new Commissioner of Education on amending our state’s ESSA application to change testing formats or move away from annual testing altogether.
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In an absolutely epic Twitter thread, Williamson County School Board member Eric Welch makes a case for vouchers. Actually, he makes a case for voucher-level funding for public schools. Welch uses math to make his case. Here are some examples:
Per the @Tennessean, @GovBillLee will provide $7,300 per student in the form of a state-funded voucher for use at for-profit private schools able to discriminate on the basis of special needs, academic achievement, religion, disciplinary concerns, religious views, etc (3)
In fact, let’s do the math. $7,300-$3,410=$3,890 per student funding difference. 40,811 enrolled students X $3,890 = $158,754,790 in additional funding if @GovBillLee’s budget funded @WCSedu as equitably as it proposes to fund for-profit schools (5)
So maybe a voucher for public schools is what students like mine need. Because frankly, what our state currently provides (45th nationally in education funding) isn’t cutting it and it’s not sustainable. (16)
Welch notes the significant funding gap between vouchers and the dollar amount per student Williamson County receives from the state based on the BEP formula. This is an important distinction. The BEP formula generates a per student dollar amount (currently $7300) and then devises an amount owed to local districts based on each district’s ability to pay. So, in some districts, the state sends a lot of money and in others, like Williamson, not so much.
Factors involved in generating the total number are based on a school system’s average daily attendance. That number then generates a number of teachers, administrators, and other positions. The state funds each system’s BEP teacher number at 70% — that is, the state sends 70% of the average weighted salary (around $45,000 currently) to the district for each teaching position generated by the BEP.
Let’s be clear: The BEP is inadequate. Every single district hires more teachers (and other positions) than generated by the BEP. Local districts fund 100% of those costs.
Before the state was taken to court over inadequate funding, the BEP Review Committee used to list a series of recommendations on ways to improve the funding formula to adequately meet the needs of our state’s public schools.
While routinely ignored by policymakers, this list provided a guide to where Tennessee should be investing money to improve the overall public education offered in our state.
Here are some examples from the most recent version of this list:
Fund ELL Teachers 1:20 — COST: $28,709,000
Fund ELL Translators 1:200 COST: $2,866,000
Instructional Component at funded at 75% by State COST: $153,448,000
Insurance at 50% COST: $26,110,000
BEP 2.0 Fully Implemented COST: $133,910,000
Some notes here –
First, BEP 2.0 was frozen by Governor Haslam as he “re-worked” funding distribution and supposedly focused on teacher pay.
Next, the state currently provides districts 45% of employee health insurance for ONLY the BEP -generated positions. Districts must fund 100% of the benefit cost for teachers hired about the BEP number.
Finally, beefing up the instructional component by 5% as recommended here would mean significant new dollars available for either hiring teachers or boosting teacher pay or both.
Here are some “wish list” items on teacher pay, which reflect that our state has long known we’re not paying our teachers well:
BEP Salary at $45,447 COST: $266,165,000
BEP Salary at $50,447 COST: $532,324,000
BEP Salary at Southeastern average $50,359 COST: $527,646,000
BEP Salary at State average (FY14) $50,116 COST: $514,703,000
These are FY14 numbers — so, that’s been a few years. Still, funding teacher pay at the actual average spent by districts (just over $50,000 a year) would mean significant new funding for schools that could be invested in teacher salaries. We don’t fund teacher pay at the actual average, though, we fund it at a “weighted” average that is thousands less than this actual number. Then, districts receive only 70% of that weighted number per BEP position.
Making the large scale jump necessary to truly help direct state BEP dollars into teacher paychecks and provide a much-needed boost to salaries would cost close to $500 million. Bill Lee’s budget this year provides a paltry $71 million, continuing the tradition of talking a good game while letting teacher pay in our state continue to stagnate.
Here are some other recommendations — ideas that Welch suggests districts could pursue if only they were funded at the same level Bill Lee is proposing for private schools:
Change funding ratio for psychologists from 1:2,500 to 1:500 $57,518,000
Change funding ratio for elementary counselors from 1:500 to 1:250 $39,409,000
Change funding ratio for secondary counselors from 1:350 to 1:250 $18,079,000
Change funding ratio for all counselors to 1:250 $57,497,000
Change Assistant Principal ratio to SACS standard $11,739,000
Change 7-12 funding ratios, including CTE, by 3 students $87,928,000
New BEP Component for Mentors (1:12 new professional positions) $17,670,000
Professional Development (1% of instructional salaries) $25,576,000
Change funding ratios for nurses from 1:3,000 to 1:1,500 $12,194,000
Change funding ratios for Technology Coordinators from 1:6,400 to 1:3,200 $4,150,000
Increase Funding for teacher materials and supplies by $100 $6,336,000
Instructional Technology Coordinator (1 per LEA) $5,268,000
If you look at these numbers, you see that a state committee of professional educators (the BEP Review Committee) has been telling state policymakers that Tennessee needs to do more.
They’ve been saying it for years.
Now, we have a Governor who is suggesting that instead of spending state dollars to meet these needs, we’re going to spend them to prop up private schools with little to no accountability.
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Williamson Strong has more on the evolving situation in Williamson County where a County Commission reluctant to raise revenue is forcing the School Board to make budget cuts.
Using information on spending relative to peer districts, Williamson Strong notes there’s no spending problem in Williamson County, and in fact, Williamson spends significantly less than other top districts and even has lower per pupil expenditures than the state average:
Of the top 10 districts in terms of academic performance (measured by ACT/TCAP), WCS has the lowest per pupil expenditure. WCS spends only $8,945 per student – $1,790 less than the average PPE of the top 10 districts.
For reference, Franklin Special School District, the K-8 district that sits in the heart of Williamson County, spends $13,386 per student – almost 50% more per child than WCS. WCS also spends below the state average – $554 per student less than Tennessee’s average $9,499. Keep in mind that Tennessee is typically in the bottom ten states for per pupil expenditures. (See former School Board member Eric Welch’s graphs for comparison to state and national figures as well as to area private school tuitions.)
Additionally, WCS’ average teacher pay of $49,934 is $3,729 below the average of the top 10 districts in the state. Williamson’s spending on salaries is not out of control, and in fact, is less than peer districts. Again, for comparison, FSSD’s average teacher salary is $55,305.
So, the School Board passed budget cuts of $6 million this week. The alternative would have been for the County Commission to raise property taxes by six cents. That would cost a taxpayer with a $400,000 home $60 a year. Or, one Starbucks drink a month.
While this may not be a huge setback this year, it’s unsustainable in a district growing as rapidly as Williamson County. At some point, the level of service provided to students will noticeably suffer. Until then, have another Caramel Macchiato.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
