$8 Million

That’s how much groups seeking to privatize Tennessee’s public schools are spending lobbying the General Assembly, according to an analysis by NewsChannel5.

In a story on lobbying expenditures, NewsChannel5 noted that among the “big spenders” were school privatization groups:

Privatization groups pushing charter schools and school vouchers: just under $8 million over the past five years.

With Gov. Bill Lee at the helm, it seems that big money is paying off. Just last month, Lee announced plans to hand over millions in Tennessee tax dollars to a private, Christian college in Michigan to run a network of 50-100 charter schools in the state.

As 2022 is an election year, these special interests seeking to access Tennessee’s treasury to advance their financial interests will also have an opportunity to make campaign contributions. This means they can wine and dine lawmakers and the Governor during the legislative session and then cozy up to them by way of campaign cash in election season.

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