Students in these districts (Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga) may receive a voucher in an amount equivalent to the state-generated funding provided to their home district for the student. Under the state’s new school funding formula (TISA), each student generates a specific dollar amount based on a range of factors. The vouchers should range from about $8,000 to around $15,000 depending on where a student lives, family income, and a series of other factors included in the TISA calculation.
In addition to vouchers, Lee is attempting to privatize the state’s public schools through a network of charter schools affiliated with extremist Hillsdale College.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Just days after it was revealed that Gov. Bill Lee’s privatizer of choice, Christian Nationalist Hillsdale College, will be again attempting to open publicly funded schools in the state, a move is underway to expand the state’s voucher program.
This despite Lee’s pledge when the program was approved in 2019 that it would be at least five years before vouchers moved beyond Memphis and Nashville.
Readers might well remember all the scandal surrounding that original voucher vote:
Now, Chalkbeatreports that Hamilton County state Senator Todd Gardenhire has introduced legislation that would expand the program to schools in Chattanooga.
Sen. Todd Gardenhire, a Chattanooga Republican, wants the legislature to expand the eligibility criteria for the education savings account program to include students in districts with at least five of the state’s lowest-performing schools, as identified in the last three “priority school” cycles since 2015.
Under those criteria, Hamilton County Schools, which is based in Chattanooga, would qualify
Make no mistake – the ultimate goal is full privatization of public education in Tennessee. It has been Gov. Lee’s goal all along:
In spite of years of evidence of where Bill Lee stands when it comes to supporting our public schools (he doesn’t), many school board members and county commissioners across the state supported his successful campaign. These local elected officials often touted his business acumen and support of vocational education as reasons to back him. However, it’s difficult to imagine these same officials just “didn’t know” Bill Lee backs a scheme to divert public money to private schools — a scheme that has failed miserably time and again in other states and localities.
More likely, they just didn’t care. 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.
Much the same can be said of 2022 – Lee spent four years assaulting public education and yet many local officials stood by him because he wears an “R” on his jersey and is affiliated with a familiar brand of Christianity.
Will these same elected officials be surprised when local taxes rise and public education is replaced by Hillsdale’s theocracy-promoting charters?
Or is this the future they’ve been waiting for?
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Will Tennessee librarians face criminal liability?
In May, I wrote about legislative attempts to criminalize school librarians if so-called “objectionable” books were found in the stacks of their libraries.
Apparently, the incoming District Attorney in Chattanooga is willing to consider criminal liability along these lines as she indicates in the video below.
Moms for McCarthyism (Moms for Liberty) Seeking to Eliminate Texts that Make them Uncomfortable
The Tennessean’s Meghan Mangrum reports that Cancel Culture “mom” group Moms for Liberty is working in support of an effort by Hamilton County School Board member Rhonda Thurman to ban certain books in Hamilton County Schools.
Thurman, a long-time board member, expressed concerns in an op-ed last week over the use of curse words and references to sex and violence depicted in library books found in Hamilton County schools.
Thurman referenced four books: “More Than We Can Tell” by Brigid Kemmerer, “On the Come Up” by Angie Thomas, “Far from the Tree” by Robin Benway and “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas and called for them to be removed.
Mangrum notes that groups representing librarians in Tennessee are opposing Thurman’s efforts:
But Tennessee librarians argue students’ “freedom to read and unfettered access to information” is protected by their First Amendment rights.
“Every book is not for every reader but every child should have access to books they may want to read. School librarians strive to know learners and assist them in finding books that fit their needs and interests. Ready access to a wide variety of reading materials increases the chances that learners will become readers and choose to read,” read a statement from the groups released Thursday.
The move in Hamilton County comes as Moms for Liberty is causing chaos in Williamson County and looking to spread its cancel culture vibe to Sumner County.
Teachers in Hamilton County are seeing a strong outpouring of community support ahead of a planned town hall meeting do discuss teacher compensation, according to a story in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press:
Hundreds of teachers and supporters of public education are continuing to organize ahead of a Sunday town hall aimed at discussing teacher compensation and how to fund public education in Hamilton County.
The move comes as teachers in Hamilton are highlighting both low pay and a significant amount of uncompensated time and out-of-pocket expenses:
“If those averages apply to the entire county, we’ve got about $2.5 million in uncompensated time and expenses that we’ve given,” said Brock.
The teacher pay crisis in Hamilton County comes as districts across Tennessee struggle to attract and retain teachers. Shelby County has explored a significant pay raise and Nashville’s school board recently heard a proposal about boosting pay.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
The Hamilton County Commission last night removed a proposed 34 cent property tax increase that would have funded a school budget that included raises for teachers and hiring additional school counselors.
Here’s more on what the proposed budget would have provided to Hamilton County Schools:
The move in Hamilton County follows a similar property tax increase rejection in Davidson County (Nashville). The financial strains in both Chattanooga and Nashville are indicative of the failing state school funding formula (BEP). By some estimates, the state underfunds the BEP by at least $500 million each year.
There’s currently a lawsuit pending challenging the adequacy of state funding for schools.
It’s also worth noting that the General Assembly passed a voucher plan this year that will mean less money available to fund school districts across the state.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
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