As Gov. Bill Lee prepares to leave office this year, that’s his legacy – changing the school funding formula, spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on private school discount coupons, and leading our state to dead last in school funding in the whole United States.
A recent story about Tennessee school funding notes not only is the state dead last in the nation in school funding, but also, the state’s investment in schools has dropped by 10% since the 2023-24 school year.
School funding in the state is dead last in the nation – and lower in real dollars than it was in the first year of TISA – 10% lower.
Teacher pay in the state?
Also lower than our neighbors – and lower in real dollars (6.5% lower) than a decade ago.
Lee’s legacy is clear: Less investment in schools, lower pay for teachers. Instead, Lee is spending $300 million next year to expand his private school discount coupon scheme – taking money from the least able to pay (and least likely to have access to private schools) and funneling it to the already quite wealthy.
Tennessee has now been ranked as the worst state in the nation for spending on public school students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The finding is part of a new report from the National Education Association that tracks teacher pay, student spending and education investment across the U.S.
The report shows that public school spending per student has dropped nearly 10% from the 2023-2024 school year. In that year, Tennessee ranked 48th in the nation for student spending.
The report places the Volunteer State 51st in per-pupil spending, behind every other state and the District of Columbia, prompting criticism from Democratic lawmakers who argue the numbers reflect years of underinvestment.
“It shows the state has prioritized big tax cuts and a private school program rather than dealing with the most important investment we make in the state’s future,” State Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) said.
The Trump administration plans to release more than $5 billion in funding to public schools that it has withheld for nearly a month, a senior administration official said Friday, ending weeks of anxiety and uncertainty for school leaders who had said the freeze jeopardized programs and staffing for the upcoming academic year.
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While leaders in some states are suing the Administration for release of the funds, Gov. Lee is not – and if the funds are not ultimately released, it could mean lost jobs and less programs for Tennessee kids most in need.
A spokesperson for Hamilton County Schools says they are at risk of losing $4.1 million that funds “several targeted services such as academic intervention (tutoring), teacher professional learning, and support for English learners.”
Nationally, the frozen funds amount to around $7 billion.
In Tennessee, the funds amount to $118 million. Of course, in the Volunteer State, Gov. Lee is all-in on Trumpism and so is cheering the demise of public schools.
Meanwhile, Attorneys General in some states – like North Carolina – are suing Trump to release the funds and avoid programmatic and staffing cuts.
Bill Lee’s “new frontier” looks a lot like Tennessee’s old frontier of school funding failure
Remember how Gov. Lee pushed a new school funding formula – TISA – to replace the state’s highly equitable but woefully inadequate BEP?
Remember how Lee promised TISA would usher in a bold new era of investment in Tennessee’s public schools?
Well, as it turns out, Lee’s rhetoric failed to match the reality. Or, those who warned about TISA were right – the new formula still provides inadequate funding to Tennessee’s public schools.
While in 2018, Tennessee ranked 42nd in the nation in school funding effort, today we rank 47th. On overall funding level, there has been no change since 2018 – that is, we’re still at 43rd.
So much for that new frontier Gov. Lee promised. Seems like the same old frontier of inadequate funding combined with the newness of even LESS effort to actually fund schools.
All of this continued lack of investment in school happened while the state enjoyed multiple years with huge (multi-billion dollar) budget surpluses. Rather than invest those funds in schools, Lee and his legislative allies gave out $1.6 billion in corporate tax breaks and $500 million to the Tennessee Titans to build a new stadium.
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Tennessee continues to fail when it comes to school funding
In spite of a new school funding formula AND Gov. Bill Lee’s promise to make Tennessee one of the top places to teach in America, the state continues to lag near the bottom in the nation in both per pupil spending AND teacher salary.
A new report reveals that average teacher pay in the state ranks Tennessee 44th in the nation – and among the lowest in the Southeast. Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia all pay their teachers more than Tennessee does.
National Education Association report on school funding
When it comes to per pupil spending, Tennessee is also in familiar territory: Near the bottom.
National Education Association report on school funding
Of course, Lee and his allies are fond of claiming everything is fine – that they’re doing a great job of funding schools. A few years back, I examined that claim up close and that takedown still applies:
So, the TN House GOP is all excited about spending $616 million plus over TEN years, while the state is sitting on a $3.1 billion surplus this year alone! That means we could spend $616 million in teacher salaries THIS YEAR and still have more than $2.4 billion LEFT to spend. Read that again. Republicans are bragging about taking an entire decade to allocate in total what is available THIS year and could be funded while still leaving $2.4 billion for other priorities.
When it comes to school funding, Tennessee stands at a solid “F” and our policymakers seem to be just fine with that.
After years of running budget surpluses, Tennessee this year has a bit of a budget crunch. For the first time in a decade, revenue numbers are coming below projections.
This is all happening while state leaders are pitching a $1.6 billion corporate tax break.
I’ve been writing about Tennessee policymakers missing the mark on investment in education for years now as well.
Beating a dead horse, some might say.
Over at The Education Report, I wrote recently about missed opportunities in that decade of surplus revenue.
Legislative leaders move forward with attempt to refuse federal education funding
House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally have appointed a Joint Legislative Task Force to explore the possibility of Tennessee refusing the nearly $2 billion the state receives in federal education funding each year.
More from The Tennessee Journal:
The 10-member panel will also report on the feasibility of the state rejecting federal funds and recommend a strategy to reject certain federal funds or eliminate unwanted restrictions placed on the state due to the receipt of such federal funds if it is feasible to do so.
Sexton has previously suggested using the state’s significant revenue surplus to replace federal dollars for schools.
It’s worth noting here that a bipartisan task force found that the state underfunds schools by around $1.7 billion a year.
This means that rather than use surplus dollars to make up the current funding shortfall, Sexton is suggesting using the surplus to maintain the inadequate status quo.
Rev. C. Don Jones, Pastor of the Andersonville United Methodist Church, said of the proposal:
“Tennessee public schools are primarily locally funded. Extra funds from the Federal government administered by the State government help schools in our rural areas that are cash strapped. I do not understand why the Speaker, the Governor, or the present Supermajority of the General Assembly chose to harm these communities.
“As a pastor in a rural community, I see the Speaker’s proposal as irresponsible to the citizens of Tennessee.”
Senate Democratic Leader Raumesh Akbari of Memphis said the federal funding is a key tool in leveling the playing field for students in economically disadvantaged areas of the state.
“Federal education funding for states is essential to ensure educational equity and opportunity for all American students. It serves as a vital pillar of our nation’s commitment to providing a quality education regardless of a student’s geographical location or socioeconomic background.”
This could the most idiotic discussion I’ve seen in the Tennessee General Assembly probably since not expanding Medicaid and costing our state over a billion dollars a year. If you have a child with an IEP then this will drastically harm your child!
The task force has not yet announced its first meeting.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
