Chalkbeat

Memphis schools budget earns approval after more than a month of delay

2026-08-11T20:38:14+00:00

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The Shelby County Commission voted 7-4 Monday to approve Memphis schools’ budget for the 2026-27 year, over a month after the usual decision deadline.

During the meeting, Commissioner Michael Whaley said the delay came from “redundancies” in the budget approval process that he plans to change. He said Memphis-Shelby County board members first sent their proposal to commission leadership rather than individual commissioners, causing a delay.

The commission then sent the budget back to MSCS with an amendment that moved $11.9 million into the district’s deferred maintenance budget instead of setting the money aside for a new Treadwell K-8 School, as Mayor Lee Harris initially proposed. The local board approved that version in its meeting last month.

MSCS board members first approved the $1.7 billion budget at the end of May, on the brink of a state takeover that would strip them of the independent power to approve budgets for the next four years. The budget includes bonuses for teachers who fill high-need positions and around $200 million for building repairs.

A federal judge temporarily blocked MSCS’ state-appointed oversight board from taking control of district operations at the end of June. But Memphis students have been back in the classroom for over a week, and the budget was meant to be finalized by July 1.

Some commissioners criticized MSCS officials for not sending a representative to answer questions at Monday’s meeting, though Whaley said MSCS was not responsible for the budget delays.

“I just simply can’t support it if there’s no one here to advocate it,” said Commissioner Mick Wright. “It’s really a shame.”

Wright voted against MSCS’ budget, alongside Commissioners Britney Thornton, Amber Mills, and Brandon Morrison.

But Commissioner Henri Brooks, who voted to pass the budget, said her colleagues’ criticism of MSCS officials was becoming personal and urged them to stop “browbeating” district leaders.

“We have a constitutional responsibility to fund education,” she said.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee releases final results of Memphis schools forensic audit

2026-07-08T18:27:52+00:00

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Long-awaited results from the state-ordered forensic audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools were released Wednesday as the legal battle continues over who will lead the district for the next four years.

The 667-page report on district finances and operations, completed June 30, identified over $54 million in MSCS spending as evidence of potential fraud, waste, or abuse. State Comptroller Jason Mumpower said the audit shows not one-off mistakes but “systemic failures” in district management from 2021 to 2024.

More than $48 million of that spending comes from a single custodial contract granted to ServiceMaster Clean in 2022, despite initial recommendations to hire multiple vendors for custodial services across the district. The contract was canceled a year later after school staff and families complained about unclean schools.

An earlier internal district audit flagged the contract after a whistleblower alleged its cost was inflated to account for “kickbacks.” As the district investigated, the chief of business operations was placed on administrative leave and later resigned. An operations sourcing manager also resigned from the district after internal auditors requested contract paperwork.

According to the state audit, the district referred the matter to the FBI. Auditors from CliftonLarsonAllen, or CLA, the accounting firm that conducted the forensic review, said they could not verify the outcome of that case or verify the allegations made in the initial audit.

CLA also identified more than $65 million in spending that violated district policies but did not rise to the level of waste, fraud, or abuse. And the final report highlights fragmented recordkeeping systems and internal control deficiencies across multiple departments.

Part of that is due to consistent leadership turnover, the audit says, which “impacted the retention of staff, eroded institutional knowledge, [and] created inefficiencies in the organizational stability” of the district. That includes multiple invoices without proper approval and instances of two vendors hired to do the same job.

In a statement posted on X, MSCS emphasized that the audit covers a time period predating current leadership.

“The work to strengthen our organization did not begin with this audit,” the statement says. “Strengthening oversight, enhancing internal controls, and improving operational practices, and increasing accountability have been ongoing priorities for the District.”

CLA also said that MSCS’ local school board and legal counsel had multiple email conversations that potentially violate Tennessee’s Open Meetings Act, including discussions on superintendent searches and contract negotiations.

“The observed patterns reflect a risk that Board business was discussed, advanced, or shaped outside the public meeting process,” the final report says.

Initial findings from the audit released in April spurred the passage of MSCS’ state takeover law. But the nine-member oversight board that Tennessee Republicans say will correct district mismanagement is temporarily unable to assume control over key MSCS decisions. A federal judge issued an order blocking the board’s authority on June 30, the night before its four-year tenure was set to begin.

The ruling was an early win for MSCS and the local government leaders who filed a lawsuit challenging the takeover as unconstitutional last month. The temporary block will remain in place at least until the court holds a full hearing, which has not been scheduled.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton on Wednesday called on Memphis and Shelby County parents to ask the board to withdraw the lawsuit, saying “time is of the essence” to turn the district around.

“They need to withdraw their lawsuit. Otherwise, all they’re doing is delaying the change that is needed in their school system,” Sexton said.

The preliminary audit findings, released when the review was only 25% complete, identified more than $1 million in MSCS spending that auditors considered waste or abuse over a three-year period. That represents less than 1% of the Memphis district’s operating budget.

The findings also pointed to issues with leadership instability and staff retention that auditors said contributed to a lack of institutional knowledge and weaknesses in accountability and recordkeeping. MSCS has had four superintendents in the past five years, a trend Superintendent Roderick Richmond has said has undermined public trust and district management.

Days before the initial results were released, MSCS leaders adopted plans to strengthen internal controls and modernize document systems. Richmond pledged that more than 80% of the district’s employee files and 95% of payroll documentation would be complete by the summer.

According to the district’s live accountability website, most of those goals are in progress or haven’t been started yet. An MSCS representative told Chalkbeat Tuesday there will be an updated report following the final audit release.

Under the district’s accountability plan, Richmond has 45 days to identify the key issues outlined in the final report and present a corrective action plan to the board.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

MSCS will pay the state oversight board’s salary. But who will fund its work?

2026-06-26T18:55:35+00:00

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Tennessee is bringing in a state oversight board to control Memphis school decisions. But it’s still unclear how much of the board’s work will be paid for by the state and how much will fall to Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Chalkbeat confirmed that Memphis-Shelby County Schools will use its own nearly $2 billion budget to pay the salaries of the nine state-appointed board members. Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, one of the original bill sponsors, said each member will receive $30,000, the same amount paid to locally elected school board members.

As for funding the oversight board’s operations, there are two potential sources of money. Starting July 1, the oversight board could amend MSCS’ local budget for any expenses it deems necessary, White said. The board will also have access to a designated state reserve fund totaling between $500,000 and $1 million.

The state takeover law passed this spring mandates the Tennessee Department of Education to set aside that money. White said the reserve fund is intended to cover the oversight board’s “startup costs” during its first 90 days in office, such as hiring an executive director.

On Friday, state board members began the process to hire legal counsel. That came on the same day that MSCS added each individual oversight board member to a lawsuit challenging the takeover law as unconstitutional.

Beyond board salaries, White said he couldn’t specify which expenses would be covered by the state reserve fund and which would come from the local district budget. The law establishing the reserve fund appears to place no restrictions on how the money can be spent.

Access to state funding doesn’t end after those first few months. White said the oversight board can continue using the reserve fund for expenses “needed to accelerate the activities of the transformation plan, communications, legal support, and other activities of the board that may need funding outside of general district contracting.”

It’s not yet entirely clear how the board can access the state funds. White, one of the law’s architects, said the board will not have to apply to draw down the funds. But a Tennessee Department of Education spokesperson indicated the board will have to apply for grants to access funds.

Billy Orgel, who chairs the state oversight board, said he’s not afraid to use district money for future oversight board plans. He said it’s normal for MSCS leaders to amend the district budget each year.

“We’re a new state agency,” Orgel said. “So we’re going to have to figure this out. Our state employees and departments will help us.”

The law says any state money not spent by the oversight board this year will carry over to the next. The MSCS oversight board will remain in place for at least the next four years.

Orgel confirmed Thursday that the oversight board is a state body after initial confusion over whether it would be designated as a local body. Supporters of the board have repeatedly said the new body is not a state takeover, despite being appointed by the state’s top elected Republicans.

The oversight board will be subject to Tennessee’s transparency laws for public bodies, including open meetings and public records requirements.

This story has been updated to include information from Friday’s state oversight board meeting and MSCS’ lawsuit.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis school board approves last budget before impending state takeover

2026-05-26T23:53:33+00:00

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Memphis-Shelby County school board members unanimously approved a $1.7 billion budget on Tuesday that will likely be their last before the state takeover comes into the district.

District officials will present their plan for the 2026-2027 school year to the Shelby County Commission tomorrow for approval. This comes as top Republican leaders in Nashville have appointed eight of nine members to a state oversight board that will seize control of final budget decisions for the next four years.

It’s unclear whether the state-appointed board members will be able to change the district’s proposed budget. Under the law signed last week by Gov. Bill Lee, the oversight board will be able to block the Shelby County Commission from approving the MSCS annual budget until the oversight board gives its approval.

Local board members did not discuss the proposed budget during Tuesday’s meeting. Board Chair Natalie McKinney said the district gave a full presentation two weeks ago at the work session meeting.

“And we were able to ask questions at that time,” McKinney said. “So now we are at a point where the administration is asking us to now adopt that.”

Though most of the state board has been appointed, it has not yet met, and it’s unclear if it will before the budget gets final approval from the commission and the state education department. MSCS is considering its legal options to challenge the takeover and a companion law that effectively blocks the school board from using district funds to pay for legal action.

This year’s proposed annual budget is $200 million less than last year and includes bonuses for teachers who remain in their current positions and those who serve in priority schools, which have the lowest performance rates in the district.

It also asks for just short of $200 million for school building repairs, mostly big-ticket items like replacing roofing and HVAC systems. And the budget reflects a cutback on COVID-era support positions that were largely funded by pandemic relief dollars.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

4 things to know about the next Memphis schools budget proposal

2026-05-18T11:00:00+00:00

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Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders are proposing a $1.7 billion dollar budget for the 2026-27 school year, as a new state-appointed board comes in to assume control of the district’s financial decisions.

The MSCS board is set to vote on the proposed budget, which is a reduction from last year’s $1.9 billion budget, at its May 26 meeting. The budget then goes to the Shelby County Commission for final approval. But the state takeover of the district, which would seize budget power from the local board, is waiting to be signed into law by Gov. Lee.

It’s unclear whether those nine GOP-selected members would be able to touch this year’s budget. Their terms are set to start on July 1.

Most of the district’s budget is taken up by mandated costs, said Chief of Business Operations Tito Langston, including staff salaries and transportation. In a presentation to the county commission last week, Langston said the district is left with around $500 million to spend on additional services.

Here are four key takeaways from MSCS’ budget proposal:

Low enrollment could take a bite out of funds

County and state funding hinges on student enrollment, which has dropped by over 9% in MSCS over the past decade — far outpacing state and national trends.

In a March budget planning meeting, Langston said projected enrollment is up by 1% next year in traditional charter schools because of the reabsorption of two former Achievement School District buildings. But the state says MSCS lost 2,400 more students than anticipated in last year’s projections.

Langston said that those numbers still need to be verified, because they could equate to millions of dollars being taken away from MSCS’ state funding. He said the district can also make up that difference by improving attendance, which factors into county funding.

Shelby County only counts the percentage of enrolled students who show up to school. Right now, MSCS has a 92% attendance rate. But for every 1% increase, Langston said, the district could receive $800,000 additional dollars.

“So what’s important is for every kid you’ve got to come to school,” he said.

In that same meeting, Superintendent Roderick Richmond said dwindling enrollment is a motivating factor for closing and merging schools to save money. In December, Richmond announced a plan to close up to 15 schools in the next three years, starting with five this June.

“We all know that we really have too many schools for us to truly be able to sustain both the student population, but also to be able to leverage our human capital,” he said.

Bonuses included for teachers who stay in high-need positions

MSCS is proposing to offer $1,000 bonuses for fully-certified teachers who stay at their current school through the next year, and $2,500 bonuses for those who do the same in priority or CSI schools.

They’re also hoping to offer $2,500 sign-on bonuses for new special education and priority school hires.

In last week’s presentation to the commission, Langston said that’s because research shows consistency in teacher relationships boosts student achievement.

Richmond said in March that he wants to start next year with less than 100 teacher vacancies, down from 226 last year. Vacancy rates are highest in positions being offered the bonuses, including in special education and priority/CSI schools.

$200 million ask for building repairs, especially former ASD schools

MSCS leaders are asking the county for just under $200 million to address long-delayed and pressing building improvements, a project they’ve been spearheading since the beginning of this year.

Last year, the district had to cut some renovation and repairs after the Shelby County Commission failed to fill the full $35 million capital ask.

According to data obtained by Chalkbeat, most of that money would go towards big-ticket fixes like replacing roofing, electrical, and HVAC systems. Melrose High School is budgeted for the most expensive investment at just over $10 million, with Kirby High School right behind at $9 million.

In March, Richmond said the district has spent $20-30 million in recent years on schools returning from the failed state-run Achievement School District, or ASD. In 2022, MSCS reabsorbed four ASD schools in Frayser and a charter school in Orange Mound in 2023.

“All the ways we’ve evolved in the past 10 years and systems we invested in, they haven’t,” said Michelle Stuart, MSCS’ facilities director. That means the district funnels money into updating cafeterias and intercom equipment.

The last two ASD schools, Kirby Middle and Hillcrest High, will return to MSCS control next school year.

Cutbacks on COVID-era school support positions

Last year, MSCS invested an additional $30 million in specialized education assistants, or SEAs, who are school-based staff that provide one-on-one tutoring to struggling students.

But this year, district leaders are eliminating almost 100 of those positions and changing the remaining 600 to 10-month employees instead of 1212-month hires. In an April budget meeting, Langston said that helps MSCS fill a $36 million budget gap in the original proposal.

Richmond said the specialized education assistant model is no longer sustainable. The positions were originally funded using pandemic-era relief money that has since expired.

Langston said district leaders hope to help more SEAs transition into full-time certified teaching roles. And since they’re no longer working summer months, those staffers can take jobs working for the summer learning academy or other jobs outside of MSCS.

SEAs will no longer be fully paid for spring and fall breaks. Their salary will stay the same, according to a district email obtained by Chalkbeat, but payments will be spread across 10 months and face higher benefits deductions.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Shelby County Commission votes to fund MSCS takeover lawsuit

2026-05-04T23:07:03+00:00

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The Shelby County Commission voted Monday to set aside $200,000 for a lawsuit challenging the state takeover of Memphis schools.

The local school board unanimously voted two weeks ago to hire a lawyer for the same purpose. The next day, Tennessee Republicans passed their bill to appoint a nine-member oversight board that will seize control of key district decisions.

But a law signed by Gov. Bill Lee on April 21, hours before the school board litigation vote, prevents the district from using public dollars to sue the state over accountability measures, which could include the state takeover. Memphis Rep. Mark White, one of the takeover bill sponsors, told Chalkbeat Monday that the commission is looking for a loophole by using money not strictly set aside for education purposes.

Instead, the $200,000 is from the county’s general fund and being designated to use in legal action.

But White said he’s confident the takeover bill is legal and constitutional. A lawsuit now would be “a waste of time and a waste of money,” he said.

“We feel very confident that we’re on solid ground,” White said. “My goal is we all get on the same team now that we passed the bill.”

Some community members also told Chalkbeat they are doubtful a lawsuit will succeed in reversing the takeover legislation. But during Monday’s special call meeting, Commissioner Charlie Caswell said this isn’t the time to give up on a fight.

“This is just a door opening to many other things that’s to follow,” he said. “And if we don’t stand on something we’re going to fall for any and everything.”

Eight commissioners voted to approve the lawsuit funding, including Michael Whaley, who was absent for a vote last week that failed to put the investment on a general meeting agenda. Commissioner Britney Thornton once again crossed party lines to reject the proposal alongside her Republican colleagues Amber Mills and Mick Wright.

The county government’s resolution, sponsored by Commissioners Mickell Lowery and Matthew Szalaj, accuses state lawmakers of imposing the oversight board on MSCS without consent from Shelby County voters or elected leaders. It also says local taxpayers will foot the bill for the oversight board members “to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and likely a million dollars or more over four years.”

It’s unclear when MSCS will file its lawsuit or whether it will file joint action with the county commission. District leaders have said they’re waiting until the takeover bill is signed into law to make any official moves.

White told Chalkbeat that he expects Lee to sign the takeover bill into law this week. Oversight board members will be named “pretty much immediately” after that, he said.

Opponents to the lawsuit funding said during Monday’s meeting that local leadership hasn’t improved the district or student outcomes for years.The county commission issued a vote of no confidence against the MSCS board in January 2025, after the controversial firing of then-Superintendent Marie Feagins.

“We’re pulling money from nowhere, money we don’t have by the way … to assist a school system that has blatantly failed our kids,” Commissioner Wright said. “And we’ve had how many months of this chamber filled with parents who are desperate for something to change?”

Mayor Lee Harris, who spoke in support of funding the MSCS lawsuit Monday, said the county has flexibility to delay some ongoing projects in order to free up money for the district’s legal action.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

These Memphis-area students are lobbying for mental health investments

2026-03-12T20:28:01+00:00

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On a Monday night in December, around 20 Memphis and Shelby County students sat in a conference room illuminated by a big screen projecting policy recommendations.

The group discussion sounded nearly identical to a local government meeting, aside from the occasional “6-7” joke. One at a time, the high schoolers that make up the Shelby County Youth Council suggested tweaks and changes to the policies they’ve been brainstorming since August to improve local life and especially mental health for young people.

“I feel like we’re coming in very strong about the things that we want to do,” said Maura Young, a senior at Collierville High School. “Maybe we need to take smaller steps.”

That comment was met with grumbles of disapproval from some. To be fair, a few of the goals sound lofty, like completely eliminating AI use in local government or spending $1 million to create an online hub for local mental health resources.

But with budget season just around the corner, the student leaders are trying to convince county and city leaders to fund even one of their youth-centered solutions. They’ve been making their case at county commission and school board meetings since last fall.

This school year, the group is focused on addressing youth mental health issues, which have increased in Shelby County and nationwide since the pandemic.

“I live in South Memphis, where you see a lot of stuff,” Marc Williams, a sophomore at Hollis F. Price Middle College High School, said. “It could be violence or going to broken homes, dysfunctional homes. It could be that [students] may not have food for a night.”

Tennessee ranks as one of the worst states in the country for youth mental health, with high rates of mental health conditions and low access to care. In 2021, for example, more than half of 12-to-17-year-olds struggling with depression in Tennessee did not receive help. Nearly a quarter of Shelby County high schoolers reported seriously considering suicide that year, according to the Centers for Disease and Prevention.

The mental health resource hub, one of the group’s top policy recommendations, would include a website and an in-person team to answer phone calls from Shelby County teens.

“Resources here are very scattered, and you have to do so much manual research before you can even find services,” Williams said. “It’s very based on like, tell a friend, tell a friend, instead of it being like, ‘Hey, if you need help, come here and you have all the resources.’”

Collecting data for the hub would also help identify gaps in local resources, said SCYC member Madison Thomas.

“A lot of people are duplicating efforts that don’t need to be duplicated,” Thomas, a junior at Lausanne Collegiate School in East Memphis, said. “Right now we’re very saturated in awareness efforts, but it distracts from concrete resources that could help.”

SCYC is also pushing for more school social workers and counselors, wellness rooms for decompression during the school day, and a student advisory board that would regularly meet with county and city leaders to direct mental health initiatives.

The student group, also called SCYC, is run by local nonprofit Bridges USA and has been fully funded by the Shelby County government since 2019. Around 25 student members receive $15 per hour wages for their work each year.

Zachary Harris, a junior at Lakeland Preparatory School, has been on the council for three years. He said his goal is to get just one of the group’s priorities written into the county, city, or school system budget. In September, the county commission approved a resolution to consider the group’s recommendations for budget spending but haven’t adopted one yet.

“Knowing that we can touch the budget even a little bit is all that we need to get started,” Harris told Chalkbeat. “Because if we can do it once, we can do it again.”

Youth council trains Memphis students to be public advocates

Each spring, SCYC hosts the Youth Voices Summit to train fellow peers on how to advocate for their own causes. On Feb. 28, more than 130 students showed up at the Bridges building downtown to practice giving public comments that typically happen in local government meetings to a crowd of almost 80 community leaders and 15 elected officials.

Dorian Allert, a senior at White Station High School, advocated for hiring more school mental health professionals. Her school, which holds almost 2,000 students, has only one social worker and one psychologist on staff.

“School counselors and social workers are overwhelmed, overworked, and underpaid,” Allert said. “Students looking for mental health support have to wait days or even weeks to get an appointment.”

It was MSCS Board Chair Natalie McKinney’s second time attending the summit. This year, she was drawn to SCYC’s proposal to create a youth mental health advisory board.

“That has been an ongoing and persistent ask from our youth since the pandemic,” McKinney said. “What I always stress is this has to be a collaborative effort because we are a school system. We are not the mental health system. So we need to figure out how to align our systems and resources.”

McKinney said she plans to continue working with student leaders to figure out how to best implement their vision. “I firmly believe in, ‘don’t do it to us, do it with us,’” she said, referencing a phrase echoed by SCYC leaders.

Harris, the three-year SCYC veteran, said the group knows its work isn’t a short-term project. He hopes that county and city leaders like McKinney advocate for SCYC recommendations in upcoming budget creation and approval meetings.

“This is going to take years and years of work,” he said. “But the satisfaction of knowing that I at least helped one person out there through just talking to somebody, that’s perfect for me.”

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee would be required to use federal funding to feed low-income students under new bill

2026-03-04T21:23:37+00:00

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers want to require Tennessee to use available federal funding to provide summer grocery funds to low-income students, bucking Gov. Bill Lee’s repeated insistence that the state doesn’t need the federal dollars to help feed 700,000 children during school breaks.

Last summer, the majority of low-income students across Tennessee did not receive supplemental grocery funds for the first time in five years after Lee declined to enroll the state into the 2025 federal program, known as summer EBT or SUN Bucks.

Lee effectively rejected an estimated $75 million in federal funds by doing so, despite entreaties from Democrats, local county mayors, and children’s advocates who argued the funds helped bridge the summer months when students don’t have access to school meals.

Now, a Republican-backed effort to require Tennessee to participate is advancing through the General Assembly and would sidestep a decision from the executive branch not to participate.

Senate Bill 1911 passed committees in both the Senate and the House on Wednesday. The legislation would require the state to apply for the SUN Bucks program any year it is offered.

Sen. Paul Bailey, a Republican from Sparta who is sponsoring the bill, pointed out that all of Tennessee’s neighboring states are already participating in the program. If passed, the bill would become law immediately, though it’s not clear if Tennessee could opt in for 2026 summer benefits months after the December deadline.

Lee’s administration first declined to enroll in the 2025 summer program in late 2024, citing administrative costs the state would have to bear to continue distributing the federal funds. Critics argued the state’s cost, around $5 million, still netted Tennessee a very high return on investment on the $75 million in federal funds.

After questions from lawmakers, the governor’s office quickly stood up a similar but much smaller state-run program, spending $3 million to distribute benefits in 15 counties to about 25,000 children. The program only saved Tennessee about $2 million and benefited far fewer students. Tennessee’s largest counties, including Shelby and Davidson, were excluded from the program.

Lee has again proposed $3 million to fund the smaller program this year.

A legislative analysis estimated Bailey’s bill would cost the state about $7.9 million to draw down more than $95 million in federal funds.

Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, warned the bill could become a “math problem” as lawmakers advance legislation not currently funded in the governor’s budget.

If Bailey’s bill were to pass, lawmakers could remove Lee’s proposed $3 million program to help fund SUN Bucks.

Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis leaders criticize ‘premature’ audit comments from GOP lawmakers

2026-02-11T16:01:30+00:00

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Memphis-Shelby County Schools interim leader Roderick Richmond says state lawmakers’ comments about the forensic audit of the district are “premature,” given no findings have been officially reported.

Last week, the Tennessee Comptroller and audit company CliftonLarsonAllen held a meeting with select Tennessee lawmakers in Nashville to present updates on the $6 million forensic investigation of MSCS that’s been happening since August. Legislators called the update “concerning,” but refused to give details about what they learned.

In an interview Tuesday, Richmond called out GOP lawmakers for speaking on the audit before any conclusions or findings have been reached.

“I think there’s a certain level of embellishment in regards to saying it’s extremely troubling,” he said. “The ethical thing to do is for people to not interfere with any type of forensic investigation prematurely, because interfering could impact the outcome of the investigation.”

Rep. Mark White and Sen. Brent Taylor, both Republicans representing the Memphis area, are using that Feb. 4 update from the audit company CLA to bolster calls for an aggressive state takeover of MSCS. Other GOP lawmakers want to spend more time and money to expand the audit.

But Richmond says the audit is already draining district time and resources. During a board meeting Tuesday, he shared that MSCS has provided over 450 documents, some of which are hundreds of pages long, to CLA in the past six months.

“I just don’t think people can truly understand the gravity of what my team and I, along with the support of our board, have navigated,” Richmond said. MSCS staff “are doing these things in real time, while also managing our day-to-day work,” he added.

Richmond says CLA is required by contract to immediately share any evidence of fraud or illegal acts with the comptroller. But he hasn’t heard anything indicating that has happened.

“As I’ve always said, we welcome the audit,” Richmond added. “It’s not a reflection on me and my leadership.”

The forensic investigation is focused on MSCS operations from July 2021 through June 2024, long before Richmond was appointed as interim superintendent – and predating more than half of the current school board. CLA is also conducting a “digital assessment,” which Richmond said includes reviewing emails, through this year.

“This audit is extremely comprehensive,” he said. “You’re talking about a $2 billion organization, and so I didn’t know, really, if the audit would take 12 months, 24 months, 36 months.”

That’s why Richmond says he never expected the audit to be complete before this legislative session is over, despite what state takeover advocates originally wanted. Neither CLA nor the comptroller have provided a specific timeline for the investigation.

Board Chair Natalie McKinney said during Tuesday’s meeting that she welcomes feedback on the district’s “legacy systems and antiquated records.”

“We view this as an opportunity to work with the state to strengthen our system,” she said. “Please understand that we welcome oversight, reject speculation, and remain committed to facts, integrity, and responsible governance.”

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

GOP says Memphis schools audit is ‘concerning’ and more money is needed to complete it

2026-02-05T21:36:54+00:00

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Top Tennessee Republicans say they are concerned about potential financial records mismanagement in Memphis-Shelby County Schools after they received a confidential briefing this week on the ongoing financial audit into the state’s biggest school district.

Republican lawmakers on Thursday did not provide details of what they learned from auditors on Wednesday, citing confidentiality concerns until the audit, which so far has cost $6 million, is complete. But some legislators said the audit reiterated the need to pass aggressive Memphis district takeover legislation the House Republicans are pushing.

“I won’t speak to the details of what they reported, because their report is not complete, but there are certainly indications there that there’s really poor records management, at a minimum, and the potential for waste, fraud and abuse is extensive,” said Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican who chairs the Senate Finance Committee.

In an emailed statement, MSCS leaders said they meet with the audit firm weekly and have not been informed of any “potential or suspected findings related to fraud, waste or abuse.”

“We understand the gravity of these concerns, and we take them seriously,” the statement says. “MSCS has strong internal controls in place and will continue working closely with the audit team to address any findings promptly and responsibly.”

Watson said Thursday more money is needed to get the audit across the finish line, though neither he nor House leadership would speak to how much additional funding is needed. Watson said the audit firm told lawmakers the search will take longer than it anticipated due to “the level of disorganization” and “extensive” lack of information from the district.

“Much of the record is in a paper format with poor cross references, lack of invoices, a computer system that is designed to allow for certain records to disappear after a certain time period,” Watson said. “There’s a lot of forensic investigation that’s having to occur.”

Lawmakers didn’t reference any allegations of fraud. And district leaders said they are aware their systems are outdated, but they are in line with state and federal regulations.

“Importantly, instead of directing additional taxpayer dollars toward expanded audits alone, we would welcome targeted financial support from the State to help modernize outdated systems,” MSCS said in its emailed statement.

Lawmakers funded the audit after the controversial 2025 firing of then-Superintendent Marie Feagins, which also prompted Republicans to float legislation last year to seize some control of MSCS functions.

Memphis Republican Sen. Brent Taylor and Rep. Mark White, who are sponsoring Memphis takeover bills, both declined to get into specifics about what they learned at the audit update. But White said he heard some “very concerning” details, and Taylor said the update reiterated his goal to pass the more aggressive House takeover bill.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Crossville Republican, said the concerns raised by the ongoing audit support the need for state-led oversight of the Memphis district.

“It further tells us that the House version is correct, which is a total takeover of the Memphis-Shelby County school system. I can’t go in more detail than that, but we’re having those conversations. I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to take them over, because it’s a nightmare,” Sexton said.

The Tennessee Comptroller held the closed-door meeting on Wednesday with auditors and lawmakers. It’s not clear who was invited to the meeting or if the district was informed lawmakers would be briefed.

MSCS board member Michelle McKissack said she thinks auditors should share what it’s found publicly before the state invests more money.

“We have not heard or received anything at all from the state, and so it’s starting to feel like a fishing expedition,” McKissack said. “I don’t know what exactly they are looking for and how far back they’re going.”

McKissack said she initially supported the audit as a way to collaborate with the state to improve district functions.

“I believe that with a school district of this size, how large it is, that there could be some discrepancies,” she added. “But all the audits that we’ve had previously have been conducted with an outside party and came back clean.”

The Comptroller’s office declined to provide details on the meeting to Chalkbeat Tennessee. A spokesperson said the update was not based on any final findings but confidential working papers, which are shielded from Tennessee public records law.

Last year, Tennessee lawmakers approved $6 million for the financial audit, and accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP signed a contract with the Tennessee Comptroller in July. The contract is set to expire in January 2027.

Per state law, the district already submits annual financial and compliance audits performed by an external firm, which have on occasion revealed things such as payroll lapses and contract overpayment.

Though takeover legislation stalled last year over disagreements between the two chambers, it could move forward quickly if leadership can strike a compromise this spring.

House Republicans favor a more aggressive approach that would install an oversight board, handpicked by the governor and legislative leaders, to assume control of all major district decisions. The more muted Senate approach would install a similar oversight board that had less power and more input from local elected officials.

Taylor, the Senate sponsor, is now on board with the House plan. He said Wednesday the audit update only solidified his decision to pursue a more aggressive takeover.

Democrats have opposed takeover efforts, though they have little legislative power to stop it if Senate and House Republicans can agree on a path forward.

In the emailed statement Thursday, MSCS leaders said they always welcome opportunities for improvement, including the state audit.

“The discussion should reflect not only challenges but also the significant progress the district has made in recent years to strengthen financial management,” the statement said. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the State, addressing any findings that emerge, and working collaboratively to strengthen the fiscal operations that support our students, families, and community.”

Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis rehires custodial company to begin cleaning services after a monthlong gap at over 30 schools

2026-01-22T23:37:33+00:00

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After two votes rejecting a contract last month, the Memphis-Shelby County school board is bringing back a controversial custodial company to restore cleaning services to Northwest schools.

For the past three weeks, nearly 35 MSCS schools have been without janitorial services because of the stalled contract. The board voted 8-0 in an emergency meeting Thursday to rehire ABM Industries starting Feb. 1 through the remainder of the calendar year. Board members Stephanie Love, Tamarques Porter, Sable Otey, Keith Williams, and Joyce Dorse-Coleman changed their votes to get the contract through.

Several parents from Idlewild Elementary school, one of the buildings left without custodial services since the beginning of the year, pleaded during Thursday’s meeting for the board to adopt the contract. One parent said her son missed seven days of school in January because of unclean conditions during flu and virus season.

“He had the flu, and the flu turned into pneumonia,” Shelby Pearson, who has a 5-year-old at Idlewild, said Thursday. “Hold yourselves accountable. We are tired. We are fed up. This is deplorable.”

The MSCS board voted 5-2 to reject ABM’s contract in December and doubled down on that rejection weeks later, citing concerns about service quality from the company 10 years ago. It isn’t the first time cleaning contracts have caused issues for the district. The board had to fire the Northwest janitorial company in 2024 due to delayed worker payments and contract violations.

Board member Towanna Murphy, a critic of ABM, said she doesn’t want a repeat of that mistake. Murphy abstained from voting Thursday after listing at least nine school districts, including at least one in Tennessee, that fired ABM for poor performance in recent years.

“We have to make the right choice,” Murphy said. “That doesn’t mean we come from one incompetent company to another.”

Michelle McKissack, who represents a Northwest district where all schools were affected by the lapse in services, said she pushed the board to reconsider the contract after hearing multiple complaints from parents and teachers.

During public comment, Idlewild parents asked why the district didn’t have a backup option during the December votes. Pearson said the district should rely on MSCS employees to clean schools instead of having to adopt annual contracts with outside vendors.

“Why are we not providing permanent solutions to the problems we have?” she said.

In a meeting Tuesday, Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond said administrators followed the contract policy correctly, offering a bid to ABM after a full search process in October. The board paid 50 building engineers and 123 cafeteria workers who volunteered to clean schools this month as a stopgap after the two contract rejections.

Board members said Tuesday that they want to change district policy to shift the timeline to the summer months so contract debates don’t happen in the middle of the school year. Several board members also pressed for more options in the beginning of the contract process.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a line of context about the repeated contract vote.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Elon Musk wants to give Memphis schools more money for building repairs

2026-01-21T02:05:48+00:00

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The Memphis school board is considering whether to accept a donation from Elon Musk’s nonprofit to fund repairs for three schools in Frayser that could receive more students next year due to recommended closures.

If approved by the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board next Tuesday, the donation from The Musk Foundation would be the second accepted this school year from an entity tied to Musk, the technology and auto executive who aims to build a third data center in the Memphis area despite concerns about increased pollution.

The board approved a donation from Musk’s artificial-intelligence company xAI in July to fix four schools in Southwest Memphis located near its existing data centers, prompting some student backlash.

Board members said then that the district couldn’t afford to turn money down, with total school facility costs estimated at over $1.6 billion in the next decade. Some district leaders echoed that reasoning on Tuesday in support of approving the donation from The Musk Foundation.

“I’d like to point out, as they help us to refurbish and to improve some of our schools, it frees up capital dollars for us to do things at some of our other schools,” interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond said.

Board member Keith Williams, who was an outspoken opponent of the xAI partnership, pushed back against accepting another Musk-linked donation Tuesday.

“There are ramifications that are deeper than money,” he said.

It’s still unclear how much money the xAI donation approved in July will bring to the district in total, but repair costs for those four buildings are estimated at around $61 million. As for the proposed Musk Foundation contribution, a posting on the board’s agenda website early Tuesday listed the “high-level estimate” at $6 million. That figure has since been deleted.

The cost and type of building repairs needed at the three Frayser elementary schools — Whitney, Westside, and Hawkins Mill — are still being determined, the district’s facility services officer, Michelle Stuart, said Tuesday. A previous agenda listed roof, HVAC, and intercom system replacements as priorities.

Those three elementary schools may be tapped to absorb displaced students if the board approves recommendations to close the Frayser-Corning and Georgian Hills elementary schools at the end of this school year.

Stuart said Tuesday that the district should determine full cost estimates for the xAI-funded projects approved in July by the end of this week. The district is still developing separate contracts for each school’s larger projects, like HVAC and roof replacements, which Stuart said are 75% done.

The xAI funds have already helped complete some less extensive projects that don’t require contracts, Stuart said, like replacing fencing and painting parking lots.

The Musk Foundation is also proposing to spend $200,000 to support students experiencing homelessness, including providing laundry and hygiene items. It also set aside $100,000 to incentivize student attendance and behavioral improvements.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis could close 15 schools by 2028 under building improvement plan

2025-12-18T23:34:36+00:00

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Memphis school leaders plan to close up to 15 schools in the next three years, according to a long-term facilities plan released this week.

In the document obtained by Chalkbeat on Thursday, Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials did not name the 10 schools being considered for closure in 2027 and 2028. But it does say that most of the closures will be in the district’s Northwest and Southwest regions, which have the most chronically underenrolled and oldest buildings.

The plan is also “a living document,” the report says, “meaning it is continually reviewed, updated, and refined as circumstances change.”

Chronic underenrollment and high-cost repair needs are the main factors placing schools on the recommended closure list, according to the draft plan. One in four MSCS schools currently fills less than 60% of its available seats, and the district is facing over $1 billion in needed building repairs over the next decade. Nine MSCS buildings, including four administrative centers, are nearing the end of their useful life.

In September, Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond proposed the first round of school closures included in Thursday’s plan. MSCS board members are expected to vote on whether to close the first four — Frayser-Corning Elementary, Georgian Hills Elementary, Chickasaw Middle and Ida B. Wells Academy — in February.

They’ll also decide whether to transfer the Lucy Elementary building to neighboring Millington Municipal School District years ahead of a state-mandated schedule. Parents have raised safety concerns about proposed school mergers and questions about teacher retention during school closure community hearings this fall. The new plan suggests leaning more on “alternate grade structures” like K-8 or 6-12 models.

The Daily Memphian first reported on the long-term facilities plan Thursday morning. In addition to planned closures, MSCS leaders want to upgrade deteriorating athletic facilities and renovate schools that could absorb students displaced by closures. That includes fixing structural issues like HVAC, roofs, and plumbing systems over the next five years.

Overall, the report says, MSCS families in the Northwest have experienced the “most disruption” in recent years. Most of the schools taken over by the state under the failed Achievement School District were housed in that region.

The district has closed 35 schools in the two western regions since 2010, the draft plan says, due to local residents moving eastward and “disinvestment in the inner-city.” Future housing development projects are also largely concentrated in the eastern county areas.

But there are 21 schools considered “underutilized,” meaning they have too many vacant student seats, in the Northwest and Southwest. That’s compared to 13 in the eastern regions. The report says Northwest elementary schools and Southwest middle and high schools will likely be the focus of future closure recommendations.

“Right-sizing space reduces the number of buildings to maintain, which means limited district resources flow to fewer facilities, ensuring those resources support the most students,” the draft plan says.

The district’s ad hoc facilities committee, formed to provide feedback on the long-term plan, recommended asking the Shelby County Commission for $750 million to fund repairs and closures in the next 10 years. That proposal is included in the draft plan, as are proposals for the district to conduct studies of MSCS attendance zones and relevant housing development plans.

Catch up on Chalkbeat Tennessee’s coverage of Memphis school closure discussions at:

This story has been updated to include additional details from the draft facilities plan.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee House speaker wants to fund student teacher stipend amid teacher shortage

2025-12-05T12:00:01+00:00

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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton wants the state to start paying student teachers for their required internships, a proposal state education advocates say they support amid ongoing concerns about teacher shortages.

Sexton told Chalkbeat Tennessee this week he wants to provide additional state funding to allow local districts to pay teacher trainees directly.

Sexton said the amount could mean a $1,500 or $2,000 monthly stipend, though the proposal appears to be in the early days of development with few concrete details.

“When I talk to teachers and new teachers, they’re frustrated that when they do their internships, they do it for free,” Sexton said, noting that some aspiring teachers are taking out loans to stay above water while they finish their programs. “They’re teaching, but they’re still trying to survive. That’s a barrier for them.”

Tennessee education preparation programs vary in cost, according to a 2022 state report, but more than two-thirds of surveyed teachers reported having debt because of them.

Gov. Bill Lee’s office, which is currently crafting the governor’s proposed budget for the legislative session that will reconvene in January, was noncommittal on Sexton’s proposal.

“Gov. Lee is grateful for Speaker Sexton’s commitment to ensuring every student has access to a quality education and looks forward to working in partnership with the General Assembly to further innovate Tennessee’s education system and support teachers, parents, and students,” a Lee spokesperson said.

The stipend proposal is the second teacher pipeline proposal Sexton has floated ahead of session. The Crossville Republican also wants to lower education requirements for would-be teachers, proposing an accelerated and specialized two-year associate’s degree pathway for potential elementary school teachers.

Sexton believes the program could be popular at community colleges that provide free tuition to eligible high school graduates in the state and often are located closer to rural schools that struggle with teacher recruitment. Sexton said any associate’s degree holder would have to pass the same PRAXIS exam as four-year graduates,

Teachers groups in the state have criticized the associate’s degree plan, arguing lowering academic standards to enter the profession is not an appropriate solution to reduce vacancies. But educator advocates say they’re on board with potential student teacher stipends.

“It’s imperative that solutions to the teacher shortage be crafted with care to avoid any reduction in quality with respect to the training needed to be a successful educator,” Tennessee Education Association President Tanya Coats said.

The leader of the Professional Educators of Tennessee said unpaid student teaching is a significant barrier that can deter talented teachers from the profession.

“Securing pay for student teachers is essential for making teaching a viable career choice, opening the door for future educators, and enriching the profession,” Executive Director J.C. Bowman said.

Tennessee has cobbled together various policies in recent years in an effort to address teacher staffing issues, a trend exacerbated nationwide by the COVID-19 pandemic. High turnover and attrition are among the causes, while rates of new graduates from Tennessee teaching training programs also declined in recent years.

Data released by the Tennessee Department of Education in November indicated total teacher vacancies, defined as a position left unfilled for 20 or more days, actually declined significantly from fall 2023 to fall 2024. Full vacancies fell from 1,434 to 817, a 43% reduction.

But that number doesn’t tell the full story of the state’s teacher shortage, as the number of potential vacancies filled by emergency hires increased by 9% over the same time period and by more than 300% in the last five years.

Tennessee schools are increasingly turning to emergency and usually unlicensed teachers, with 6,579 emergency credentials issued in the 2024-2025 school year, according to data released by the Tennessee Department of Education last month.

A portion of those emergency credentials include emergency endorsements, which is when an educator is granted permission to teach outside of their previous area of expertise. But most emergency credentials are going to temporary permits for unlicensed teachers.

Coats said compensating student teachers could address the “teacher pipeline shortage and place more high quality teachers in Tennessee classrooms without sacrificing valuable preparation.”

“Decisive action such as this is especially important now given the concerning trend of districts needing to fill vacancies with unqualified individuals on temporary emergency credentials,” Coats said.

Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.

Increasing Memphis school bus services would cost at least $10 million, leaders say

2025-12-03T03:14:51+00:00

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Memphis school leaders say expanding student bus services to help boost attendance will raise transportation costs by a minimum of almost $10 million next school year.

Board members advanced the idea in late October to increase busing after multiple teachers testified that students weren’t showing up for class in fear of increased law and immigration enforcement. Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond was tasked with delivering a plan within 30 days.

School districts nationwide are struggling to provide student transportation due to rising vehicle and staff costs and a widespread bus driver shortage. Richmond said Tuesday that the district spent around $32 million on transportation this year and is seeking a new contract for next year.

“What’s being requested is a challenge,” Richmond said. “It may seem easy, but it’s extremely challenging.”

During Tuesday’s board meeting, Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders outlined the three options for increasing bus service under review. Board members did not set a deadline for an actionable plan from the district.

But several members said the need to make a change by next semester is urgent. And they asked for plans that specifically target students that aren’t showing up, including immigrant students and those in specific neighborhoods.

“If you have an elementary school that already has a 99% attendance rate, adding a bus route is not going to change their experience,” board member Amber Huett-Garcia said. “We have concentrated areas of our district where kids are not getting to school. That is what I care most about.”

MSCS bus eligibility is determined by parent responsibility zones, or PRZs, which dictate when parents need to bring their children to school. That includes students living within 1.5 miles of their elementary school or 2 miles of their middle and high school.

Decreasing those zones by half a mile — the shortest distance suggested Tuesday — would require almost 100 more buses. That would increase transportation costs by $5.7 million for the remainder of this school year and $9.8 million next school year.

Board members pushed MSCS leaders to ask Memphis City Council and the city mayor for help, or explore a partnership with city public transportation.

“Over 90% of our schools are located inside the city of Memphis,” Stephanie Love said. “And they say they want to do a lot of things for the students. Get them to school.”

More than 26,000 MSCS students currently ride the bus to school, and the buses make over 6,000 daily stops.

Here are the options MSCS is considering, which assume all newly eligible students will ride the bus:

Option 1: PRZ becomes 0.5 miles for elementary and 0.75 for middle/high school.

Over 6,600 more daily stops and 24,000 students added.
206 more buses needed.
$12 million budget increase for 2025-26 school year and $20.6 million for 2026-27.

Option 2: PRZ becomes 0.75 miles for elementary and 1 mile for middle/high school.

Over 5,000 more daily stops and 17,000 students added.
149 more buses needed.
$8.7 million budget increase for 2025-26 school year and $14.9 million for 2026-27.

Option 3: PRZ becomes 1 mile for elementary and 1.5 miles for middle/high school.

Over 3,000 more daily stops and 9,000 students added.
98 more buses needed.
$5.7 million budget increase for 2025-26 school year and $9.8 million for 2026-27.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis district could seek $750 million county bond for school repairs

2025-11-11T19:21:59+00:00

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Memphis schools’ facilities committee wants a $750 million bond from the Shelby County government to help fund long-term building repairs and closures.

It’s one of many proposals that the group will be presenting to the Memphis-Shelby County school board for approval next week. But there’s a long way to go before those recommendations are put into action.

“This is preliminary, and this is ongoing,” committee co-chair Natalie McKinney said in a meeting Monday.

MSCS leaders are expected to present initial plans on Dec. 16 for what could be a decade-long process of school closures and renovations. This comes after an independent study found this spring that Memphis schools need over $1.6 billion in maintenance repairs over the next 10 years.

Superintendent Roderick Richmond is proposing to close four schools by the end of the academic year and transfer ownership of a fifth to a nearby suburban district. The school board will vote on approving those closures and the district’s comprehensive facilities plan in February.

During Monday’s meeting, facilities committee members also recommended creating a public accountability board to oversee the 10-year facilities project. That would include managing hundreds of millions of dollars in county and state investments along with a significant private capital campaign.

Tito Langston, MSCS’ chief financial officer, said the $750 million bond ask is a “great starting point.” That amount represents the annual maximum Shelby County commissioners allocate for capital projects, which is $75 million spread over 10 years.

Langston said he hopes to also raise around $600 million in private donations.

Committee members also advanced recommendations for a family engagement plan, including community liaisons and 14 neighborhood meetings across the county. That campaign would cost the district around $185,000.

The district has not announced dates for the 10 community hearings about this year’s school closures, which MSCS leaders originally said would happen before the end of the calendar year.

Richmond recommended closing Frayser-Corning and Georgian Hills elementary schools, Chickasaw Middle School, and Ida B. Wells Academy in June. Lucy Elementary is slated to be transferred to Millington Municipal School District for the 2026-2027 school year.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee education department wants more money for summer learning, tutoring

2025-11-07T00:49:47+00:00

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The Tennessee Department of Education wants a $30 million increase in summer learning funding next year, though education officials say schools need more flexibility to use the money throughout the school year for required tutoring rather than just summer learning camps.

Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds requested the funding increase on Thursday in the department’s budget hearing for the upcoming fiscal year.

Tennessee summer learning camps this year enrolled nearly 90,000 students, 25% of whom were rising fourth graders. School-based summer learning camps are one of several “promotion pathways” rising fourth graders can use to move on from third grade if they don’t hit the benchmarks required by the state’s third grade reading law.

“We’re seeing significant gains in proficiency” in the summer learning pathway, said Kristy Brown, the department’s chief academic officer.

While education officials requested the funds for “summer programming,” the department appears poised to push for more flexibility for how local districts use those funds.

“For some schools, it could be continuing summer learning,” Reynolds said. “But for some, it could be tutoring. What many districts have talked to us about is if there’s an opportunity to create flexibility around the program.”

Tennessee departments this week are presenting their upcoming budget requests to Gov. Bill Lee and his staff. But Reynolds did not yet have details on two of the education department’s largest line items: the state voucher program and overall public education funding formula.

Reynolds said the department is gathering data as the school year progresses before it makes budget requests for those items.

Lee earlier this week again acknowledged he will prioritize expanding the voucher program in the upcoming legislative session, but he stopped short of committing to a specific number of new seats.

In addition to the $30 million summer programming increase, Reynolds requested an additional $2.6 million for the department’s paid parental leave program. The program supported six weeks of paid parental leave for around 2,300 employees at school districts in the last fiscal year, according to data provided by the department.

The request increase would cover projected participation in the program and planned salary increases.

Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee should fully fund special education pre-K, districts say

2025-10-14T11:00:00+00:00

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Tennessee school districts have been footing the bill for special education pre-kindergarten classes, and now they want lawmakers to allocate money for it in the state’s school funding model.

Some districts are pulling hundreds of thousands of dollars from their K-12 budgets to provide classrooms for students as young as 3 with disabilities while receiving limited federal funding and no recurring state dollars. More than 9,900 pre-K students in Tennessee require special education services per a February 2025 state analysis.

Federal disabilities law requires schools provide services to these students, who often need expensive therapies and extra teachers. But the state’s Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act formula adopted in 2022 doesn’t factor them in and only provides per-student funding once they enter kindergarten.

The Germantown Municipal School District is spending over $800,000 yearly to run special education preschool. It only receives around $23,000 in state grant funding.

“Each preschool classroom requires a highly specialized team: a dually certified teacher, two paraprofessionals, therapists, and sometimes a nurse,” said Germantown Superintendent Jason Manuel. “The total cost per classroom can range from $143,000 to more than $200,000 annually, depending on the student needs and staffing.”

Last month, the Lakeland School System’s board of education unanimously approved a resolution urging lawmakers to amend the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act formula to include special education pre-K students.

The resolution renews a statewide Tennessee School Boards Association lobbying push to address the funding gap after a bill to amend the TISA formula stalled in the General Assembly in early 2025.

“If the federal government and state government is going to require this, then I think it’s essential that we address this,” said Rep. Mark White, a Shelby County Republican who sponsored the 2025 legislation.

Next year, White plans to push again for pre-K funding, though he acknowledges the estimated costs of fully funding the program have stalled progress on the issue.

Financial analysts at the legislature estimated the previous bill would cost the state more than $159 million annually.

But local educators think the estimate was skewed and overestimated how many children would be included in the program.

“We are asking whatever the figure is, give us 20% of it, give us 40% of it. It needs to be recurring dollars, or it doesn’t make sense,” White said, noting districts need to be able to rely on recurring funds rather than less stable grant funding.

Last year the Germantown district served 56 pre-school students with disabilities ranging from development delays to hearing impairments who required services such as physical and speech therapy.

And because of certain federal and state laws mandating class size and educating special education students alongside more general education peers, Germantown enrolled 65 other students in the program and spread students across eight classrooms.

Lakeland schools this year staffed four classrooms for 34 special education pre-K students aged 3-5 and served 25 general education students in the same classrooms.

Costs run more than $617,000 annually, which Lakeland schools must pull from other programs funded through TISA.

“Over the past several years, Germantown and Lakeland have worked together to raise awareness of this funding gap,” Manuel said. “Our school boards and leadership teams have met with legislators and even the governor’s finance team to advocate for a fix. Everyone agrees it’s needed, but it hasn’t yet been included in the governor’s budget.”

District leaders in west Tennessee say they’ve encountered “fundamental” misunderstandings of how special education pre-K programs work and are funded, even by state officials responsible for education oversight.

“Another reason this issue has been overlooked is confusion at the state level between voluntary pre-K programs and special education preschool programs,” Manuel said. “Voluntary pre-K serves at-risk students based on income, while special education preschool serves students ages 3-5 with developmental delays or disabilities — it’s not optional; it’s required by law.”

Voluntary pre-K receives some $85 million in state allocated funding, but Lakeland and Germantown are among the few districts in Tennessee that do not have voluntary pre-K programs. Still, even districts receiving voluntary pre-K funding aren’t being funded for separate special education students and classrooms.

Lakeland leaders last month expressed frustration at trying to bring attention to the issue at the state level, where it first stalled in 2024 over misunderstandings about what funding was available. Lakeland board member and legislative liaison Michelle Childs also criticized the focus on private school choice at last year’s special session over fully funding special education pre-K classes.

“We’ve explained it pretty well,” Childs said. “They just made the choice that they wanted to fund private school vouchers over special needs kids.”

Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.

What we know so far about the Memphis schools slated to close this year

2025-09-24T17:37:17+00:00

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Many unanswered questions remain after Memphis education leaders presented their recommendation Tuesday to close four schools and transfer control of a fifth at the end of this academic year.

Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond said at the board meeting that he expects to share more details next month on the impacted schools, including student rezoning plans.

“We don’t take any of this lightly,” Richmond said. “We realize that whenever we’re repurposing or closing schools, it does impact families.”

Here’s what we know — and don’t know — so far:

Which schools are on the closure list, and why?

Ida B. Wells Academy, Frayser-Corning Elementary, Chickasaw Middle, and Georgian Hills Elementary are slated for closure at the end of this school year.

Lucy Elementary is recommended for transfer to Millington Municipal School District, one of the six suburban districts that separated from MSCS in 2014.

Richmond said Tuesday that these schools face chronic underenrollment and climbing repair costs. According to an independent report released earlier this year, the five buildings in total have more than $6.5 million in immediate maintenance needs and a projected $48 million over the next 20 years.

Four of the five affected schools were also considered for closure in 2024 under different district leadership.

Are these Memphis schools definitely going to close?

It’s not a sure thing yet. The MSCS school board is scheduled to vote on the plan in February.

And before then, district leaders plan to hold a minimum of two public hearings for each of the five schools before the end of December. They will also host “community forums” in affected neighborhoods to address questions and gather ideas for repurposing the buildings.

Richmond said Tuesday that he will be providing board members and the public with full reports on the recommended schools in October. Those reports will describe building conditions, financial impacts, academic performance, and student reassignment needs.

Where will students and staff go if these Memphis schools close?

It’s unclear where exactly students will be rezoned for the 2026-27 school year.

After past closures, students were mostly reassigned to nearby neighborhood schools in better physical condition. That didn’t always translate to better academics, though.

After 21 schools closed from 2012 to 2016, around half of the rezoned students wound up attending schools that performed on par, or academically worse, than their original placement.

Richmond said district leaders will present plans for student and staff relocation in October, which could include renovations for buildings absorbing displaced students. He also said teachers will be allowed to follow their students, if there are openings.

Those rezoning plans will also include information on transportation, Richmond said Tuesday. He said these changes will “possibly mean more students are being placed on a bus.”

What’s going to happen to the old buildings?

It’s not yet known what the school buildings will be used for in the future. That’s part of the information Richmond said he hopes to bring to the public next month and finalize by January.

Facilities Services Officer Michelle Stuart said Tuesday that the district plans to use the Ida B. Wells Academy building for alternative services such as adult education or student support. According to the independent facilities report, the building is in need of roofing and plumbing fixes and has key accessibility issues.

Chickasaw Middle, Frayser-Corning Elementary, and Georgian Hills Elementary could be used for similar purposes, Stuart said.

The Frayser-Corning building is in need of a new electrical system. Chickasaw Middle has non-functional HVAC and lighting equipment, as well as some exterior structures that are “life-safety” issues. And four additional buildings on the Georgian Hills campus, currently being used for storage, are recommended for closure.

MSCS board member Natalie McKinney, who chairs the district’s new facilities committee, has been adamant about repurposing closed buildings for community use.

Next week, board members will consider selling the building that housed Humes Middle, which closed in 2024, to local nonprofit New Ballet. The organization hopes to build an arts-focused middle and high school.

Are we done with school closures now?

Most likely, no. This list represents the first phase of what’s expected to be a much larger facilities plan for the Memphis-Shelby County district, in response to a growing maintenance bill of over $1.6 billion in the next decade.

The school board formed a facilities committee composed of local business and community members this summer to spearhead that plan development. The group is expected to make its recommendations in November.

It’s unclear how many school closures or upgrades could be included in that longer term plan.

According to a Chalkbeat analysis, 10 school buildings will reach the end of their usable life by 2035. And eight schools, including Ida B. Wells Academy, failed to reach the committee chair’s enrollment threshold of 150 students in recent years.

Do you have any other questions Chalkbeat can try to answer? Reach out to the email below.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis leaders plan to close four schools by the end of the academic year

2025-09-24T00:29:19+00:00

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Memphis-Shelby County education leaders recommend closing four schools and transferring one to a neighboring suburban district by the end of the academic year.

The list of schools presented Tuesday by Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond is the first phase of a long-anticipated facilities plan slated to be released by early 2026. The school board is expected to vote on these initial closures in February.

Leaders hope the short-term and long-term plans will address chronic underenrollment and deteriorating building conditions. The district is facing over $1.6 billion in building repairs and renovations over the next decade, and 10 buildings are set to reach the end of their useful life in that time.

Richmond said that the initial schools, located in the Northwest and Southwest regions, were chosen for closure because of underenrollment and high deferred maintenance needs. In total, the five buildings have more than $6.5 million in immediate maintenance needs and a projected $48 million over the next 20 years, according to an independent report released earlier this year.

The impacted schools are:

Lucy Elementary (transfer to Millington Municipal School District).
Ida B. Wells Academy (closure).
Frayser-Corning Elementary (closure).
Chickasaw Middle (closure).
Georgian Hills Elementary (closure).

It’s unclear how students and staff will be re-zoned for next school year. District leaders say they expect to present plans for rezoning and reports on each schools’ enrollment and programs next month.

In past closures, students have mostly been sent to nearby MSCS schools in better physical condition. Teachers will be able to follow their students if there are openings, Richmond said Tuesday.

From October to December, the district will conduct a minimum of two public hearings per school to address parent concerns and float ideas for repurposing. According to the presentation Tuesday, the Ida B. Wells building is designated to be used by MSCS for adult education or district operations.

Richmond said the district is still evaluating what will happen to the three other buildings after closure.

District leaders shuttered 21 schools from from 2012 to 2016, mostly in South Memphis. Around half of those students wound up in schools performing either on par or worse academically than their original placement, according to Chalkbeat analysis.

The district has a history of announcing closure plans that don’t materialize. A 2024 draft plan under former Superintendent Toni Williams slated 21 schools for closure. Only one, Humes Middle School, has since shut down.

Four of the five schools recommended for closure Tuesday were included in the 2024 draft plan.

In 2016, former Superintendent Dorsey Hopson promised 24 closures in five years. But according to past Chalkbeat coverage, only around seven of his 28 recommendations have closed.

In both cases, MSCS leaders cited academic performance as the main driver of school closure decisions, partially out of fear that the state would take control of those communities as permitted by Tennessee law. But low student enrollment is also a factor, with most of the MSCS schools closed between 2012 and 2016 serving less than half of their capacity.

Current MSCS leaders say these factors and more will be taken into account for future school closures. The new facilities committee, composed of community members and business leaders, is set to propose long-term recommendations by November.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis board leaves in-school literacy tutoring program in limbo days before classes start

2025-08-01T00:38:20+00:00

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Over 1,500 students in Memphis-Shelby County Schools could lose access to targeted in-school literacy tutoring this year as local nonprofit Literacy Mid-South faces ongoing budget challenges.

The nonprofit’s federal COVID relief funding expired in May, leaving its finances in flux like many other organizations nationwide. And in June, the Memphis-Shelby County school board decided not to include Literacy Mid-South in this year’s budget.

The full impact for MSCS students remains unknown with the start of the school year only days away on Aug. 4. Memphis-Shelby County board members still haven’t responded to the nonprofit’s revised proposal in which Literacy Mid-South would tutor 500 students for a fraction of the original price, CEO John Nichols told Chalkbeat.

It’s been over a month since Nichols made that offer.

“While we are not actively partnering with Memphis-Shelby County Schools … at this time, we remain deeply committed to supporting student learning across the region and are continuing to explore ways to collaborate in the future,” Nichols said in a statement Thursday.

Since 2022, Literacy Mid-South has provided tutoring for MSCS students during school hours using $9.6 million of pandemic relief funding.

It’s unclear whether MSCS offers or will offer any other tutoring programs during the school day. District officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In May, the school board requested nearly $40 million in one-time investments from the Shelby County Commission for the upcoming school year, which included $2.2 million for Literacy Mid-South. Board member Natalie McKinney said the commission only gave them $5 million from that request for school safety upgrades.

In an interview with Chalkbeat earlier in July, Nichols said the in-school schedule allows Literacy Mid-South to reach more students. Just over 29% of MSCS elementary students passed state reading tests last year, meaning the majority are required by Tennessee law to be either held back or receive additional academic support.

“There are so many factors at play with before and after school tutoring,” he said. “Transportation is a huge issue for our students, as well as after school activities and parental schedules. You’re guaranteed protected academic time with this model.”

This past year, Literacy Mid-South partnered with 18 MSCS schools to serve around 1,700 elementary students. Nichols said he originally requested $2.5 million from the school board in January for the 2025-26 school year to maintain that level of involvement, with federal money no longer available.

But district officials have said that ask is unreasonable. Board Member Natalie McKinney told Chalkbeat in early July that she didn’t support the nonprofit’s initial proposal in June because she wants more data showing Literacy Mid-South’s model is “best practice” for improving student outcomes.

“If this is the best practice, then we should be utilizing it in a way that is sustainable,” McKinney told Chalkbeat. “What we cannot do is say that we’re going to spend $2 million on 1,000 students. I don’t know how to justify that.”

But before those comments, Nichols had already come back to the board in late June with a request for $650,000 to tutor 500 students. He was hoping for an answer before training for this year’s tutors starts in mid-August. Tutoring services usually begin in September.

Last year, the nonprofit reported that its students improved their scores from fall to winter by an average of 5.9 percentage points on an online assessment used by the district called iReady. The year before, that figure was 7.5 percentage points from the beginning to end of the school year.

Nichols said he recognizes the need for a more robust study of the program. The nonprofit secured a federal grant this year to gather that data. But it needs a group of at least 1,000 students to fulfill the terms of the grant.

Nichols said Literacy Mid-South is expanding its partnerships with nearby charter schools to fill the gap. Last year, the nonprofit worked with six local charters. This year, Nichols said, nine charter schools and one public school in Millington fill the group’s roster.

“We’re currently thinking about, is there a way that we could utilize school staff to kind of observe, and offer a ‘train the trainer’ model, to ensure that literacy tutoring is happening in a homegrown way in the district,” he added.

McKinney said she suggested that idea to Nichols as a way to make the partnership with Literacy Mid-South more sustainable.

“We have to invest smartly,” she told Chalkbeat on Aug. 1. “This could be a pathway to a teacher pipeline.”

Even if Literacy Mid-South eventually secures funding from MSCS, Nichols said he worries about the “loss of momentum” in reading progress for the students Literacy Mid-South wouldn’t reach in its more-limited tutoring plan.

“I also think one of the value-adds of our program is that it did free up capacity for teachers,” he said. “It really helped elevate and strengthen what was happening in their classrooms.”

A previous version of this story mentioned a school board vote on Literacy Mid-South’s budget request. On Aug. 1, board member Natalie McKinney told Chalkbeat there had been no vote, only discussions about the proposal. The story has also been updated to include additional comments from McKinney about the “train the trainer” model and the Shelby County Commission.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis residents protested xAI’s arrival. Now the company is funding upgrades for four schools.

2025-07-30T20:55:28+00:00

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Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI is promising to repair and renovate four Memphis-Shelby County schools located near its two new data centers in Southwest Memphis.

That agreement, approved by the MSCS school board on Tuesday, will offer some relief to the district’s growing deferred facility maintenance needs. But it also pulls the district into a controversial project that’s sparked community backlash.

The four schools included in xAI’s plan – John P. Freeman Optional, Fairley High, Mitchell High, and Westwood High – have some of the most dire building repair needs in the district, according to The Daily Memphian, estimated to cost $61 million over the next decade. The AI company is committing to plumbing and HVAC upgrades, as well as construction of new technology classrooms.

But some board members expressed skepticism around the resolution with xAI, citing protests from residents living near the company’s data centers over air pollution and water usage concerns. The MSCS board voted 7-2 to enter a memorandum of understanding with xAI for the upcoming school year.

Vice Chair Stephanie Love opposed the measure, as did Keith Williams on behalf of his Whitehaven constituents.

“There is a mountain of resistance to this project,” Williams said. “If the community doesn’t want it, and the school system says, ‘We’ll support you doing these things to our school,’ then the school district is doing a disservice to the citizens that they serve in that community.”

Board member Amber Huett-Garcia, who sponsored the resolution, said the AI company is going to exist in Memphis whether the board “approves of their existence or not.”

“And if they want to invest in our children and our families, and their future workforce and their future leadership, I will not sleep tonight if I say no to that,” she said.

In a July 15 letter to the district, xAI Senior Manager Brent Mayo said the company will fully fund, in each school building, the repair or installation of:

Plumbing, lighting, and HVAC systems
Athletic facilities, including an outdoor track and indoor basketball court
Chemistry and technology labs
Outdoor landscaping

The company received approval for a donation exceeding $15,000, but it’s unclear how much the upgrades will cost in total. In his letter, Mayo said xAI will “assume all financial responsibility” associated with additional repairs.

Board member Natalie McKinney stressed that the agreement between MSCS and xAI needs to be “not a one-hit-wonder thing,” but “the beginning of a partnership.”

Bobby White, who represented xAI at Tuesday’s board meeting on behalf of the Greater Memphis Chamber, said the company has already shown its commitment to neighbors by building an $80 million wastewater recycle facility to address usage concerns.

And he said this project helps set up a pipeline for MSCS students who could one day work for xAI.

White recognized that the company has struggled with a “negative perception” from community members since the beginning. He said that’s why leaders waited until after they received permit approval from the Shelby County Health Department to announce the school projects.

“There is nothing the company is asking for from the community at this point,” White said. “It’s only looking to make an investment with its neighbors.”

MSCS is facing at least $1 billion in deferred maintenance costs across its school buildings. The board voted in June to establish a committee of appointed education and business leaders to help make decisions about school closures and upgrades.

Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond originally said he wanted a report from that committee by Sept. 1. But the group will meet for the first time on Aug. 13, board member Sable Otey said Tuesday. And it still hasn’t filled designated student and teacher seats.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

$118M in Tennessee K-12 funding is held up in Trump federal funding review

2025-07-08T11:00:01+00:00

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More than $118 million for Tennessee schools and educational programs is in limbo after the Trump administration froze federal funding last week that had been approved by Congress.

Withheld funds or potential cuts could heavily impact Tennessee education programs, where it’s primarily been used to pay for teacher development, after-school programs, and other child care initiatives.

In a statement, Memphis-Shelby County Schools district officials say 100 teacher and staff positions could be impacted if some $17 million is withheld.

The district planned to use more than $14 million of the impacted funds for teacher development and recruitment efforts across 38 positions, according to district budget proposal documents. Another $1.6 million was earmarked for English language learner support to supplement 46 school-based translators.

“While this situation presents significant challenges, MSCS is actively developing thoughtful contingency plans to minimize disruption and ensure students, families, and staff continue to receive the support they need,” the district said. “In the event the funding is not reinstated, the district may be required to make difficult decisions, which could include program adjustments or use of reserve funds intended to protect long-term financial stability.”

The Tennessee Department of Education hasn’t commented on the funding freeze or how it’s communicating developments to school districts in the weeks before Tennessee students return to the classroom, though other states have provided breakdowns of projected impacts on local schools.

Congress approved the funding in March, and school districts expected the money to be released at the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1. The federal funding included $890 million for English language learners, $2.2 billion for teacher training, $1.4 billion for before- and after-school programs, and $1.3 billion for enrichment programs like college counseling nationwide.

A smaller pot of money — $375 million — was supposed to pay for academic support for the children of migrant farmworkers.

Several Democrat-led states have called for the funding to be released and have threatened legal action. The Trump administration has said the freeze is part of an ongoing review of federally funded programs.

An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson said its initial findings showed that grant funds have “been grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda,” including issues around immigration, though the office did not provide Chalkbeat with any documentation of the allegations.

In Tennessee, less than 2% of this federal funding allocation went to “migrant education,” according to a review by the Learning Policy Institute. The institute estimated Tennessee stands to lose more than $106 million under the freeze, slightly less than the $118.9 million total provided by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, the Democratic vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee who also sits on the Senate Education Committee.

Nashville Metro Schools did not receive any money last year from Title I-C, which funds migrant education, while MSCS was projected to receive less than $60,000 for the upcoming year, a tiny portion of the district’s $1.9 billion budget.

In Nashville, the district said it does not anticipate any immediate impacts on programming but is following the issue closely.

“These congressionally mandated programs support essential services for our students—including those who are learning English, need additional academic support, or benefit from extended learning opportunities—and help ensure we have effective educators in every classroom,” district spokesperson Sean Braisted said in an email. “We support efforts to fully fund these programs at or above previous levels.”

Child care advocates are raising alarms about the funding freeze’s effect on before- and after-school programs, which are vital in states like Tennessee with skyrocketing child care costs. Last week, Boys & Girls Club CEO Jim Clark warned the loss of 21st Century Community Learning Center funding, which supports extracurricular programs, could decimate hundreds of clubs across the country.

Tennessee received more than $23 million to support these programs last year, according to the AfterSchool Alliance, with about $3.2 million going to local Boys & Girls Clubs. Those clubs are not likely to close their doors but could be forced to pull back on programs such as additional tutoring and enrichment experiences.

Bart McFadden, the interim executive director for the Boys & Girls Clubs in Tennessee, said no clubs in the state are exclusively federally funded, and they will be able to withstand the freeze.

“This is a pause, and we don’t know what it’s ultimately going to mean as we get into the school year. We’re hopeful these funds are released,” McFadden said. “If they’re not, plans are in place to mitigate the impact so that our blue doors, as we call them, are open for kids.”

Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis schools lost millions in federal pandemic funding. Now, they’re getting it back.

2025-07-01T19:30:03+00:00

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Memphis schools have access again to more than $55 million in federal funding after the U.S. Department of Education reversed course and unfroze millions of pandemic relief funds last week.

Tito Langston, Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ assistant superintendent of operations, and a Metro Nashville Public Schools spokesperson confirmed to Chalkbeat Tennessee that the Tennessee Department of Education informed school districts of the federal reversal on June 27.

“Receiving the full $55.6 million allows us to move forward with planned projects and expenditures that had been placed on hold,” Langston said. “It significantly strengthens our financial position and enables us to maintain a healthy fund balance going into next year.”

The decision frees up millions for schools across Tennessee.

States originally had until March 2026 to spend a final round of COVID relief money. But Education Secretary Linda McMahon informed states on March 28 that they had run out of time to spend the money.

The freeze on those funds impacted MSCS finances, as the district had intended to use them to upgrade roofs and fund long-awaited heating and cooling repairs in school buildings. District leaders were also forced to rethink the upcoming school year budget, while other Tennessee districts like Nashville’s were left holding the bill on expenditures they thought would be reimbursed.

The decision to unfreeze the funds is a welcome infusion back into the Memphis schools’ budget as leaders consider an overarching — and likely very expensive — facilities plan to address years of deferred maintenance that have ballooned to a $1 billion price tag for the district.

Langston says district leaders can now access funds “already tied to eligible, documented expenses,” most notably capital projects they hoped to complete by the end of the school year.

The Tennessee Department of Education has not responded to a Chalkbeat Tennessee request for comment about the change and its notifications to school districts.

Other Tennessee districts had outstanding funds and reimbursement requests affected by the funding halt in March, though MSCS’ balance was one of the largest in the state.

Metro Nashville Public Schools had around $9 million in funds that had been allocated but not yet reimbursed when the federal government froze the funds in March. The district had already spent about $7 million of that amount and were left without reimbursement.

“We appreciate the USDOE revisiting this matter and look forward to following the guidelines necessary to seek reimbursement for these programs and services that have already been implemented and supported students,” said Sean Braisted, communications chief for MNPS.

The U.S. Department of Education’s reversal followed a lawsuit filed by New York and more than a dozen other Democratic state attorneys general.

In May, a federal judge ordered the federal government to honor a spending extension and restore the relief funding to 16 states and Washington D.C.

The federal government fought the injunction, but a federal appeals court on June 20 denied a request to stay the injunction.

However, because Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti did not challenge the loss of funding, Tennessee schools did not receive relief from the ruling.

The result was an uneven funding pattern for states, which McMahon acknowledged in a June 26 letter informing them of the funding reversal.

“The original intent of the policy announced on March 28 was to treat all states consistently with regards to safeguarding and refocusing their remaining COVID-era grant funding on students,” McMahon wrote. “The ongoing litigation has created basic fairness and uniformity problems — many states, such as yours, have continued to be covered by the March 28 policy, while the plaintiffs in the New York litigation have not been subject to that policy due to events in the litigation.”

Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis-Shelby County school board approves $1.9 billion budget, will add some staff positions

2025-06-12T00:16:22+00:00

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The Memphis-Shelby County school board passed the $1.9 billion 2025-26 district budget Wednesday that will fund the return of fall and spring break academies, staffing incentives, and a new preventative maintenance team to address longstanding building issues.

The school board scaled back $30 million of proposed school fire safety and HVAC upgrades from the budget after not receiving full funding from the Shelby County Commission for a $35 million investment toward deferred maintenance issues.

The district will instead direct $5 million to pressing safety issues, using $4.5 million to update intercom systems in 25 schools and the rest of the money to replace elevators in two schools.

At the budget meeting, MSCS assistant superintendent of operations Tito Langston said some schools are relying on two-way radios to communicate across campus.

“We have to be able to communicate with our students in case there are any emergencies,” said board member Natalie McKinney.

The budget is still fluid, Langston reminded board members. The board can amend the budget until the end of the month and readdress the fire and safety issues later this year. The budget requires final approval from the county commission later this month.

Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond’s first budget does not include any major staff cuts one year after more than 1,000 positions were cut.

MSCS was thrown a budgeting curveball this spring when a new federal directive essentially blocked districts from spending out the remainder of pandemic-era relief funds.

With more than $55 million on the table, the district had intended to direct the funds toward long-awaited heating and air conditioning systems in schools. Last August, at least 12 Memphis schools had to close early on the first day of school due to high temperatures and A/C issues.

The district has applied for an extension to use the funds that has yet to be approved.

Before the budget vote, Langston said if the district can get the $55 million back, or at least a portion of it, the board could reassess the capital projects in several months. The approved budget removed $18 million of proposed HVAC updates and $8 million of proposed fire alarm replacements.

The budget would fund 40 new “mobile” security officers and 10 new multilingual teachers, in addition to a $30 million injection for specialized education assistants. The district has relied on the assistants to support K-2 classrooms.

Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee governor’s annual address highlights civics education, jobs of tomorrow

2025-02-11T01:49:19+00:00

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Praising the Trump administration as leading a “revival of our nation’s founding principles,” Gov. Bill Lee called on Tennessee schools Monday to step up K-12 civics education with an emphasis on the principles of American exceptionalism.

To accomplish that, the Republican governor wants assistance from the Institute of American Civics at the University of Tennessee, which the legislature created with bipartisan support in 2022 to strengthen civic education and participation.

“This year, I am proposing funding to expand the institute’s reach and make sure Tennessee children — from kindergarten to 12th grade — learn about the founding principles that make America the greatest country on Earth,” Lee said near the close of his 2025 address to a joint session of the Tennessee General Assembly.

Lee didn’t give specifics about how much he wants the institute to get or how the money would be spent.

Under Lee’s administration, the state has been roiled in political culture wars over what teachers can and can’t teach their students, and state law has come down on the side of restricting lessons on topics that lawmakers consider divisive, including enduring patterns of racism in America.

Tennessee was one of the first states to enact a law restricting instruction about race, gender, and bias. Numerous school boards also have banned hundreds of library books on those topics based on several state laws passed by the Republican-controlled legislature.

State budget proposal would raise minimum pay for teachers

This week’s address coincided with the release of Lee’s $59.5 billion proposed budget for state government for the year beginning July 1, including $7 billion for K-12 public education, an increase of nearly 3% over last year, and a $1 billion new investment in Tennessee roads.

Fresh from pushing through a costly universal school-voucher plan during a special legislative session, Lee called for another bump in pay for public school teachers, plus recurring funding to continue summer learning programs.

The minimum annual teacher salary would increase to $47,000 for the 2025-26 school year, up from $44,500 currently. Lee pledged in 2023 to gradually get teachers’ base pay to $50,000 by the fall of 2027, his last full year in office.

Still, Tennessee teachers are earning less than they were a decade ago, adjusted for inflation, and the state continues to trail most of the nation in student funding, according to the latest data from the National Education Association.

Lee’s spending blueprint includes extra money to support school systems that are experiencing high growth in enrollment, as well as those that are considered high performing based on more than half their schools receiving an A grade under the state’s 2-year-old evaluation formula, which emphasizes proficiency.

Lee calls for expanding career training, childcare

The governor’s address highlighted the importance of connecting today’s students with the jobs of tomorrow.

Lee wants to expand the state’s youth employment program and create a new “Tennessee Works” scholarship to cover all of the costs of attending one of the state’s 24 colleges of applied technology.

The governor said he also wants to find ways to make childcare more accessible and affordable in Tennessee, where infant care costs about the same as in-state tuition at a four-year public college. He promised “tens of thousands of new daycare spots” to help create a family-friendly workforce, but only specified an $11 million investment in the Boys & Girls Clubs, one of the state’s top childcare providers.

The address followed the end of a special legislative session in which Lee saw his full agenda pass for private school vouchers, disaster relief, and a crackdown on immigration.

Those items alone will add nearly $1 billion to next year’s state budget, during a time when state tax collections have slowed.

Democrats slammed Lee’s administration as building an economy for corporate and special interests instead of for working families who want more funding for public schools, among other things.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee universal school vouchers would cost at least $1.1 billion in first 5 years, state projects

2025-01-27T19:50:26+00:00

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Gov. Bill Lee’s universal private school voucher plan, if approved by Tennessee lawmakers in a special session that begins Monday, would cost taxpayers at least $1.1 billion during the first five years, according to a state analysis.

During the program’s first year in 2025-26, the cost would be about $350 million, based on the analysis released ahead of the session by the legislature’s independent fiscal review staff.

Those costs would include:

Nearly $146 million to provide vouchers of $7,075 each for 20,000 recipients to use toward their private education costs;
$198 million to pay public-school teachers one-time bonuses of $2,000 each;
$3.3 million to reimburse public school systems for funding they are projected to lose if students disenroll to use a voucher; and
$2.7 million to administer and staff the program.

After the first year, the program would cost more than $191 million annually, the analysis says.

However, the governor and the legislature’s GOP leaders are seeking even more funding for the program’s first year than the legislative analysis identifies, even as state revenues are down due to corporate tax breaks enacted last year by Lee’s administration.

Appropriation bills filed ahead of the session by Sen. Jack Johnson and Rep. William Lamberth, the majority leaders in their respective chambers, seek $447 million to launch the Education Freedom Act, including $226 million in recurring funds and $198 million in nonrecurring funds. The recurring funds figure includes the $144 million in unused voucher funds that the legislature set aside for the program last year before the bill bogged down in finance committees.

Disaster relief and enforcement of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are also on the agenda for the special session. Lee proposes to spend another $470 million on flood relief for northeast Tennessee, including $20 million to rebuild a high school in Carter County. Information released thus far does not specify funding for supporting the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Here are other notable assumptions and projections about the statewide voucher plan based on the analysis released by legislature’s fiscal review staff:

Student eligibility: Income limits would end after first year

Each voucher would pay $7,075 during the first year to up to 20,000 eligible students. (That’s $4,597 less than the average annual cost of private schools in Tennessee, which is $11,672 annually, according to tuition information gathered by Private School Review.)

It’s expected that all vouchers will be awarded, allowing the state to expand the program by 5,000 participants each year, potentially doubling the program’s size by the 2029-30 school year.

During the first year, half of the vouchers would be reserved for students whose families fall below an income limit that is set at 300% of the amount required to qualify for free or reduced-price meals, or $173,160 for a family of four. The other half would have no income restrictions.

Because of the high income thresholds, it’s assumed that 65% of the vouchers would be awarded to students who already attend private schools, with 35% going to students switching out of public schools. The 65-35 split is expected to continue in subsequent years.

It’s assumed that no student who is currently receiving a voucher through the state’s smaller education savings account and individualized education account programs will opt to participate in the new statewide voucher program, since their current benefits are higher.

Accountability: A choice of tests

While private schools accepting the new vouchers would have to give voucher recipients national or state tests annually, those schools are likely to opt for using national tests that they currently use instead of using the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP, which is based on state academic standards.

Test results would be incorporated into an annual state report that the state comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability would deliver to the legislature’s education committees.

Incentives for public schools: Teacher bonuses, district reimbursement

An estimated 86,000 public school teachers would be eligible to receive the one-time bonuses during the current school year.

A proposed school building improvement fund for public schools would receive over $77 million annually, or 80% of tax collections from the sports betting industry, which currently go to lottery-funded college scholarships.

In the first year, 12 public school systems are expected to meet the state’s criteria to receive reimbursements from the state for funding lost when students disenroll to participate in the voucher program. In the second year, 15 districts are expected to qualify for the reimbursements.

The reimbursements would be completely paid for by the state, not from local governments.

Program administration: Current vendor likely to continue

Student First Technologies, the current vendor for the state’s smaller voucher programs known as education savings accounts and individualized education accounts, likely would serve the statewide program, too. The Indiana-based company’s contract runs through May 2028 and requires it to be able to accommodate at least 20,000 users.

In addition, the state expects to hire 11 people to administer the statewide program. The current ESA program has 22 employees providing oversight.

You can read the bill and track its movement on the General Assembly’s website.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Three big issues that could determine if Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee gets his way on universal school vouchers

2025-01-10T23:23:48+00:00

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After the collapse of his statewide private school voucher proposal last year, Gov. Bill Lee is back with a similar plan to try to convince lawmakers that Tennessee students need another taxpayer-funded alternative to traditional public schools.

But while his new Education Freedom Act enjoys unified support among Republican leaders in both legislative chambers — a major difference from this time last year — it’s also generating many of the same concerns that contributed to the 2024 bill’s demise.

Complicating matters further are sagging tax collections that will make it harder to launch and sustain expensive new initiatives. Also, an existing smaller “pilot” voucher program remains under-enrolled in its third year, and the students in it are generally performing below their public school counterparts.

Lee, who is term-limited, has made the voucher policy one of his top objectives since taking office in 2019, and recently hinted that he may call a special legislative session to prioritize his proposal before lawmakers take up other business. The legislature would need to pass his bill in early 2025 to give his administration enough time to launch a universal program this summer, before the upcoming school year.

A recent poll conducted by Vanderbilt University shows Tennessee voters are mostly split over school vouchers.

Lee is trying to build public support, though, through statewide TV ads featuring him and paid for by the pro-voucher American Federation for Children, as well as radio ads paid for by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political network founded by the billionaire Koch brothers of Kansas.

Standing between the governor and the realization of his universal voucher program in Tennessee are three big issues:

Long-term funding uncertainty for public schools

State officials have estimated that about half of voucher recipients in the program’s first year would come from public schools, with the rest already enrolled in private schools or new students entering kindergarten.

To quell anxiety about the financial impact on public schools, Lee’s legislation includes a “hold harmless” provision that essentially would reimburse school districts for any funding they stand to lose when a student leaves to take a voucher and go to a private school.

Also, voucher money would not come out of the state’s existing funding formula for public schools, but rather from a separate line item in the budget that already has $144 million in untapped funds appropriated by the legislature last year.

But laws — and budgets — can change from year to year, and put those pledges at risk.

Flanked by the General Assembly's Republican leaders, Gov. Bill Lee speaks with reporters at the close of the 2024 legislative session on April 25.

Under the legislation, it’s unclear how Lee intends to pay for reimbursements to public schools for the first year, and in future years, especially since participation is expected to grow.

A future governor and legislature could take away the reimbursements, particularly if overall tax collections continue to decline under Lee’s 2024 initiative to reduce corporate and business taxes in Tennessee.

At the same time, the state would be obligated to fund the new statewide education program for the foreseeable future. With Lee’s plan to add 5,000 vouchers each year, the program could direct up to $862 million in taxpayer funding toward private education costs during the first five years, according to an analysis by Ed Trust of Tennessee.

And because of the bill’s loose restrictions on who could receive the new vouchers, a large number of the program’s recipients are expected to come from families who already send, or plan to send, their children to private schools.

In Arkansas, which approved universal vouchers in 2023 under Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, more than 80% of last year’s enrollees had not attended public schools the previous year.

Gov. Bill Lee calls for a statewide education voucher program in Tennessee during a press conference in Nashville on Nov. 28, 2023, as Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders offers her support.

In an effort to garner more support for the Education Freedom Act, Tennessee’s bill includes several financial benefits for public schools.

One would redirect 80% of sports wagering tax revenue now going to pay for college scholarships to instead help fund school building and maintenance projects across the state, especially for emergencies and for rural districts in counties designated as distressed or at risk.

But that’s only about $70 million annually and wouldn’t go far toward addressing the state’s $9.8 billion backlog of school facility needs. (Building a single elementary school can cost up to $60 million these days, while a new high school can cost significantly more.)

A second enticement would give every public school teacher a one-time $2,000 bonus. Many teachers who would be eligible to receive the money dismiss that proposal as a diversion tactic and believe the larger goal of Republican leaders is to eventually defund public schools.

Uneven standards for testing and accountability

The bill would require the new voucher recipients in grades 3-11 to take annual state or national standardized achievement tests to track the program’s effectiveness.

That’s a departure from the state’s existing Education Savings Account program that requires recipients to take the same state tests as their public school counterparts in math and English language arts, which provides an apples-to-apples comparison of educational outcomes.

The testing issue creates a quandary for Republicans.

Holding government accountable for how it spends taxpayer money is a conservative principle. But private schools are less likely to participate in a voucher program if they’re required to administer any state tests that are based on state-approved academic standards.

With Lee’s new proposal, supporters now say that national tests are good enough to gauge how students who take voucher money are doing.

In Tennessee, public school students in grades 3-11 are required to take annual state tests in math, English language arts, social studies, and science under the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program.

Detractors say that sets uneven standards of accountability for different groups of students whose education is being funded with the same taxpayer money.

To some extent, the existing pilot voucher program already has a differing measuring stick. Participating private schools aren’t evaluated like public schools are under the state’s new A-F school grading system to help parents gauge their effectiveness. Moreover, in issuing grades to public schools, Lee’s administration has elevated the importance of academic proficiency based on state test results. But for private schools receiving public funding through education savings accounts, it has mostly touted surveys showing high parental satisfaction in the program.

Lee has repeatedly said his priority is to give parents more choices and control over their children’s education.

Which students would be included, and excluded?

Voucher supporters use the language of “school choice” to promote the policy.

But private schools get to choose the students they enroll, not the other way around — potentially reinforcing discriminatory practices and widening educational disparities between affluent students and historically underserved groups.

Lee’s proposal, for example, includes no guarantees of services and accommodations for students with disabilities.

Unlike with public schools, students who attend private schools are not protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees children with disabilities access to a free and appropriate education. Essentially, the federal law requires public schools to give those students specialized support and services determined collaboratively by school leaders and parents.

Lee’s proposal has no anti-discrimination language that would prevent schools from selectively admitting, or expelling, students based on criteria that may include color, disability, test scores, family income, religious affiliation, national origin, or sexual orientation.

State laws typically include anti-discrimination language regarding eligibility for education programs. Even Lee’s 2019 Education Savings Account law, which created vouchers for some students in Memphis and Nashville, and later in Chattanooga, requires participating private schools to certify that they will “not discriminate against participating students or applicants on the basis of race, color, or national origin.”

The newest legislation isn’t so broad in its protections.

To satisfy far-right conservatives, for example, it specifically bars students who can’t show that they’re in the United States legally from participating in the proposed program. That would violate federal law and could set the stage for another protracted and expensive legal challenge to Tennessee voucher law.

Already, students of color, kids from low-income families, and those with disabilities are often left out of school choice programs due to the locations and supply of private schools, transportation challenges, confusing admission policies, and the high cost of tuition, national data shows.

Without the non-discrimination language, Lee’s voucher policy as proposed raises the risk not only that Tennessee’s schools will become more racially and economically segregated, but also that tens of millions of taxpayer dollars could flow to so-called segregation academies that were established in the 1960s and 1970s for white children during the desegregation movement.

Some of those schools still exist, although Chalkbeat has not analyzed which private schools in Tennessee fit that definition.

North Carolina built its school voucher program the same way that Lee has advocated for Tennessee. When it launched in 2014, the program was only for low-income families, but in 2023, state lawmakers expanded eligibility to students of all income levels and those already attending private school.

According to reporting by ProPublica, 39 schools that it identified as likely segregation academies have received taxpayer money from North Carolina’s voucher program.

You can read Tennessee’s voucher bill here and track its movement in the legislature here.

Correction: A previous version of this story said Americans for Prosperity paid for TV and radio ads promoting Gov. Lee’s Education Freedom Act. The radio ads were paid for by Americans for Prosperity, while the TV ad was paid for by American Federation for Children, another pro-voucher group.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee K-12 school building costs escalate amid competing political priorities for education

2024-11-21T01:12:56+00:00

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Tennessee needs to spend about $9.8 billion on repairs, upgrades, or construction to keep its K-12 public school buildings safe and conducive to learning, according to a new state report.

That’s an average of about $6,557 per student over five years, to complement the minimum of $7,075 that Tennessee spends annually per pupil to cover the cost of their education.

And while Tennessee’s nearly 1,700 traditional school campuses are generally in good or excellent condition, the report says more than half of the state’s 95 counties need to prioritize at least one costly capital project for their students, whether it’s building a new school, adding classroom space to an existing campus, or making upgrades across a district — things like new roofs, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems.

The findings, published Wednesday by the education research arm of the state comptroller’s office, aren’t surprising. They’re consistent with previous assessments of the state’s public infrastructure needs, including the most recent inventory conducted in 2022, which ranked education behind transportation and utilities as Tennessee’s costliest needs.

But the latest review by the comptroller’s office, which was requested by House Education Committee Chairman Mark White of Memphis, comes amid competing priorities for educating Tennessee students.

With rising construction costs, momentum has been building among state lawmakers to identify a new revenue source to help local governments and taxpayers shoulder the costs of school maintenance and construction. Those needs escalated in September when flooding from Hurricane Helene caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to roads, bridges, utilities, and schools in northeast Tennessee.

But the GOP-controlled legislature, which is responsible for passing an annual state budget, is facing pressure from Republican Gov. Bill Lee to create a statewide school voucher program. Lee’s Education Freedom Act would give tens of millions of dollars in public funding annually to families who want to send their children to private schools.

Lee’s latest private school voucher bill includes proposed new money for public school infrastructure, an attempt to gain support from public school advocates. In addition to giving a one-time bonus of $2,000 for Tennessee’s public school teachers, the bill would redirect 80% of tax revenues from Tennessee’s sports betting industry toward school building needs, especially for emergencies and the nearly 40 rural counties designated as distressed or at risk.

Meanwhile, state economists’ project declining or stagnant revenues next fiscal year, because Lee’s administration pushed through a $1.9 billion tax cut for businesses this spring.

Building needs are acute in Memphis and Nashville

In its separate infrastructure report released in January, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations identified 18 school buildings, including 11 in Nashville, that are in poor condition.

This week’s comptroller’s report said it would cost $2.3 billion just to upgrade schools from poor or fair condition to good or excellent condition.

The needs are acute in Memphis, which has some of the state’s oldest school buildings. Leaders there are struggling under the weight of a long list of maintenance and construction projects.

While no buildings in Memphis-Shelby County Schools are rated in poor condition, 45 are considered in fair condition. That means they are structurally sound but require maintenance or repairs to meet building code or functional upgrades to improve their use.

In addition, the Memphis district is trying to build two new high schools in Frayser and Cordova, but the $385 million price tag for both projects may put at least one of them in jeopardy.

“We can’t afford two new high schools right now,” school board member Amber Huett-Garcia said Tuesday night during a workshop where Superintendent Marie Feagins fielded questions about their status.

Huett-Garcia said the district is operating in a “fiscally constrained environment” that recently required leaders to reallocate $94 million for operational expenses that originally was intended for school maintenance.

“Our buildings are worsening,” she added, “and so my fear is that we end up with two half-built high schools.”

District seeks a new funding source for infrastructure

Whether it’s air conditioning problems in the summer, heating issues in the winter, or water fountains and intercom systems that don’t work in any season, Memphis school leaders say a new long-term funding source is imperative for addressing those needs.

Next month, the board is expected to include state infrastructure funding among its legislative priorities ahead of the Tennessee General Assembly session that begins Jan. 14 in Nashville.

To help defray school building costs, the board wants lawmakers to look into redirecting revenues from sales, use, and excise taxes; lottery revenue; or proceeds from the sale and use of state lands.

Feagins said Tuesday that her administration recently completed a yearlong, districtwide building assessment, which will be used for prioritizing all future capital projects.

Tennessee doesn’t set aside revenue for school facilities, as five neighbors do

The state already provides some funding for K-12 capital projects, including facility funding for charter schools, infrastructure stipends for fast-growing districts, and grants to improve building security and energy efficiency.

White, the Memphis lawmaker who asked for the comptroller’s review, also requested a rundown of how other states help local governments pay for school building projects.

Analysts cited three main ways: appropriations, financing assistance, and dedicated revenues.

“Tennessee leverages appropriations and financing assistance but does not specifically dedicate revenues to K-12 capital expenditures,” the report said.

Possible revenue sources include sales and use taxes; tax levies on the purchase of alcohol, nicotine products, and marijuana; as well as proceeds from lotteries or use taxes on timber logging, oil and gas extraction, and public land sales.

According to the Education Commission of the States, 19 states dedicate revenues for school-related capital projects. Five of those states — Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia — border Tennessee.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Governor says Tennessee has money for both Hurricane Helene recovery and universal school vouchers

2024-10-11T19:24:00+00:00

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Gov. Bill Lee said Hurricane Helene’s massive destruction in northeast Tennessee, plus a growing backlog of public infrastructure needs statewide, won’t prevent his administration from pursuing a universal private school voucher program during his final two years in office.

He also suggested that there’s no need to tap into the $144 million set aside for his Education Freedom Scholarship Act to beef up the state’s disaster response. That money currently is not being used, because his proposal stalled in the legislature this year.

“We don’t have to choose one or the other,” Lee said Thursday during a media briefing about the state’s emergency response and recovery work.

Ongoing and potential new initiatives like statewide vouchers remain possible, he said, because of strong fiscal management by the state in the last 20 years.

“We have resources. We have an economy. We have the ability to invest in … infrastructure and education both,” Lee added.

The governor sought to quell suggestions from some lawmakers that state leaders rethink Tennessee’s budget priorities, not only to help northeast Tennessee recover from potentially $1 billion-plus in damage to its public infrastructure, but also to address a growing backlog of at least $68 billion needed statewide to improve roads, bridges, water systems, schools, firehouses, and more, according to the state’s latest assessment.

One of his administration’s top priorities is to give public funding to any family across Tennessee who wants to send their children to private school. This summer, Lee said his office was crafting a new bill after his 2024 proposal stumbled in legislative committees this spring due to disagreements among Republicans.

Last week, Rep. Mark White, a Memphis Republican and voucher supporter who chairs a House education committee, said the state’s new first priority should be “taking care of our neighbors in East Tennessee” and helping them recover from the deadly storm.

“Can we do universal vouchers, too? I don’t know,” White continued. “But East Tennessee has got to be our top focus.”

On Thursday, Lee said his administration is already prioritizing recovery and rebuilding for the region.

He announced a $100 million fund to help 13 hurricane-ravaged counties remove debris and repair water and wastewater systems immediately. Those counties eventually can seek reimbursements from the federal government to repay the fund, but need no-interest loans up front, Lee said.

On Friday, the chairperson of the House Democratic caucus issued a scathing critique of the governor’s plan to loan counties money, instead of providing state funding outright to supplement federal assistance. He also criticized Lee for tapping shared state-federal Medicaid funding to provide the loans.

“Gov. Lee has established a solid reputation for fiscal mismanagement and callous decision-making during his term, but this loan program beats anything I’ve ever seen,” said Rep. John Ray Clemmons, of Nashville.

Clemmons said the state should be pulling from its reserves, or the unused $144 million voucher allocation, to provide disaster assistance.

Schools have been closed since the storm flooded the rural, mountainous region in late September, washing out roads and bridges, damaging drinking water and wastewater systems, and battering school campuses.

In addition to overseeing repairs, school officials have been revamping bus routes for the return of students, many of whom already had fall breaks planned for October. Daily bus commutes likely will lengthen to more than an hour for many children. At a Carter County high school that’s expected to be declared a total loss, students will be relocated to a former school building that houses district offices.

Meanwhile, officials with the state education department said they are working with local school leaders to provide flexibility and assistance to school systems affected by Helene.

That may involve granting waivers so schools can provide more instruction remotely than normally allowed, or to reduce the required number of instructional days. The state also will work with districts as needed regarding fall high school and ACT testing, a spokesperson said.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a response from House Democrats.

With all of Tennessee’s hurricane damage, will funding priorities change for schools, vouchers?

2024-10-08T20:07:39+00:00

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One high school took in 4 feet of water and is expected to be declared a total loss. Other campuses in northeast Tennessee sustained roof, water system, and other damage — including food that spoiled in refrigerators after the power went down. School bus routes have been thrown into disarray by mangled roads and bridges.

Officials across the region are still assessing Hurricane Helene’s damage to schools and their surrounding communities, but a few things are becoming clear: The already massive repair needs for Tennessee school buildings and other public infrastructure are about to grow. And with a long and costly recovery ahead, state leaders will need to rethink some of their top budget priorities — possibly including Gov. Bill Lee’s desire to extend private school vouchers statewide — to figure out how to pay for them.

“I’m not sure when we’ll be back in school,” said Mischelle Simcox, superintendent of Johnson County Schools.

Late last week, her team was trying to figure out how to revamp transportation in a district where 75% of its 2,000 students rely on buses to get to six rural schools.

“Many of our highways are just gone, and a lot of bridges are out,” she said. “We’ve been through blizzards. We’ve been through COVID. But in my 26 years as an educator, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

There is money available. Tennessee’s current spending plan, for instance, includes $144 million for Lee’s universal school voucher proposal — funding that’s sitting unused since the bill stalled in the legislature in April.

The state’s rainy day fund, now projected to reach a record-high $2.15 billion, is another potential source. That money is set aside in case of economic downturns or emergencies. But lawmakers have historically been protective of the pot because it contributes to Tennessee’s good bond rating, which also helps local governments get lower interest rates when borrowing money.

In addition, there may be unclaimed funding from $1.5 billion the legislature allocated this year to give certain tax refunds to businesses, which have until Nov. 30 to submit their claims.

Rep. Mark White, a Memphis Republican and voucher supporter who chairs a House education committee, is ambivalent about which source or sources to tap. But he is adamant that the state should reevaluate its priorities.

“Our first priority now has got to be taking care of our neighbors in East Tennessee and helping them recover from this storm damage,” White said.

“Can we do universal vouchers, too? I don’t know,” he continued. “But East Tennessee has got to be our top focus.”

Eight hard-hit counties due to receive federal aid

The hurricane blew ashore in Florida on Sept. 26, then dumped more than 40 trillion gallons of rain on the Southeast in less than a week, battering inland communities that typically are safe from tropical storms. At least 230 people have died, including 15 Tennesseans, with many people still missing.

Eight mostly rural, mountainous counties suffered the brunt of the record-setting rainfall in East Tennessee — Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi, and Washington. They’ve already been approved to receive federal disaster aid, with philanthropic help promised by entities ranging from nonprofit organizations to entertainer Dolly Parton, an East Tennessee native.

The ultimate cost of recovery to state government could exceed $1 billion.

Transportation officials project it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars just to repair state-owned bridges, and they expect months of road closures. For many students, bus detours could lengthen their daily commute by hours.

In Carter County, where Hampton High School flooded, the school board voted in an emergency meeting last week to relocate its 400 students to the district’s central office building, a former school. But with the abandoned campus located in a flood plain and help from insurance providers unlikely for a rebuild, school leaders were preparing for a long, arduous recovery.

Most schools in the region weathered the storms better, but still sustained damage, including roofs to repair, buckled parking lots, and lots of downed trees, debris, and mud to clean up.

Many campuses where electricity and water have been restored are serving as community resource centers, providing food, shelter, and laundry and showering services to displaced families, especially since some schools were already planning closures for fall break.

The cafeteria of Mountain City Elementary School is serving as a food and supply distribution center for families affected by Hurricane Helene flooding in Johnson County, Tennessee.

A group of education and philanthropic leaders have established the Northeast Tennessee School District Disaster Relief Fund, with 100% of the proceeds going to assist school districts hardest hit by Helene.

Tennessee was already behind on school building needs

Before the hurricane hit, Tennessee already had a statewide backlog of school building needs through 2027, estimated to cost nearly $10 billion. It’s part of a $68 billion inventory of public infrastructure needs that also include roads, bridges, utilities, and firehouses, according to the state’s latest assessment.

For local officials seeking to transform their communities through education, keeping up with school upgrades is especially important. A growing body of evidence asserts higher-quality facilities translate into better academic outcomes for vulnerable children, plus higher property values for communities that surround improved school buildings.

Rep. David Hawk, a Greeneville Republican whose district was affected by the floods, has tried for a decade to direct recurring state funds to brick-and-mortar education needs. Helene’s aftermath, he said, further highlights the challenges faced by city and county governments, which mostly use property and sales tax revenues to pay for school facilities.

“Right now in Upper East Tennessee, we’re focused on immediate needs, but our long-term needs will not be a quick fix,” Hawk said. “We’ll be coupling state and federal dollars to achieve what needs to be done. I hope one day we’ll be able to use recurring state dollars to fund the schools and roads and bridges and water and sewer infrastructures that need to be upgraded.

“The needs are everywhere,” Hawk said.

On Tuesday, Tennessee Democrats launched a previously planned“Rocky Top, Not Rocky Roads” campaign aimed at modernizing the state’s transportation systems and relieving traffic congestion amid climate change that’s fueling natural and environmental disasters.

“We have got to stop being so reactive in our state, “ said Sen. Heidi Campbell, of Nashville, while Rep. Ronnie Glynn, of Clarksville, called for “intelligent, sustainable solutions.”

How the storm could shift the voucher debate

Touring damage in Cocke County last week, the governor said his administration was working on a plan specifically to assist students.

“We’ve got to think outside the box,” Lee said, “not just respond in the way that we know how to respond, but go above and beyond that, recognizing that these kids need to be in school, and they need to be fed, and they need to be educated, and they need all the services that come with that.”

Gov. Bill Lee speaks with first responders in Cocke County on Oct. 3, 2024. The East Tennessee county was one of the state's hardest hit areas with flood damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

Voucher opponents say thinking outside of the box should include reallocating untapped voucher funding from the current state budget to help storm-ravaged schools.

The $144 million allocation was Lee’s consolation prize after Republican disagreements derailed his universal voucher proposal in legislative committees in April. The conflict stemmed partly from worries that offering school vouchers statewide, regardless of family income, could bust the state’s budget, similar to Arizona’s experience after it pioneered one of the nation’s largest school voucher programs in 2022.

But hours after Tennessee lawmakers adjourned this spring, Lee said money they budgeted for his proposed Education Freedom Scholarship Act showed their “clear intent” to pass universal vouchers next year when the General Assembly reconvenes.

JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee and a frequent voucher critic, said “the optics are horrible” to leave such funding in place as Tennesseans toil with a natural disaster. The state’s juvenile justice system, he noted, is also under intense statewide strain this fall because of hundreds of school threats, mostly on social media, with some local officials pleading for more juvenile detention space.

“We don’t have an obligation to fund private schools under our state constitution, but we do have an obligation to fund public schools,” Bowman said. “If the choice is between vouchers and rebuilding our state and keeping our kids safe, there’s no really no choice.”

“We’ve been through blizzards. We’ve been through COVID. But in my 26 years as an educator, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Mischelle Simcox, superintendent, Johnson County Schools.

White, a longtime lawmaker from Memphis, agrees the legislature should revisit its financial priorities, though he’s not ready to identify what should stay and what should go.

His district is on the opposite end of the state from Helene’s destruction but lies along the New Madrid Fault seismic zone, a source of tremors and historic earthquakes affecting seven states.

“If Memphis had an earthquake, I would hope the state’s No. 1 priority would be helping Shelby County and any other counties affected in our region of the state,” he said.

“We’re all Tennesseans.”

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Five things we’re watching as Memphis students head back to school for 2024-25

2024-08-05T10:00:00+00:00

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This week, more than 100,000 students in Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the state’s largest school district, are putting summer break behind them and marching into a new academic year.

And a lot of new awaits them.

There’s new leadership for the district, including the superintendent, Marie Feagins, beginning her first full school year, and a school board that will have four new members, following last week’s elections.

New budget priorities — and realities — will create changes in the district’s workforce and in the classroom, reflecting the end of federal pandemic relief funds.

And expect more pressure from state officials to change the way education is delivered to children in Memphis, including the creation of a university-led school district and a renewed push for universal school vouchers.

Here are five things to watch for in 2024-25.

Superintendent Marie Feagins begins her first full year

Marie Feagins, who took over as superintendent in April after a nearly two-year search process, has made sweeping changes already to direct more of the district’s resources into the classroom. One of them was cutting more than 1,100 non-classroom positions and creating opportunities for those employees to apply for school-based jobs to help alleviate a teacher shortage. The goal, she said, is to get more student support housed directly in schools, not dropping in occasionally from the central office.

Look for more shakeups as Feagins leads MSCS in adapting to the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds and implementing more academic accountability measures. Her team is working on a strategic plan that incorporates efforts to improve the district’s academic performance and students’ learning environments.

Feagins has laid out plans to revamp school turnaround work and hired a longtime administrator to oversee the district’s lowest performing schools.

Meanwhile, she has tried to tackle cost inefficiencies that siphon money out of the classroom, including an “abuse” of overtime that she said has cost the district $1 million.

Feagins told the school board last week to expect air-conditioning issues in schools as students return. “As we know, we have incredibly aged buildings,” she said.

As for teacher shortages, the district has held 10 hiring blitzes attended by more than a thousand people in recent months. As of last week, its 250 instructional vacancies were “significantly lower than we were as a district last year,” Feagins said. Most are for special education and English language learners.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board will get new members

Four new members will soon join the nine-member MSCS board after elections for five seats on Aug. 1.

Leaving soon is Chairperson Althea Greene, who lost her bid for reelection to Natalie McKinney. Choosing a new chairperson will be the new board’s first order of business.

Here’s what winners of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board election told us about their vision

The board will be charged with navigating changes under the leadership of the new superintendent, and holding her accountable. Already, members have pushed Feagins for better communication about her initiatives, including the job cuts.

The board is in the process of rebuilding relationships and public trust after a protracted superintendent search exposed divisions and ignited conflicts among board members.

Money in place to improve facilities and student outcomes

Feagins’ $1.8 billion budget, approved by the board in June, prioritized alleviating the teacher shortage. But it also included key items aimed at improving academic performance in a district where many students struggle with economic challenges and are forced to learn in aging, dilapidated buildings. The potential impact of that spending will become clearer this year.

The budget includes $96 million to improve facilities to create safer learning spaces for students, and $14.6 million to expand after-school programs and activities. Bus routes for afterschool activities are also included — an important step in a city where the public bus system regularly faces cutbacks. Around 8,000 students are expected to participate.

The spending plan also includes $21.8 million for targeted coaching and tutoring services to help students improve on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, known as TCAP, and end-of-course tests.

MSCS students’ TCAP performance improved in 2024, with 22.4% of students meeting or exceeding expectations on the reading test, compared with 20.7% in 2023. In 2021, the figure was just 13%.

The percentage of third, fourth, and fifth graders who scored proficient in reading increased from 23.3% in 2023 to 26% in 2024. The improvement in those levels is important, because third grade is when students face the prospect of being held back or sent to summer school if they don’t meet or show significant progress toward meeting TCAP reading standards.

State forces more changes in Memphis education

In March, state Rep. Mark White, a Memphis Republican who chairs the House Education Administration Committee, said he would file legislation to allow Gov. Bill Lee to appoint up to six members to the MSCS board. That plan was shelved in the face of community opposition.

But lawmakers and state officials continue to pursue policies that extend the state’s influence over Memphis schools.

A new law allowed the University of Memphis, which enrolls around 1,050 students in its University Schools, to carve out its own K-12 school district from the public schools that it has operated under a long-running contract with MSCS.

That change will affect MSCS, because the students who attend the University Schools have regularly posted some of the district’s highest test scores.

The state also changed the criteria for its first-ever A-F grades for schools, emphasizing academic proficiency over growth, dismissing opposition from many local public school leaders. In December 2023, of the 5% of Tennessee schools that received F’s, half were in MSCS — where most of the students are low-income and struggling academically. We’re watching to see how the schools fare in 2024.

Expanded school voucher proposal will be back

This year, Gov. Bill Lee’s efforts to pass a universal school voucher law failed in the legislature due to opposition from rural lawmakers in his own party. He has vowed to revive the fight next year, and the recent primary elections delivered a mix of wins and losses for voucher supporters.

Some Memphis families already have access to vouchers under the state’s existing Education Savings Account voucher program, which is available in three urban areas. Lee wants to expand voucher access statewide, regardless of family income.

But the benefits of private school vouchers are still unclear. Results from the Education Savings Account program showed that most students who participated in 2022-23 posted lower scores on state tests than their counterparts in public schools. This year, recipients in three counties made modest gains, but their performance still trailed their peers in public schools.

Tonyaa Weathersbee is the former bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach her at tonyaaweathersbee@yahoo.com.

Tennessee governor bets big on school vouchers with primary endorsements. Will it work?

2024-07-11T11:00:00+00:00

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At the Halfway Market in Franklin, Tennessee, where locals come for a good hamburger and friendly conversation, Republican Brian Beathard works the crowd as a candidate for a high-profile legislative seat ahead of a pivotal session on the future of the state’s education system.

By most standards, Beathard should be a shoo-in to replace departing state Rep. Sam Whitson, a four-term Republican lawmaker who’s retiring this year.

Beathard (pronounced BETH-ard) has served on the Williamson County Commission since 2010 and, as its current chairman, has a record of advocating for government efficiency, competence, and conservatism in a predominantly Republican community.

He’s been endorsed by top local leaders, including Whitson, three mayors, and a retired sheriff.

And he’s the only one of three Republican candidates for the District 65 seat who has continuously lived and worked for more than 25 years in the affluent suburban county south of Nashville.

But when Republican Gov. Bill Lee handed out endorsements in key statehouse primary races last month, Beathard got bypassed because of his stance on a single issue: private school vouchers.

Lee is betting big on a policy in which he’s had major victories during his nearly six years in office, but has still fallen short of his ultimate goal: taxpayer funding for private school tuition for any Tennessee student who wants it — including those from middle-class and wealthy families — all under the banner of “school choice.”

The governor’s universal voucher proposal stalled in the legislature this spring, even with a GOP supermajority. Now, in anticipation of a do-over, Lee is taking the unusual step of using his bully pulpit to endorse certain Republican candidates over others.

A proponent of local control, Beathard — like Whitson — opposes the governor’s plan, especially for Williamson County, home to two of the state’s top-performing public school districts.

“Our schools are our oceanfront property, so we should take a hard pause on anything that could negatively affect our students, our schools, our property values, or our ability to attract business,” Beathard said of Williamson County, where such big companies as Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, Mars Petcare, and Tractor Supply Co. have their U.S. headquarters.

From left, Brian Beathard, Michelle Foreman, and Lee Reeves appear at a candidate forum in Franklin on June 6, 2024, as they campaign to succeed state Rep. Sam Whitson, a retiring lawmaker who opposes private school vouchers.

The governor, who also is from Williamson County and graduated from a public high school in Franklin, instead is backing real estate investor and attorney Lee Reeves, who moved to Tennessee five years ago from Texas. Reeves, who serves on a local zoning appeals board, supports school vouchers, as does candidate Michelle Foreman, a former member of the state’s Republican executive committee.

Whoever wins the three-way Republican primary on Aug. 1 is likely to succeed Whitson.

And Lee is eager to replace voucher opponents like Whitson with supporters to achieve his top policy priority.

Governor is ‘taking a risk’ by wading into contested primaries

After his universal voucher proposal collapsed in committees over Republican disagreements about the specifics, the governor pledged to vet GOP legislative candidates this election year based on his school choice agenda.

“I’ve said a lot of times I get engaged in elections, and I get engaged in candidates,” he told reporters in May, promising to “understand who I can be most supportive and most helpful to.”

He’s following the playbook of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who successfully used school choice as a litmus test to remove anti-voucher Republican candidates from races, enabling Iowa to pass universal vouchers in 2023 and positioning Texas for a potentially similar outcome next year.

“The governor already put his reputation on the line to get vouchers through this spring and it didn’t work, so now he’s playing hardball. But he’s also taking a risk.”
John Geer, political science professor, Vanderbilt University

But if Lee’s endorsees lose their primary races to candidates like Beathard, the governor may find it even harder to push his education agenda through the legislature in 2025 as he enters his last two years in office, accelerating his lame duck status.

“The governor already put his reputation on the line to get vouchers through this spring and it didn’t work, so now he’s playing hardball,” said John Geer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University.

“But he’s also taking a risk,” Geer continued. “If some of these candidates who didn’t get his endorsement survive, they’ll be even more entrenched” against vouchers.

According to Beathard, Lee and members of his staff didn’t speak personally with him about his position before announcing which candidates he was backing.

A small-business owner who supported Lee’s campaign for governor, Beathard is not completely opposed to vouchers, but wants local officials to be able to make the final call — a deference that wasn’t part of Lee’s 2019 education savings account law that imposed vouchers on Memphis and Nashville over the opposition of most local officials.

“My ears are open if there were a local option so Williamson County can opt out and counties that need that policy can opt in,” Beathard said.

Brian Beathard, center, speaks with citizens following a candidate forum on June 6, 2024.

Pro-voucher interests have the governor’s ear

Lee’s endorsements in his home county, as well as a handful of other state legislative races, generally mirror those announced earlier by Americans for Prosperity, a pro-voucher group affiliated with Kansas billionaire Charles Koch’s conservative advocacy network.

“We plan to put the full weight of our grassroots efforts behind each of our policy champions,” said Tori Venable, the group’s Tennessee leader, when rolling out several slates of endorsements in May.

A large amount of money is also coming into the state from pro-voucher interests.

The American Federation for Children launched a Super PAC for the 2024 elections cycle with at least $10 million to support pro-voucher candidates in state legislative races nationwide.

“If you’re a candidate or lawmaker who opposes school choice and freedom in education, you’re a target. If you’re a champion for parents, we’ll be your shield,” said Tommy Schultz, the group’s national CEO and its former spokesperson in Tennessee.

That’s just one of the concerns of Whitson, the departing state representative.

“The governor’s endorsement in District 65 opens the door for dark money from out of state to get into this campaign, simply so our governor can try to secure one more vote for his voucher program,” Whitson said.

Another voucher vote likely would be close in Tennessee’s House

Lee, who cruised to victory in two elections after campaigning to give parents more education choices for their children, appeared to have enough Senate votes to pass a statewide voucher plan this year, but couldn’t rally the House’s GOP supermajority to do the same.

His 2019 proposal to create a voucher program for Tennessee’s two biggest urban areas squeaked through the legislature after then-House Speaker Glen Casada held the voting board open for 38 minutes to convince Rep. Jason Zachary, of Knoxville, to change from “no” to “yes.” That controversial parliamentary maneuver remains a source of bitterness on both sides of the aisle, according to Whitson.

“There’s still a lot of fallout from that vote,” Whitson said. “But ethically and morally, I consider my ‘no’ vote on that day to be the best vote I ever cast.”

Timeline: How private school voucher movement gained momentum in Tennessee before hitting a bump

Supporters say universal vouchers would put all Tennessee parents in charge of their children’s education by making private schools a more affordable option.

Critics like Whitson say the policy would destabilize public education, bust the state’s budget, and further segregate schools by race, income, and students with disabilities, setting the stage for discrimination lawsuits against the state and various participating private schools.

“A lot of Republicans feel like the governor is putting us in a bad position with his voucher plan,” Whitson said. “And many are also disappointed at his tactic of injecting himself in the primary races.”

With Senate leaders in the background, Gov. Bill Lee speaks with reporters on April 25, 2024, at the close of the legislative session. He vowed to bring his private school voucher proposal, which stalled in committees, back to the Tennessee General Assembly in 2025.

Scott Golden, who chairs the state Republican Party, said Lee has been talking about his passion for school choice since he first ran for governor eight years ago. Lee also has a right, he said, to campaign for issues that are important to him.

“We see it all the time on the national level. Elected officials are free to make their voices heard during an election cycle, just like anybody else,” Golden said.

Hendrell Remus, who chairs the Tennessee Democratic Party, has a different take.

“The governor is willing to tear his Republican caucus to shreds in order to pass one item on his agenda,” Remus said. “But I think voters will step up and reject the candidates who Gov. Lee is trying to prop up. It’s an opportunity for Democrats.”

It’s unclear how the governor’s endorsements will play out this election year. Results of voter polls on vouchers vary wildly in Tennessee.

But for Lucetta Mannion, a Republican voter in Williamson County, Lee’s backing of a pro-voucher candidate helped to bring the issue to her attention — and steered her toward Beathard’s camp.

“I’ve done my research,” said Mannion, whose five grandchildren have attended local public schools. “Our schools are excellent, and I see no reason to have a voucher system for our children. If Brian wins, it will be one more vote in the legislature against it.”

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

MSCS board approves $1.8 billion budget for 2024-25, with money for higher teacher salaries

2024-06-26T19:32:42+00:00

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With a July 1 deadline looming, the Memphis-Shelby County school board approved a $1.8 billion budget for 2024-25 that includes more money for teachers, and job cuts for many other district employees.

The budget — cobbled together as federal pandemic relief funds are drying up — prioritizes reducing teacher shortages through a $28.4 million investment in higher salaries.

MSCS currently has 463 teacher vacancies, Superintendent Marie Feagins told the board at Tuesday’s special-called meeting. The district’s goal is to whittle those vacancies to 300 this year.

Feagins is also trying to address that shortage through offering employees whose jobs are set to be eliminated a chance to apply for school-based jobs. Of the 1,100 positions designated for cuts, about 500 or so are vacant, while 600 aren’t.

“I’ve shared since the beginning that everyone who wants a job can have a job,” Feagins told reporters after Tuesday’s meeting.

“It may have a different title, and it may be in a different location, a location that happens to be directly in the classroom, or closer to the classroom, which is where the resources are necessary.”

Earlier Tuesday, the administration held a job fair to allow many of the employees whose jobs might be eliminated or restructured to apply for those openings.

Feagins’ budget didn’t come together without controversy. Earlier this month, her plans to eliminate hundreds of jobs caught board members and district staffers — many of whom received layoff notices on June 10 — by surprise.

It led the board to pass a resolution the next day to force Feagins to pause on the layoffs, and she was criticized for her failure to communicate her plans to the board and the public.

Feagins, who took over as superintendent in April, later acknowledged that she should have communicated better, but she stood by her decision. On Tuesday, eight of the nine board members voted to approve her budget, while Maurcio Calvo, who represents District 5, did not.

Calvo said he voted no because he wasn’t clear on why the district was eliminating positions, while also holding job fairs to fill positions.

“My concern is that I don’t have clear data, and I can’t make this decision, in good conscience, without having the data,” Calvo told reporters after the meeting.

Board Chair Althea Greene, however, said the board had to make a tough call.

“I think we struggled tonight,” Greene said. “You see our hard work in trying to approve a budget. People have dedicated their lives to Memphis-Shelby County Schools, and my prayer is that we will continue to get jobs for these people … .”

“At the end of the day, it’s about the 110,000 children being able to have teachers inside the classroom with them,” she said.

Efforts to address those concerns and more are included in the 2024-25 budget. Here are a few of the line items:

$21.8 million for targeted coaching and tutoring to boost students’ performance on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program and end-of-course tests.
$14.6 million to expand afterschool programs, add bus routes for afterschool activities, and provide comprehensive afterschool activities. This is expected to affect nearly 8,000 students.
$2.9 million to improve attendance.
$96.7 million to revitalize facilities and create safer spaces for learning
$1.5 million to fund more graduation coaches in struggling schools

Bureau Chief Tonyaa Weathersbee oversees Chalkbeat Tennessee’s education coverage. Reach her at tweathersbee@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis board criticizes Feagins’ communication on 1,100 position cuts while budget deadline looms

2024-06-12T03:45:43+00:00

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With less than a month until the new budget year, Memphis school board members pressed Superintendent Marie Feagins for specifics about 1,100 position cuts that they say come as an 11th-hour surprise.

The budget issue came to a head Monday, when Feagins emailed Memphis-Shelby County Schools staff explaining the number of cuts, when jobs would end, and deadlines for accepting job reassignments.

The lack of public discussion about the cuts resulted in chaos and confusion for the thousands of staff who received the email, board members said during a special meeting Tuesday.

Districts across the country have been bracing for staff changes and layoffs with the end of one-time federal pandemic relief funds, often referred to by the acronym ESSER. Memphis knew these changes were coming, and the board and staff talked through potential cuts in a November retreat.

Marie Feagins, a longtime student advocate, faces new tests as Memphis superintendent

But since then, and throughout Feagins’ onboarding as superintendent this spring, few particulars have been publicly requested by the school board or offered by district administration.

The lack of public deliberation by board members as they appointed a new superintendent and many members face re-election has left the expansive changes to be ironed out as the clock ticks on the current budget year.

“When you are going to do something drastic, the board must be brought along,” Memphis board Chair Althea Greene said Tuesday.

Greene brought a resolution directing Feagins to pause the cuts until providing more specificity about them, which passed with one “no” vote by Mauricio Calvo. But the district’s general counsel Justin Bailey said MSCS would still have to notify staff in order to meet regulatory requirements about layoff notices, which effectively makes the resolution moot.

“I am excited to do this work. I am taking this with pride to bring before you the hardest decisions that have not been made in previous years before me. … I take this serious,” Feagins told the board. “You could take the ($325,000 salary) from me today and I’ll show up tomorrow.”

Feagins’ proposal to cut 1,100 positions will result in about $68 million in savings for the district, MSCS officials told Chalkbeat. Of the roles, about 41% are vacancies, leaving some 650 people facing a job loss or reassignment.

The district of nearly 110,000 students will still employ about 14,000 people.

Feagins said she inherited a proposal of 812 position cuts from the prior administration led by then-Interim Superintendent Toni Williams. (Williams now is a consultant on district finance matters, but her role in the current cuts appears unclear.)

Feagins said her additional proposals include cutting 156 early-career teachers whose permits are expiring. She also wants to sunset the district’s use of Proximity Learning, in which students learn in school classrooms from online teachers. That would result in cutting another 70 staffers who worked as in-person monitors for those students, she said.

Among the 812 cuts are likely some of the 675 positions that were initially proposed during the retreat last November. Those included several top-level management roles. Tito Langston, who has been the chief financial officer throughout the superintendent transition, presented those cuts again to board members Tuesday.

“If we don’t make key decisions today, we can punt it, but we’ll be right back here next year,” Langston said. “Matter of fact, even if we don’t punt it, I hate to say this, but I’ll give a preview: We’re probably going to be back right here next year anyway.”

According to the Monday email, about 280 staff still needed to be informed of their job change. Of the 363 staff who had been informed of the cuts, about half had accepted a reassignment, Feagins said.

As budget cuts loom, Memphis raises minimum teacher pay to $50,000

“Communication is the key,” said Vice Chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman.

Dozens of people attended Tuesday’s meeting wearing black in support of staff who were being cut.

Both Williams and Feagins said they expected to be able to keep many staff through reassignments, but the replacement jobs could pay less. Board members have pushed Feagins in the wake of job cut announcements to make plans that ease salary cuts those staffers may face.

Barbara Beloch, who told the board she was an 18-year employee, petitioned the board to reconsider replacing her role as a parent liaison who helps families navigate the district.

“We are the voice of and for so many parents who feel they do not have a voice in their child’s schools,” Beloch told board members.

The board is expected to vote on the budget and formally approve the cuts before the new fiscal year begins July 1.

A community meeting about the budget — the first this year — is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the board auditorium, 160 S. Hollywood St. You can view the proposed budget on the district’s website.

Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

MSCS’ $200 million funding request reflects soaring cost of new high schools

2024-05-02T21:15:28+00:00

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Memphis-Shelby County Schools is asking the county for more than $200 million in funding for school buildings, both to address maintenance needs at existing schools and to support construction of two new high schools.

The request exceeds even the expanded school buildings budget supported by a county wheel tax increase last year, and it’s not clear how much of it the county can provide. Projected costs for the two new high schools have risen by tens of millions of dollars since county commissioners approved initial funding for them.

Completing construction of the two new high schools would deliver on a promise to Frayser families, plus the communities at three Germantown schools that the state is forcing the district to close.

MSCS’ building strategy in the works: See which schools may be affected

The request is also aimed at tackling a long backlog of existing facility needs, including new fire alarm systems, roofs, and heating and air upgrades. That list is expected to grow once school officials receive results of an expansive building assessment later this year.

Superintendent Marie Feagins and Chief Financial Officer Tito Langston brought the request to the Shelby County Commission, the group that approves the county funds MSCS receives, on Wednesday. The pending capital request — of which $97 million is for immediate maintenance needs — is a major item in the district’s proposed $1.8 billion budget.

Feagins says existing buildings are the priority

Feagins pushed back on the notion that the district would have to choose between the deferred maintenance projects and the new high schools, but said the existing buildings are the priority. This fiscal year, MSCS dipped into its own fund balance to cover $64 million in building projects after the county committed dollars only to the new high schools.

“We have immediate needs in several buildings, almost 100 buildings, right now,” Feagins told reporters after the presentation.

The district is petitioning others for funding, too, she said, including the City of Memphis, which has not had a funding relationship with the district in years.

“There are multiple ways to move this forward,” Feagins said. “I’m confident that we’ll get it done.”

The proposed new high school in Frayser will replace Trezevant High School and MLK College Prep High School, which is closing this year after its term in the state-run Achievement School District. The new building is to be built at the MLK College Prep campus on Dellwood Avenue.

In his own budget presentation Wednesday, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris proposed to continue the existing commitment to the new high schools, but said he’d offer an additional funding proposal in December to give county and district officials time to find cost saving options.

“We want to see new schools in more neighborhoods, and the best way to do that is to make sure that you spend appropriately on the first two new schools,” Harris told reporters.

In an interview last week, Commissioner Mick Wright, who chairs the facilities committee, told Chalkbeat that it appeared that the county and district could be at an impasse over the schools, especially given the county’s promises to another construction project, the region’s new trauma hospital.

Wright told Chalkbeat Wednesday that he could see the additional funding for the schools being approved if other county projects don’t move forward as planned.

Commissioner Edmund Ford, Jr. also expressed doubts about meeting the district’s capital funds request, but agreed that schools’ maintenance needs should be met.

“I don’t want to get to the point to where we abandon those students, those existing schools, and then we decide to only look at the two new schools,” Ford said.

Feagins outlines budget cuts, investments

MSCS presented a balanced budget that eliminated a $150 million shortfall through a series of position and program cuts meant to focus resources on initiatives that are working well.

Feagins described her message to staff: “You can have a job. It just may not be the title that you have right now, or the respective department or work location that you’re in.”

In April, Chalkbeat requested updated information about how the proposed job cuts match up against the 675 cuts district officials proposed to board members in November. The district has not responded to the inquiry.

At the same time, MSCS proposed some investments to go along with a new salary increase for teachers, including:

$4.2 million for attendance specialists, an average cost of $53,000 per school
$1.5 million toward support personnel at high schools that earned D and F letter grades from the state
$29.3 million in literacy supports, with a focus on small group instruction, family communication, and low performing schools

Feagins also proposed $1.6 million to expand course offerings at Hope Academy, the school inside Shelby County’s juvenile detention center.

District officials expect to offer a more detailed look at the budget during meetings later in May and June with school board members and county commissioners. Both bodies have to vote to approve the budget before it takes effect in July.

Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

As budget cuts loom, Memphis raises minimum teacher pay to $50,000

2024-05-01T18:09:33+00:00

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Memphis-Shelby County Schools is raising its minimum teacher salary to $50,811 under a new agreement with its two teachers unions, delivering on their salary goals despite a $150 million budget shortfall next year.

The pay bumps are an early win for Superintendent Marie Feagins, and could make teaching positions more attractive for central office staffers whose jobs are on the line because of the expected budget cuts.

But the vote on the new agreement spotlighted concerns over one board member’s potential conflicts of interest. Keith Williams, who represents District 6, is also executive director of one of Memphis’ teachers unions. He was one of the seven board members who voted to approve the agreement at Tuesday’s meeting. (Two board members were not present.)

Keith Williams, shown here at a 2022 hearing, voted as a school board member Tuesday to approve an agreement with unions to raise teacher salaries. The vote spotlighted concerns about conflicts of interest for Williams, who heads one of those unions, the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association.

Williams told Chalkbeat after the meeting that a state attorney general opinion “cleared” him to participate in such votes. He did not cite any of the specific analyses given in the opinion.

The opinion calls for recusals when a school board member who is also a union leader has conflicting interests on a matter such as employment contracts.

Teachers, administrators, and board members, meanwhile, cheered the agreement, which raises the district’s starting salary by 8% for teachers with undergraduate degrees and ensures that veteran teachers receive raises once they have hit the top of the district’s 19-step salary scale.

In practice, the pay increases are likely to be even higher in percentage terms when the agreement takes effect in July. Employees who would have received a raise by advancing to the next “step” of the scale will also benefit from the increased salaries on the new scale.

“Teachers make magic happen daily in our classrooms, and it is my intention to continue to find ways to show our appreciation for their work,” Feagins said in a statement following the meeting. She said during the meeting that the raises were an early priority.

“I think that was probably the first thing I said when we sat down in February,” she said, referring to a meeting with MSCS’ chief financial officer, Tito Langston. “‘Get me to 50.’”

School districts across Tennessee are raising salaries to keep in line with the minimums championed by Gov. Bill Lee, which aim to get teacher pay to $50,000 by 2026-27. Memphis has historically paid more than the state minimum, as it competes for staff to fill teacher vacancies. About 10% of the district’s 5,800 teaching positions are vacant.

The current contract for Memphis teachers offers union representatives a chance to bargain over certain items each January, but district officials and teachers didn’t return to the table until April, when Feagins’ term as superintendent officially began.

Leaders of both unions praised the district and school board in public comments ahead of the meeting Tuesday.

“We were able to achieve our goal in such a short time,” said Danette Stokes, president of the United Education Association of Shelby County. Addressing Feagins and her administration, she continued: “I want to express my gratitude for your leadership and your dedication to making MSCS a competitive and an attractive place for educators.”

Anntriniece Napper, president of the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association, called the new salary schedule “magnificent.”

The new schedule is available online. District officials say it will cost an additional $28.4 million to implement the new salary schedule. Meanwhile, district leaders are working to cut $150 million in spending from next year’s budget to account for the expiration of federal COVID relief funding for education, which amounted to $776 million since 2020.

Williams told Chalkbeat that he saw no reason to recuse himself from the vote to approve the agreement with the union he heads, noting that he was not part of the committee that negotiated it.

“I am a citizen of this city and I am a retired teacher of 40 years. And I know what I’m doing and how to do it. I’m not violating any policies … because it doesn’t benefit me. It benefits my profession, that I gave my life to. So, I’m good,” he said.

The attorney general’s opinion he cited, issued in February 2023, suggests that because teacher unions and boards of education enter agreements on teacher employment, “it is foreseeable — and indeed likely” that a person in Williams’ position would face conflicts of interest and conflicting fiduciary duties. The opinion says that recusal is appropriate when obligations to the teachers union and to the school board arise.

Williams did not cite any particular analyses of the opinion to explain his participation in the vote.

Toni Williams, former interim superintendent for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, will return to the district as a financial consultant.

The board Tuesday also approved a consulting agreement for former interim superintendent Toni Williams, who will advise the district on budget matters for the next year.

Documents show Williams will earn $187,272 for her consulting services, an amount equivalent to her annual pay as chief financial officer before she became interim superintendent in August 2022. She will also receive funds for COBRA health benefits.

The consulting agreement was an expected benefit outlined in Williams’ interim superintendent contracts.

Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

Where Tennessee lawmakers landed on vouchers, guns, AI, and other education issues in 2024

2024-04-29T10:00:00+00:00

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Tennessee’s legislature is done for the year after a session marked by political infighting over private school vouchers and emotional debates about whether teachers and staff should be able to carry a gun in public schools.

The statewide voucher proposal fizzled after the Senate and House couldn’t agree on the specifics. Gov. Bill Lee quickly pledged to come back next year with another plan.

The bill to arm some school employees easily passed, defying dramatic protests at the state Capitol, a year after a Nashville school shooting in which three children, three adults, and the intruder were killed.

“This was a session of good, bad, and ugly,” Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari said after the legislature adjourned on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, some really really bad bills ended up passing,” the Memphis Democrat added.

Republican leaders hailed the four-month session as a success.

“We accomplished things that will benefit the people of this state,” the governor told reporters minutes after the gavel fell.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks with reporters at the close of the 2024 legislative session on April 25. He's flanked by the General Assembly's Republican leaders.

He cited the passage of a “historically important budget” that includes a consolation prize of $144 million for his Education Freedom Scholarship Act, in case it passes in future years. The failed voucher proposal seeks to give taxpayer money to any family who wants to send their children to private schools, regardless of their income.

“That shows a clear intent that we believe in this concept and that we expect that to get done next year,” Lee said.

By the end of the week, the governor had signed the bill to let some school employees carry guns, which took effect immediately.

The new law marks the biggest expansion of gun access in Tennessee since the killings at The Covenant School. Last year, the legislature appropriated $140 million to help place an armed officer in every public school, but many districts, especially in rural areas, haven’t been able to hire an officer for every campus.

“Districts have the option to choose,” Lee said earlier, arguing that some school systems need to let some employees carry a concealed handgun.

Protesters stage a "die-in" on the rotunda floor at the Tennessee State Capitol outside of the House chambers on April 23, 2024, after state lawmakers passed a bill to let certain teachers and school staff carry handguns in schools.

Legislation at the intersection of schools and guns

Lawmakers sorted through some 230-plus education bills filed in time for this year’s session — about 300 if you count those left over from last year in the two-year General Assembly. They ultimately passed about 70 that directly affect K-12 education.

For the second straight year, they made tweaks to a 2021 reading and retention law to address what many called unintended effects for students in grades three and four. Under a compromise approved on the last day of session, parents and educators of fourth graders will now have input on whether their students get held back because of low reading scores on state tests.

The legislature rejected tighter gun laws sought by Democrats and gun control advocates, and continued instead to pass legislation aimed at fortifying campuses. Among the initiatives: new school fire alarm protocols to take into account active-shooter situations; a pilot program to give teachers wearable alarms; increased safety training for school bus drivers; and guidelines to digitize school maps so first responders can access school layouts quickly in an emergency.

A rare bipartisan bill increases the penalty for anyone who threatens to commit an act of mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity.

Another measure, which Lee has signed into law, requires public schools to teach children age-appropriate firearms safety concepts as early as pre-kindergarten. The video-based training is to begin in the 2025-26 school year and, among other things, will instruct students who find a firearm that they shouldn’t touch it and should notify an adult immediately. The bill bars parents from opting their children out of the training.

So-called culture war issues played prominently again

One new law requires public school students to watch a video on fetal development produced by an anti-abortion group, or something comparable. Another measure will require public school employees to out transgender students to their parents. But a bill designed to ban LGBTQ+ flags in schools failed in the Senate amid concerns of a legal challenge based on First Amendment rights.

Tennessee’s age-appropriate materials law, championed by Lee in 2022 to cull certain titles from school libraries, now includes a definition of “suitable” materials for certain ages and maturity levels. And if a local school board doesn’t address a book complaint within 60 days, the complainant can now take the issue straight to the state textbook commission.

Another GOP bill that passed seeks to make sure that material related to “sexual activity” is excluded from the state’s mandatory family life curriculum for students in kindergarten through the fifth grade.

Meanwhile, legislation sponsored by Democrats directs the state education department to develop a program that public schools can use to teach students the skills of nonviolent conflict resolution.

Lawmakers exit the House of Representatives at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville on April 25 after adjourning their two-year session.

Social media and technology also were on the minds of lawmakers.

They signed off on legislation requiring minors to have parental consent to create social media accounts.

In addition, school districts, charter schools, and higher-education institutions must develop and implement their own policies on the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom, if they haven’t already done so. Those policies could include restricting or outright prohibiting the use of AI.

Amid that discussion, one bill requires that Tennessee history be taught in fifth grade. Having that issue codified in state law settles, for now, a debate that erupts whenever the state revises its academic standards for social studies.

Memphis was the focus of more legislation

Rep. Mark White and Sen. Brent Taylor, both Memphis Republicans, drafted several proposals aimed at education in their community.

The legislature passed one bill allowing the University of Memphis to create its own K-12 school district and expand its innovative University Schools model beyond campus borders. University officials said they’ll launch the district this fall, even as they’re still in talks with Memphis-Shelby County Schools about their contract that runs through fall 2026.

Another proposal — giving the governor the power to appoint up to six new members to the board of Memphis-Shelby County Schools — was never heard in committees after White agreed to hold off and work with the existing board and the district’s new superintendent, Marie Feagins, on an improvement plan.

Rep. Antonio Parkinson D-Memphis, has sought for years to shut down the Achievement School District.

A Democratic-sponsored proposal to end the Tennessee Achievement School District, the state’s sputtering takeover and turnaround initiative, passed out of the Senate but not the House. Rep. Antonio Parkinson, the sponsor there, pulled the legislation on the last day of session when White sought to amend the bill. Still, the ASD continues to shrink on its own as its 10-year contracts with charter operators end.

An effort to expand a separate pilot school turnaround project — which started in 2021 in Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga — failed to clear budget committees.

Lawmakers passed House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s charter school proposal to create new alternative education options for Tennessee’s at-risk youth. The plan opens the door to residential charter schools, a concern of disability advocates who warned against any measure that could lead to the institutionalization of youth or commingling distinct student populations facing varying issues such as substance abuse, juvenile crime, chronic absenteeism, and teen pregnancy.

Sexton trumpeted his and other charter school legislation headed to the governor’s desk. One bill rewrites state law governing vacant and underutilized public school properties to give charter operators the “right of first refusal” to purchase those public assets.

“This session did more than it’s ever done in our history to continue to put (charter schools) on a path to give parents the choice and alternative to traditional schools,” Sexton said.

A tighter budget meant fewer education initiatives

Passing a budget for state government is the legislature’s only required constitutional duty, and the task was more challenging this year as tax revenues flattened and federal COVID relief funding ended.

Still, Republican lawmakers approved a $1.9 billion package of tax cuts and refunds to corporations and businesses.

Representatives on the floor of the Tennessee House in 2022

They ultimately approved a nearly $53 billion spending plan that allocates an additional $126 million to raise the annual minimum salary for public school teachers from $42,000 to $44,500. The goal is to get to $50,000 by the 2026-27 school year.

Also included is $8 million to hire more school-based behavioral health specialists amid record reports of students experiencing stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. Another $15 million in non-recurring funds will help charter school operators pay for school facilities and maintenance.

But the legislature killed efforts to hire more school-based nurses and counselors, reimburse teachers for some of their child care expenses, and provide free feminine hygiene products in high schools, as well as separate proposals by a Democrat and a Republican to make school meals free for all students. It also said no to a bill to use tax revenue from Tennessee’s growing sports betting industry to offer child care scholarships to low- and middle-income families.

When the 114th General Assembly convenes next year, it will look somewhat different after this year’s elections. All seats of the 99-member House of Representatives and half of the Senate’s 33 seats will be on the ballot.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee budget keeps $144 million for statewide school voucher program that’s still in limbo

2024-04-19T01:03:18+00:00

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Tennessee lawmakers approved a state budget Thursday that includes $144 million to create a statewide school voucher program that Republican leaders say they’re still working to pass.

The money is in place in case the GOP-controlled House and Senate find a way to reconcile vastly different proposals for the voucher program, which would provide taxpayer funding toward private school tuition for up to 20,000 students. The universal voucher bill, called the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, is Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s top education priority.

But as lawmakers aim to wrap up their 2024 session by next week, the passage of the budget limits options for negotiators seeking to convince House members to compromise on their more expansive — and expensive — voucher bill.

To convince mostly rural representatives who are hesitant about taking funding away from their local school districts for private school vouchers, the House measure also seeks to give public schools $75 per student for building construction and maintenance, as well as money to increase the state’s contribution toward teachers’ medical insurance coverage from 45% to 60%, among other enticements for public school supporters.

Voucher bills stuck in finance committees

Meanwhile, the dueling voucher bills languished in finance committees for a fourth straight week without action, making the proposal’s chances for passage increasingly dim.

Still, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said it was “premature” to declare the bill dead, as several news reports have done.

Until the legislature adjourns, “it’s still alive,” he told reporters.

McNally said the Senate is poised to approve its voucher bill, which unlike the House’s version requires recipients to take some type of annual test to show their academic progress. The measure, which is sponsored by Majority Leader Jack Johnson and has 17 Senate co-sponsors, also calls for open enrollment across public school systems.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, whose chamber is more divided over the voucher plan, was reserved in his enthusiasm but pledged to keep working on a deal.

“At the end of the day, it’s an administration bill,” Sexton told reporters. “Until (Gov. Lee) tells us to stop negotiating and working with the Senate, then we’re going to continue to do that.”

Democratic lawmakers have been united in their opposition to either bill — and are staying vigilant as the legislative session enters its final week.

“I’ve seen legislation pass at 2 in the morning that we thought was dead for the year,” said Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, who has served in the General Assembly since 2013.

“Anything can happen; anything has happened,” she added.

Base teacher pay will rise

State revenues are down, one-time federal COVID relief funding is running out, and money is tighter this year after years of budget surpluses.

Against that backdrop, the House and Senate voted along mostly partisan lines to approve a nearly $53 billion state government budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The spending plan injects an extra $261 million in the state’s K-12 education system, almost half of which will go toward raising the annual minimum salary for public school teachers from $42,000 to $44,500.

“It keeps us on track to bring our base salary for our teachers to $50,000 a year by fiscal year ‘26-’27,” said House Finance Committee Chairperson Patsy Hazlewood, a Republican from Signal Mountain.

Nashville Democrats tried to add numerous budget amendments in both the House and Senate.

Rep. Aftyn Behn and Sen. Heidi Campbell sought to double the number of seats in the state’s pre-kindergarten program by reallocating the $144 million in voucher money. Rep. Bo Mitchell proposed scuttling $15 million in non-recurring funds set aside to help public charter school operators pay for school facilities and maintenance. And Rep. John Ray Clemmons proposed doing away with the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission and investing its funding instead in the state’s K-12 education funding formula.

The amendments were easily defeated.

Democrats also criticized a measure that includes up to $1.95 billion in tax breaks and refunds for businesses, but little tax relief for working families or new investments for impoverished Tennesseans.

“Because of the refusal of this body and our government to address poverty to help the poor and the marginalized, we are continuing to deal with a deficit, not only financially but morally in this institution,” said Rep. Justin Pearson, a Memphis Democrat who voted against the budget.

Hazlewood, the House finance chairperson, countered that the state’s poverty rate has gone down over the past decade. She characterized Tennessee as a “middle-class family” that has to spend its dollars carefully and is prioritizing programs that benefit education, families, safety, health, and social services.

House Finance Committee Chairperson Patsy Hazlewood, a Republican from Signal Mountain (center), discusses highlights of the state's 2024-25 spending plan on April 18, 2024, during a question-and-answer session with reporters. She is flanked by House Speaker Cameron Sexton (left) and House Finance Subcommittee Chairman Gary Hicks (right).

Peppered with questions about what would happen to the $144 million for vouchers if the new program isn’t approved, she said the money can’t be reallocated without the legislature’s approval.

“If there’s no bills (approved) that address that, any monies unspent remain in the budget. We may need those other monies when we come back in next year,” Hazlewood said, adding that the voucher funds also can’t be spent by the governor through an executive order.

Tennessee already has several smaller voucher initiatives. A program for students with disabilities launched in 2017, and the state education department rolled out a targeted pilot program for low-income students in Davidson and Shelby counties in the fall of 2022. It has since added Hamilton County and has 2,095 students enrolled in all three counties.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee GOP leaders optimistic about universal school voucher prospects after first week of debate

2024-03-01T21:40:10+00:00

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Republican leaders sounded optimistic about the prospect of passing some kind of expanded school voucher program, even as they stared at three markedly different proposals during the first week of public debate in Tennessee’s legislature.

All three pieces of legislation — one from Gov. Bill Lee, one from the Senate, and one from the House — have two things in common.

First, they aim to start a statewide voucher program with 20,000 students and eventually allow any K-12 student to use taxpayer funding to attend a private school.

Second, they’re expensive: Lee’s proposal would cost an estimated $144 million in its first year, while the projected price tag for the Senate’s version is $333 million and the House’s is $425 million, according to the first reports by the legislature’s financial analysts.

Beyond that, there are big differences in scope and approach.

The governor’s seven-page plan, called the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, does not require participating students to take annual tests to measure whether the plan leads to better academic outcomes.

The Senate’s 17-page version, from Majority Leader Jack Johnson, requires voucher recipients to take some type of tests, approved by the state Board of Education, that can be used to compare and rank students. It also would allow public school students to enroll in any district, even if they’re not zoned for it, provided there’s enough space and teaching staff.

The House’s 39-page proposal, filed Monday by Majority Leader William Lamberth, has no testing requirement for voucher recipients. The omnibus-style package also includes a slew of enticements for supporters of public schools, such as reducing testing time for their students, increasing the state’s contribution toward health insurance costs for teachers, requiring fewer evaluations for high-performing teachers, and giving districts an extra $75 per student — or about $73 million in all in the first year — to help with building costs.

Even with numerous legislative hurdles to clear before pivotal votes could happen on the House and Senate floors, the leaders of both chambers talked Thursday about the possibility of letting negotiators resolve their differences in a conference committee.

“Most of the time, the conference committee can work things out,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally told reporters Thursday after the legislature had finished its business for the week.

“I don’t think either side is just locked in stone,” Lamberth added later.

Meanwhile, the governor told reporters he wasn’t worried that the Senate and House were starting out with very different approaches. He characterized his own proposal as simply a “framework” to get the discussion rolling.

“The encouraging part for me is there is an agreement that everyone wants to get school choice done,” Lee said. “The core tenets are the same. That’s how the legislative process works.”

House Republican leaders angered some within their own party by bringing their measure up for its first vote on the day after filing the massive package.

“This bill was dropped in our lap last night at 5 o’clock,” Rep. Todd Warner, a Chapel Hill Republican, said Tuesday as the measure was debated in the K-12 subcommittee. " We have not had the proper time to vet this bill, to go through it. There are lots of unanswered questions.”

But after two-plus hours of discussion, with representatives from the governor’s office in the room and a designee from House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s office available to break a tie vote, if necessary, the bill cleared its first legislative hurdle 6-2. Warner and Rep. Sam McKenzie of Knoxville voted no, and two other members did not vote. Rep. Kirk Haston, a Republican and public school official from Perry County who chairs the subcommittee, voted yes.

Lamberth, the majority leader from Portland who is sponsoring the House bill, said members were given ample time to review and discuss the bill.

“We will also have at least six or seven weeks before it will be on the House floor,” he said. “Nobody’s rushing any of this.”.

The next votes are expected on March 6 in the House and Senate education committees. If the measures clear those panels, they would head to the chambers’ finance committees and face a tougher audience because of their cost, especially in future years as the program grows.

Tennessee already has a nearly $378 million budget shortfall through the first six months of the current fiscal year, and Lee’s proposed budget would slash corporate business property taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars.

The state’s largest teacher organization also charged that the House bill aims to use money allocated for teacher raises to pay for other parts of the bill.

“The harm this voucher proposal would cause every district in the state cannot be offset by the other components included in the legislation,” Tanya T. Coats, president of the Tennessee Education Association, said in a statement on Friday.

Another financial concern is that the program would increasingly take on the cost of educating students who would have gone to private schools anyway.

Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds, while answering questions this week before the House panel, said more than half of the students enrolled in Tennessee’s current voucher pilot program in Davidson, Hamilton, and Shelby counties had never previously attended public schools. That’s because they enrolled as kindergartners, moved in from out of state, or took advantage of a revision in the 2019 law that opened up applications to families who might have been eligible while Lee’s Education Savings Account program was being challenged in court.

You can track the legislation and view a summary of differences in various proposals in an analysis by The Education Trust of Tennessee.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee budgets $144 million for statewide school vouchers

2024-02-06T02:39:16+00:00

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Gov. Bill Lee renewed his call for private school vouchers for any student across Tennessee on Monday, and he also set aside $144 million in his proposed state budget to pay for the new program for up to 20,000 students in its first year.

For traditional public schools, the Republican governor asked the legislature to raise the annual base pay for teachers from $42,000 to $44,500, in keeping with his pledge last year to get the profession’s minimum salary to $50,000 by the 2027-28 school year. (Raising the base pay has a domino effect and increases the pay of more experienced teachers, too.)

Lee also wants to invest $200 million to grow state parks and natural areas while simultaneously cutting corporate taxes amid a downturn in state revenues. But he maintained that Tennessee has “a very strong economy” to pay for all the changes.

The governor outlined his list of wants Monday evening during his 2024 address before the General Assembly, which will take up Lee’s voucher proposal and the budget in the months ahead.

He opened his remarks by calling Tennessee a “model for economic prosperity” and reminding lawmakers that state revenues are still 40% higher than three years ago.

However, after years of being flush with cash, the state faces a $610 million budget shortfall this year, and many lawmakers are leery of approving a universal school voucher program that Lee wants to be available to any K-12 student in 2025-26. Currently, Tennessee offers vouchers to about 3,000 low-income families in three urban counties, but his Education Freedom Scholarship Act would open them up to families in all 95 counties, eventually with no family income restrictions.

Gov. Bill Lee

“2024 is the year to make school choice a reality for every Tennessee family,” he said, drawing a standing ovation from many legislators — but not everyone in the GOP-controlled legislature — as well as frequent jeers from some spectators in the gallery.

“There are thousands of parents in this state who know their student would thrive in a different setting, but the financial barrier is simply too high,” Lee continued. “It’s time that we change that. It’s time that parents get to decide — and not the government — where their child goes to school and what they learn.”

Lee, a Williamson County businessman who graduated from public schools in Franklin, near Nashville, touted more than $1.8 billion in new investments in public education since he became governor in 2019.

“We can give parents choice and support public schools at the same time,” he said. “You’ll hear me say that over and over again. These two ideas are not in conflict.”

The governor also released his $52.6 billion state government spending plan to begin July 1. The total was down from Tennessee’s $62.5 billion budget for the current fiscal year because of flattening revenues and expiring federal funds appropriated during the pandemic.

He proposed $8 million to hire 114 more school-based behavioral health specialists amid record reports of students experiencing stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.

Other recurring funding recommendations include $30 million to pay for summer learning programs; $3.2 million to expand access to advanced placement courses for high school students; and $2.5 million to pay for a universal reading screener as part of the state’s literacy initiative, all to offset federal funding that is drying up.

Lee is asking for $15 million in one time funding to help charter schools with facility costs.

The governor also announced that his administration will bring the legislature a bill designed to help parents oversee their child’s social media activity.

“It will require social media companies to get parental consent for minors to create their own accounts in Tennessee,” Lee said.

Such legislation would widen the state’s push against social media giants.

Last fall, Tennessee joined a coalition of states suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which is accused of violating consumer protection laws and deceptively marketing its platforms to adolescents to the detriment of their mental health.

And some Tennessee school districts have joined a growing list of school systems nationwide that are suing major social media companies like TikTok and YouTube over a crisis in student mental health.

But in the wake of last year’s shooting at a private Nashville school — where three children, three staff members, and the shooter died — the governor offered no new initiatives aimed at improving school safety or decreasing gun violence, other than funding to hire 60 more state troopers.

Last year, after the March 27 tragedy, the legislature approved $140 million in grants to place an armed law enforcement officer in every Tennessee public school. But the legislature rebuffed the governor’s call for a law to help keep guns out of the hands of people deemed at risk of hurting themselves or others.

Remarks about Lee’s universal voucher plan, announced in November, drew quick responses from the leaders of the state’s two largest teacher organizations.

“The concept of universal vouchers would be costly to the state, and we urge the Tennessee General Assembly to move slowly,” said JC Bowman, executive director of the Professional Educators of Tennessee.

“In particular, we have concerns over the lack of income-eligibility requirements and accountability,” he continued. “Our state must avoid any program viewed as a tax subsidy for existing private school families or a tax bailout for struggling private schools.”

Tanya T. Coats, president of the Tennessee Education Association, said Lee’s plan shows that vouchers have never been about helping economically disadvantaged families, as the governor first characterized it in 2019.

“The goal has always been to privatize public education and use public dollars to fund private school education, which goes against our Tennessee values,” Coats said.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee’s universal school voucher bill draft drops. Here are 5 things that stand out.

2024-01-30T02:30:50+00:00

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Tennesseans got their first glimpse of Gov. Bill Lee’s plan to create a universal school voucher program that could eventually give all families tax dollars to pay for private school.

Two months after Lee announced his proposal, a draft of the Senate bill was inadvertently filed Monday due to a miscommunication, then removed a short time later from the legislature’s website.

Elizabeth Lane Johnson, the governor’s press secretary, said the draft’s “key pillars” are accurate, but she emphasized the document is a “framework” for ongoing discussions.

Johnson said majority leaders in the Senate and House will file so-called “caption bills” this week to outline the legislation’s intent and to meet filing deadlines. Full legislation, with updated details, will be filed later through amendments.

Here are five things that stand out about the plan, based on a Chalkbeat analysis of the eight-page draft.

No testing accountability

While the governor has repeatedly pledged to build accountability into his proposal, the draft wouldn’t require participating students to take state tests, or other assessments.

There’s no accountability provision — or mention of the word accountability — in the draft. There’s also no reporting requirements to track how students are doing, or evaluate the program.

Public school students are required to take annual TCAP tests in math, English language arts, science, and social studies. Students who participate in Tennessee’s current voucher program — which offers education savings accounts, or ESAs, to students in three counties — have to take state tests every year in math and English language arts.

The ESA program’s first test results, from Memphis and Nashville in the 2022-23 school year, were disappointing. Most of the 452 participating students performed worse than their peers in public schools after the program’s swift rollout earlier that school year, according to data from the state education department.

Lee emphasized accountability through parental choice when promoting his plan during visits last month to private schools in Memphis and Chattanooga.

Asked about the omission of testing requirements in the draft, Lee’s press secretary said the governor looks forward to having those discussions with members of the General Assembly.

No language to prohibit discrimination

The voucher movement has some roots in racist opposition to school desegregation in the mid-20th century, and critics have long charged that private schools pick and choose which students they want when accepting public funding through vouchers.

The draft legislation includes no language to prohibit discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.

Anti-discrimination language is frequently included in state laws regarding eligibility for education programs.

In fact, Tennessee’s 2019 education savings account law requires participating private schools to certify that they will “not discriminate against participating students or applicants on the basis of race, color, or national origin.”

No guarantees for students with disabilities

Private schools would not be required to provide the same level of services as public schools for students with disabilities, according to the draft.

The language says: “Although an eligible student participating in the program does not retain the right to receive special education and related services through an individualized education program, the student may be eligible under the (federal) Individuals with Disabilities Education Act … to receive equitable services through an individualized service plan.”

Essentially, parents in a private school can request some publicly funded special services, but with no guarantee of exactly what their student would receive.

By contrast, public schools are required to provide students with disabilities with specialized support and services determined collaboratively by school leaders and parents.

“In practice, what this means is that students in private schools have a lesser right to disability-related services than those in public schools, and often receive fewer, more generic accommodations and services,” said Jeff Strand, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Disability Coalition.

More private schools could participate, but not from out of state

While Tennessee’s current ESA program is open to state-approved or accredited private, independent, and parochial schools, the draft opens the door to other school categories that have little to no state oversight.

Those include church-related schools or other private schools that the state merely acknowledges are in operation.

The lack of accreditation from schools in those categories may affect a voucher student who wants to transfer back into a public school in the same grade. Public schools may require testing to determine grade level or number of credits.

The language specifies the school must be located in Tennessee, which would prevent out-of-state virtual schools from participating.

But there’s no mention of an application process for a school to participate, as the education savings account program requires.

Nor is there text to support tiny home-run schools, in which the parent must report to their local school district that their child is being home-schooled. However, church-related home schools, which typically have a minimum of 10 students, appear to qualify.

Funding for the new voucher program isn’t a sure thing

As the governor announced earlier, the program would start with up to 20,000 students statewide who would get $7,075 in taxpayer money next school year to attend a private school, or certain home schools.

Half of those students must be considered economically disadvantaged or currently participating in the ESA program. And beginning in 2025, all K-12 students would be eligible to receive vouchers, regardless of their family income.

If 20,000 students participated, it would cost the state $141.5 million a year, which would increase if the program grows in subsequent years. But the draft says any voucher disbursements would be “subject to appropriations and other available funds.”

Tennessee revenues have flattened since the 2023-24 fiscal year began last July, and financial experts have urged lawmakers to rein in spending.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers are closely watching developments in Arizona, the first state to offer universal school choice. That state is struggling to cover the costs of the universal school voucher program approved last year by its Republican-controlled legislature.

Below, you can read the draft legislation.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee House report on federal education funding targets food waste in school cafeterias

2024-01-25T16:00:00+00:00

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Tennessee House members looking into the feasibility of rejecting federal education funding aren’t recommending taking that dramatic action, but they do want a comprehensive study of food waste in school cafeterias under federally funded child nutrition programs.

They also want their chamber to begin reviewing any new federal rules and directives sent to the state education department. And they want to conduct annual hearings into federal requirements for student testing.

The actions are among a handful of recommendations outlined in a 13-page report submitted Jan. 19 by House members to legislative leaders.

During five days of hearings in November to study what federal money Tennessee receives for its K-12 students and schools, House members frequently zeroed in on food waste through school programs funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican, suggested that Tennessee could do a better job of overseeing such programs to improve their efficiency, but that more information is needed.

Anderson County Schools, which is located in Ragan’s district near Knoxville, has studied food waste at one of its schools. But few other Tennessee districts have, and there’s no statewide data measuring the amount of uneaten food in cafeterias.

Milk and vegetables tossed in the trash

Nationally, about 41% of milk and 31% of vegetables were discarded from lunch trays, according to the Agriculture Department’s 2019 School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study.

“When you have a $480 million program (in Tennessee), 31% waste is a lot of money that could be devoted to hiring more teachers, buying more classroom supplies, fixing the roof, whatever,” Ragan told Chalkbeat after the hearings.

He said his goal is “not to starve children, but to optimize these programs.”

The House report recommends that the state agriculture and education departments evaluate food waste in public schools, and determine whether to contract with an outside agency to develop an improvement plan.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a list of recommended strategies to encourage students to consume more of the food they take — seemingly simple things like giving students choices, extending lunch time, and letting students save nonperishable foods to eat later.

In Tennessee, some schools have used other strategies such as offering breakfast in classrooms and letting students share unopened, wrapped foods with peers at “share tables,” Debby Thompson, assistant state commissioner of federal programs and oversight, told the lawmakers in November.

Meals under school nutrition programs are served free or at reduced cost to eligible students, and cafeteria operators must comply with federal nutritional requirements.

Meanwhile, in response to a rise in childhood obesity and other diet-related diseases during the pandemic and to improve the health of children and adolescents, the Biden administration has been rolling out more stringent nutrition standards for school meals. The policies reinstate health goals that were rolled back during the Trump administration.

How House and Senate reports on education funding differed

The House report came nearly two weeks after Senate members of the joint legislative panel on forgoing federal education funding issued their own report, citing disagreements with their House colleagues about their findings and recommendations.

The plan had been for the panel to submit a single report about exactly what federal money Tennessee receives for its students and related federal requirements.

The Senate report was cautionary, and much of it mirrored analysis from the nonpartisan Sycamore Institute. It highlighted the risks associated with rejecting about $1.3 billion in federal money and trying to fill the gap with state revenues. Most of the funding goes to support low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities.

The House report was more action-oriented and offered recommendations, some of which may not require legislation, said Connor Grady, a spokesperson for House Speaker Cameron Sexton, who has been pushing the conversation for nearly a year.

“The House agreed with the Senate’s options for consideration. However, the Senate would not agree with the House’s actionable recommendations moving forward,” Grady said. “Each body will be moving forward with their own recommendations.”

Sen. Jon Lundberg, co-chair of the legislative panel, said the House recommendations, if followed, could add bureaucratic layers to state government and slow down the work of the education department.

“That’s why we have a (state) Department of Education, to deal with these kinds of issues,” the Bristol Republican said Wednesday.

But Sexton’s office says more oversight is needed on the acceptance of federal funds.

“Allowing the federal government to pass down rules onto Tennesseans with no oversight is our main concern.” Grady said. “The General Assembly and Tennesseans need to know what federal rules are being passed down onto them. We should do everything that we can to be whole and autonomous and independent from the federal government.”

Discussion is not over

Both reports were called “preliminary” by the panel’s leaders, who said the group may continue to meet.

While not in its recommendations, the House report suggested the legislature could get involved in processes for renewing federal grants.

The legislature could “implement a process for legislative authorization of grants, such as requiring grant applications to go before a legislative committee before an agency can submit an application,” the report said.

The House report was submitted by all four Republican representatives on the panel, but not the lone Democrat. Rep. Ronnie Glynn, of Clarksville, refused to sign the document, saying that movement toward rejection of federal funding would be “fiscally irresponsible and discriminatory.”

“The hearings made clear how harmful such a move would be to Tennessee’s school children and how detrimental it would be to taxpayers and our state’s budget,” said a statement about Glynn’s position, issued Thursday by the House Democratic Caucus.

Below, you can read the full House report.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to show that Rep. Ronnie Glynn, a Democrat, did not sign the report.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee senators’ report highlights risks of rejecting federal education funding

2024-01-09T21:28:53+00:00

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Senate members of a joint legislative panel that looked into whether Tennessee should reject more than $1 billion in federal education funding released their own report Tuesday, citing disagreements with House colleagues.

The 12-page report said Tennessee could not make new investments toward other needs if it opts out of federal education funding and tries to fill the gap with state revenues.

The report also noted numerous other avenues for Tennessee to pursue to resolve conflicts between federal and state interests, and it brought up uncertainties created by taking the unprecedented step of saying no to U.S. money.

“Many federal requirements could still apply to Tennessee schools even if the state rejected federal K-12 dollars, creating questions that would likely be resolved in court,” the report said.

In essence, the senators’ report laid out why no state has ever taken the step of rejecting federal funding for its students and schools, even though several such as Oklahoma and Utah have considered it.

The U.S. contribution, for which Tennessee citizens pay taxes, makes up about a tenth of the state’s budget for education — about the same as with other states. Most federal money supports low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities.

Sen. Jon Lundberg, the Bristol Republican who co-chaired the 10-member panel, called the report “preliminary” as he and four other senators submitted the document to Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton.

“At this time, the House and Senate have not agreed to mutual recommendations,” they wrote in an accompanying letter.

Rep. Debra Moody, the Covington Republican who co-chaired the panel with Lundberg, did not immediately respond when asked whether the House members would submit their own report or comment on any disagreements.

Rep. Debra Moody and Sen. Jon Lundberg, both Republicans, co-chaired the joint legislative panel that conducted hearings in November.

But Sexton, who floated the idea nearly a year ago for Tennessee to look into the possibilities, said through an aide that a separate House report is coming.

“The House agreed with [the] Senate’s options for consideration. However, the Senate would not agree with the House’s actionable recommendations moving forward,” said a statement from Sexton’s office.

The Crossville Republican, who is a likely candidate for governor in 2026, had complained about testing requirements and other federal strings attached to acceptance of federal dollars, but has yet to provide a list of the other strings he finds objectionable.

Education advocates have suggested that objections from Sexton and the legislature’s GOP supermajority are related to current “culture wars” about curriculum and the rights of transgender students to use school bathrooms or join sports teams consistent with their gender identity, which may not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.

A year ago, Sexton said Tennessee could tap into $3.2 billion in new recurring state revenues, which would more than cover any lost federal funds for education. But those numbers were based on budget information at that time. State revenues have since flattened.

“Tennessee likely has room in the budget to reject and replace recurring federal funding in K-12 education, but at the expense of other potential investments,” the report said.

The senators also noted that the amount of federal money that Tennessee receives totals more than any of the recurring increases for education over the last decade. It’s also larger than the budgets of all but just a few state agencies, such as TennCare, transportation, education, and corrections.

Lundberg released the report just as the General Assembly reconvened its 2024 session, meeting a Jan. 9 deadline set by Sexton and McNally when they appointed the joint panel in September.

RELATED: Key education issues to watch as Tennessee lawmakers return

He told Chalkbeat later Tuesday that he stands by the report and refused to make changes requested by Sexton’s office.

“We determined it was best to release a Senate report that was solid, based on the testimony we heard and the information we were given,” said Lundberg, who declined to detail the points of contention.

Lundberg, who also chairs the Senate Education Committee, praised the work of the joint legislative panel for clearly identifying the state’s funding sources for education and their related mandates.

“Frankly there are fewer federal strings than I anticipated,” he said.

During four days of testimony in November, the panel heard mostly fact-finding presentations from established nonpartisan researchers, school district leaders, and state officials.

On the fifth day, at the request of House members, the group also heard from representatives of two conservative groups who urged the state to pursue forgoing federal funding. None of the Senate members were present for that final testimony. They said scheduling conflicts prevented them from attending.

The legislative panel declined to hear from Tennessee parents or advocacy groups about how federally funded education programs are run or affect their children.

Last week, several legislative leaders told Chalkbeat they did not expect any new legislation this year out of last year’s hearings.

Below, you can read the full Senate report, with the accompanying letter.

This story has been updated from a previous version.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org

Vouchers, school safety, retention: Key education issues to watch as Tennessee lawmakers return

2024-01-08T11:00:00+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for our free Tennessee newsletter to keep up with state education policy and the Shelby County public school system.

Five years after a bruising legislative battle opened the door to private school vouchers in parts of Tennessee, lawmakers are preparing to take up a controversial bill to create a similar program statewide.

Gov. Bill Lee’s universal voucher proposal, which eventually would make all K-12 students eligible to use public funding to attend a private or home school, is expected to dominate debate after the 113th General Assembly reconvenes on Tuesday.

But other issues affecting students and educators are sure to emerge in a state where education reform has been front and center since 2010, when Tennessee won $500 million in the federal Race to the Top competition to jumpstart changes.

And if the last few years are any indication, a few surprises may surface in the months ahead. Politics and tragedy have shaken up the education priorities of several recent sessions, from an 11th-hour Republican drive in 2021 to restrict classroom discussions about racism and bias to last year’s deadly Nashville school shooting that led to new investments in campus safety and dramatic protests over Tennessee’s lax gun laws.

With the GOP supermajority setting the agenda again this year, here’s a look at some big issues to watch as the opening gavel falls.

School vouchers: Lee’s expansion plan renews long-running debate

In November, the governor said he’ll introduce a new Education Freedom Scholarship Act to offer $7,075 in taxpayer money for each of up to 20,000 students statewide next school year to attend a private or home school, with eligibility restrictions for half of them. In 2025, eligibility would open up to all students, regardless of their family’s income.

The proposal would mark a massive expansion of Tennessee’s voucher program, which is now limited to three urban counties and still under-enrolled. But more than a month after Lee’s announcement, few details have been released.

“I have yet to understand where the financing is coming from,” said Sen. Page Walley, a Republican whose district includes eight rural counties in West Tennessee.

“If we jump to statewide vouchers, I don’t see how we fund it without robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he added.

School safety: Renewed discussion, but no gun laws (it’s an election year)

Tennesseans were unnerved when an armed intruder shot and killed three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville on March 27, in the middle of last year’s legislative session. And the growing impact of gun violence on kids across the state is undeniable.

But Republican lawmakers’ response last year was to further harden schools rather than entertain any proposals to restrict gun access — not even for people who are deemed at risk of hurting themselves or others, as the Nashville shooter had been.

“We’ll be back in January,” parents wanting stricter gun laws vowed in August after a special session on public safety yielded little action on guns.

Spectators watch the Tennessee Senate doing business at the State Capitol during a special legislative session on public safety in August 2023. Lawmakers were called back by Gov. Bill Lee after a mass school shooting in Nashville in March.

Some of them have organized news conferences and rallies at the Capitol this week for students, educators, and others to voice their concerns. Meanwhile, a group of parents from The Covenant School in Nashville, where the tragedy took place, say they’ll continue to advocate for changes to “ensure responsible firearm ownership, safe schools, and accessible adequate mental health care for all individuals across Tennessee.”

GOP leaders anticipate the legislature will revisit many of the proposals left on the table.

They include several measures to let certain citizens or school employees carry handguns in schools, and a bill to require all public and private schools to create alarm policies that differentiate emergencies for fire, weather, or an active shooter.

A new bill, from Republican Sen. Mark Pody of Lebanon and Rep. Susan Lynn of Mount Juliet, would let schools purchase lanyards equipped with emergency alert buttons for school staff to wear around their necks.

But don’t expect the legislature to look seriously at bills to restrict gun access in an election year, according to several key Republicans.

“I do not believe there’s an appetite or pathway to success for any legislation that might be introduced that is going to infringe on constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, of Franklin.

With the latest State of the Child report ranking Tennessee near the bottom nationally for access to mental health resources, Johnson sees more room for discussion on that topic.

“I think a big conversation in the coming session will be how we strengthen our mental health safety net,” Johnson said, “as well as general access to mental health treatment in Tennessee.”

Third-grade reading law: Lawmakers may revisit retention provision — again

Last year, the legislature widened the criteria, beginning this school year, for determining which third graders are at risk of being held back if they aren’t deemed proficient readers under a 2021 law targeting pandemic learning lag.

Now under the same law, the state may have to retain thousands of fourth graders who test poorly this spring.

“I think we have to look into it,” said Rep. Mark White of Memphis, who chairs a House education committee. “We’ve probably got a lot of fourth graders who have already done summer school and tutoring but still won’t pass that test. It’s never a bad thing to have off-ramps and waivers.”

He added: “I want us to continue looking closer at kindergarten, first, and second grades so we’re not waiting until the third and fourth grades to address these challenges.”

But Sen. Jon Lundberg, who chairs his chamber’s education panel, is less inclined to make more changes in the 2021 law.

“We’ve set the standard for proficiency and for showing adequate growth, and I don’t want to move those,” he said.

Federal education funding: Talk about rejecting it looks like just talk, for now

House Speaker Cameron Sexton surprised many in his own party last year when he floated the idea of Tennessee rejecting more than a billion dollars in federal funding for students, which he said could be offset with state tax revenues.

In November, a task force appointed by Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally held hearings to explore the possibility. But Lundberg, the panel’s co-chairman, told Chalkbeat afterward that he didn’t expect the state to reject federal funds, even if it can find a way.

Legislative leaders polled by Chalkbeat last week said they haven’t heard of any legislation coming out of the hearings.

“It doesn’t hurt to know where our funding is coming from and how it’s being spent,” said White, the House’s education leader, said of the task force’s discussions, “but I don’t see that conversation going anywhere in the short term.”

Teacher shortages: Vacancies could lead to creative thinking

With Sexton declaring that Tennessee has enough state revenues to cover more than $1 billion in federal funding, plenty of public school advocates asked why the state wouldn’t use that excess instead to accelerate the governor’s plan to raise the minimum salary for teachers to $50,000 by 2027. (This year, the base is $42,000.)

Districts struggled to fill nearly 4,000 vacancies statewide last school year, especially in the middle grades, English as a second language, world languages, and special education, according to one report. And shortages of school bus drivers are a nationwide problem.

Lee told reporters that, while state revenues have flattened in recent months, Tennessee’s economy remains strong.

Gov. Bill Lee speaks with reporters on Thursday after a tour of a Nashville ministry. “We should probably look at our investments in public school funding and investments in teacher pay every year,” he said when asked about the prospect of accelerating pay increases.

“We should probably look at our investments in public school funding and investments in teacher pay every year,” he said when asked about the prospect of accelerating pay increases.

But with the teaching profession facing a post-pandemic crisis in Tennessee and nationally, the legislature could also pursue other avenues to elevate the profession.

Currently, the state covers less than half of health insurance premiums for its teachers, while state employees get 100% of their premiums covered. Moving teachers to the state employee plan could be a boost to both teachers and the local districts that employ them.

Professional Educators of Tennessee has also called on the legislature to develop policies to address child care access and affordability for teachers, more than 80% of whom are female.

“If you want to keep good teachers,” said Executive Director JC Bowman, “ease their burdens so they can focus on their work in school to educate and nurture our future generation.”

To follow this year’s legislative business, visit the General Assembly’s website for calendars, committees, legislation, and livestreams.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis’ school district needs to cut $150 million in spending. Hundreds of jobs are on the line.

2023-11-27T20:17:38+00:00

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Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders have proposed eliminating 675 jobs along with a mix of student programs as they figure out how to cut $150 million in spending from next year’s budget.

The budget gap is an expected result of the end of federal pandemic relief programs, which were meant to help school districts manage the impact on student learning. District leaders have been preparing for this day with analyses of how they spent the money, so they can try to preserve what has been most effective for students.

All over the country, districts have been bracing for what they describe as a fiscal cliff: the sudden dropoff in funding from federal aid programs that have provided billions of dollars over the past few years to support construction projects, staff additions, raises and bonuses, and tutoring. The choices they make to compensate for that loss stand to affect high-poverty districts the most, researchers say, in part because students in those districts received a larger share of funding to address their greater needs.

Tennessee districts like MSCS will benefit from a new state school funding formula that came with a $1 billion infusion of new state funds, so the cliff won’t be so steep. But it’s still pretty tricky terrain, and MSCS is taking a harder look at which positions and programs it can afford to trim without sacrificing academic progress too much.

“We don’t have a $150 million problem,” interim Superintendent Toni Williams told board members at a budget meeting earlier this month. “We’ve just got to make some decisions on what’s working and what’s not working.”

MSCS seeks to preserve classroom assistants, tutoring

Board members assembled at a two-day retreat earlier this month to take stock of the district’s early budget proposals and provide their input and guidance. There, leaders provided an overview of how the district used its $776 million in relief funds. Some of the top-dollar initiatives were meant to be one-time expenditures, Chief Financial Officer Tito Langston explained — $176 million for building construction, for example.

But other expenses that the federal funds covered, like increased staff, are recurring costs. Those are the kinds of budget items that will warrant a closer look to see whether they can and should be sustained after the federal money runs out. Since the start of the pandemic, MSCS staff increased by almost 2,000 people, to some 14,700 budgeted employees this year, documents show.

The Memphis district spent almost $100 million of its federal funds to hire 750 specialized education assistants. The assistants have supported kindergarten, first- and second-grade classrooms by improving the adult-to-student ratio, at a cost that came out to $1,300 per student each year.

It’s been worthwhile, according to Bill White, the district’s planning and accountability director, who told board members the staff have particularly helped students in math.

Nonetheless, the district has proposed eliminating 1 of every 5 assistants to decrease the program cost.

MSCS district leaders want to preserve funding for tutoring, which has been especially effective for students who are the furthest behind in reading and language arts. And leaders said MSCS needs to continue funding more remote instruction to make up for a shortage of qualified teachers.

“This is a last resort,” White said of the program, where students in a classroom learn from an online teacher.

New state funding system won’t provide enough

Langston, the district CFO, said the state’s new public school funding formula, known as Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, or TISA, increased MSCS’ general operating budget by about $100 million. Without pandemic funding, the district expects to operate with $1.2 billion in revenue.

About a third of the new TISA funds went to charter schools, he said, and most of the rest has been focused on teacher recruitment and retention. Many Memphis teachers received raises this year through a new salary schedule. Some of the funds were used for one-time signing bonuses, so those expenses won’t recur next year.

Still, “TISA wasn’t enough to sustain the strategies” implemented through pandemic funds, Langston said. “We were always going to look at … other costs.”

For example, district officials are considering changing the way schools are grouped for administrative purposes, to eliminate some 323 leadership roles.

Even with those proposed cuts, MSCS board members and district leaders would have to cut another $60 million from a menu of $265 million in programs and initiatives that MSCS leaders say they aren’t required by law or policy to fund.

Details about MSCS’ and other districts’ spending of federal aid have been hard to come by.

A Georgetown University report shows Tennessee is among 20 states that do not report how school districts ultimately spent their federal aid.

The Memphis district publicized its intended plans for the funds, and has provided piecemeal updates. Still, meeting materials from the budget retreat, for instance, are still not published online. And there is no one place the public can go to see how each dollar has been spent.

School board members were scheduled to meet about the budget changes again on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30, from 3 to 7 p.m. each day. As of Monday morning, no meeting location or agenda had been posted.

Chalkbeat Tennessee Bureau Chief Tonyaa Weathersbee contributed to this report.

Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

Senate leader doesn’t expect Tennessee to reject federal money for students

2023-11-16T23:27:17+00:00

A leader of the panel exploring whether Tennessee can reject federal education funding says he doesn’t expect the state to do so, even if it can find a way.

Sen. Jon Lundberg, who co-chairs the special legislative committee looking into the idea, said that based on what the panel has learned during two weeks of hearings that ended on Wednesday, it would be premature to make big changes in the funding streams for Tennessee students.

The Bristol Republican also expects the panel’s work to continue “well into 2024″ as members seek information from the U.S. Department of Education about rules and regulations tied to acceptance of federal funding.

“My expectation is that we’re not going to say no to federal funds. We’re not going to kick more than a billion dollars back to the U.S. government,” Lundberg told Chalkbeat on Thursday.

“But I do think that, as a legislative body, we are going to be more judicious in reviewing federal rules and proposals that are passed on to the state education department and state Board of Education,” he said.

Advocate for education equity: ‘We’re taking this seriously’

This month’s hearings by the GOP-led legislative group mark the furthest any state has gone toward forgoing U.S. education dollars, which typically make up about a tenth of a state’s spending on K-12 education.

The 10-member committee, created by speakers of the House and Senate, has a Jan. 9 deadline to submit its findings and recommendations to the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, who touted the idea in February, has said the state wants more autonomy over how its students are taught. He said the state would fill the federal funding gap with state money and continue programs that are currently federally funded.

Most of the federal money received in Tennessee — estimated at about $1.3 billion annually by state education department officials this week — provides additional support to low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. Other federally funded programs target certain needs ranging from rural education to technology to charter schools.

The opt-out talk has angered many Tennesseans who pay federal taxes and whose children benefit from federally funded programs or receive civil rights protections through federal oversight. Advocates of historically underserved students are prepared to mobilize if the committee’s work generates legislation to reject any part of federal funding.

For now, they’re monitoring the panel’s work.

“We’re taking this seriously, because this would be such a consequential step for the state to take,” said Gini Pupo-Walker, who leads The Education Trust in Tennessee. “We’re trying to ensure lawmakers are getting accurate information during the discussions.” (Related: What it would mean for kids)

Tennessee-based advocacy groups such as The Education Trust and the Tennessee Disability Coalition, as well as those representing parents and educators, were not invited or allowed to testify during the hearings — a decision that Lundberg said was designed to keep the committee on mission. Instead, the testimony came mostly from state and nonpartisan researchers, officials with the Tennessee education department, four local school district leaders, and a federal policy expert with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“Our charge was not to look at how to cut funding, but how to change that funding stream from federal to state dollars,” Lundberg said.

Panel leaders expect to gather more input

As of Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education had not received questions from the Tennessee panel but stands ready to provide “technical assistance” as needed, a spokesperson said.

The federal department, which was listed on the agenda for one meeting last week, did not send representatives to testify because the agency never received an invitation, the spokesperson said.

Lundberg, who initially told the committee that federal officials were “unable to attend,” clarified on Thursday that the no-show was due to a “miscommunication.”

But he expects the panel will have numerous questions for federal officials, and that the back-and-forth process could take months.

Eventually, the committee may also seek legal opinions from the state attorney general’s office. Because no state has rejected federal education money before, Tennessee officials expect numerous challenges in court if the state takes a step in that direction.

“I notified the speakers that we potentially won’t complete our work by the Jan. 9 deadline,” Lundberg said. “We have to get this right, not just quick.”

Rep. Debra Moody, the Covington Republican who co-chairs the panel, said in a statement that her intention is to “continue gathering pertinent information so the working group can release a complete and competent report.”

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said he’s pleased the panel is taking its fact-finding mission seriously.

“I have no issue with an extension, if needed, and I look forward to reading the group’s final report when it is completed,” McNally said through a spokesman.

As part of their fact-finding mission, there’s no discussion of committee members touring the state to see the kinds of services provided under federally funded programs to determine whether the state has sustainable finances and operational capacity to continue them.

For instance, federal money helps support homeless students, career and technical education labs, and after-school programs that provide tutoring, enrichment, and meals to students from low-income families.

Pupo-Walker, from The Education Trust, said any comprehensive investigation should include that type of research.

“I think it would be a disservice,” she said, “not to see firsthand how those federal dollars play out in the lives of children and families and schools and their communities.”

You can see a state analysis of county-by-county budget information that includes public education, at the General Assembly’s website. The nonpartisan Sycamore Institute has also produced two recent reports about federal education funding in Tennessee.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Marta at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tenn. hearings on federal school funding leave out parents and local advocacy groups

2023-11-15T11:00:00+00:00

A legislative panel exploring whether Tennessee should reject federal funding for its K-12 students isn’t allowing public testimony from Tennesseans about how federally funded programs are run or how they affect their children.

And it’s not hearing from Tennessee-based advocacy groups either.

However, two conservative advocacy groups from outside the state are set to weigh in on the discussion Wednesday as the panel wraps up five days of hearings.

Steve Johnson, a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives, is scheduled to speak to the GOP-led committee on behalf of the Center for Practical Federalism, part of an association of state-level free-market think tanks. The group’s website says it seeks to educate people on the benefits of federalism, which it describes as a system of government where “some authority belongs to the national government, and much more resides with states, communities and the American people.”

Also on the agenda is Sal Nuzzo, senior vice president of the James Madison Institute, a Florida-based think tank that lists “limited government” among its guiding principles. His biography says he was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to serve on that state’s government efficiency task force. He also has worked with longtime antitax activist Grover Norquist, the bio says.

The testimony will mark a departure from proceedings that have been mostly fact-finding presentations during the previous four days of hearings with established nonpartisan researchers, school district leaders, and state officials.

The panel, created by the speakers of the House and Senate in September, is to report back to Tennessee’s Republican-controlled legislature by Jan. 9 on its findings and recommend strategies for rejecting potentially millions of U.S. education dollars in order to avoid federal regulations that cover everything from mandated student testing to civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ students.

If Tennessee opts to forgo any federal funding for its students, it would be the first state to do so. Federal dollars typically make up about a tenth of state education budgets and provide additional support for students who are from low-income families, have disabilities, and are learning the English language. The money also provides targeted support for certain needs ranging from rural education to technology and charter schools.

Estimates of the impact of federal education funding in Tennessee have varied from $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion since House Speaker Cameron Sexton first floated the idea in February. On Tuesday, officials with the state education department attributed the variance to additional federal education relief in recent years due to the pandemic.

For the current fiscal year, they said, Tennessee is projected to receive about $1.3 billion from the federal government, or about a tenth of the total spending on the state’s K-12 students. The rest of the money comes from the state and local governments.

State officials also reported that all 148 Tennessee school districts receive one or more federal grants, affecting a wide swath of the state’s nearly 1 million public school students. Of those, nearly 152,000 students are considered economically disadvantaged; about 129,000 receive special education services; and more than 66,000 are learning the English language.

Sexton and other GOP leaders have said Tennessee would continue services currently funded by the federal government and would fill the gap with its own funding if it decides to go that route.

Advocates for people with disabilities weren’t invited

Sen. Jon Lundberg and Rep. Debra Moody, who chair education committees in their respective legislative chambers, co-chair the special legislative panel and set the agenda for meetings that began on Nov. 6.

Rep. Debra Moody and Sen. Jon Lundberg, both Republicans, co-chair the joint legislative panel exploring whether Tennessee can replace the money it receives from the U.S. government with state funds so it won’t have to comply with mandates tied to the federal funding.

Last week, Lundberg told Chalkbeat that his committee has not allowed testimony from parents or education advocacy groups in Tennessee because the focus of the hearings is on efficiency and federal requirements for accepting federal dollars, not whether the state will continue to provide those services.

“Our charge is not to look at eliminating programs, or adding programs,” said Lundberg, a Bristol Republican. “It’s about, if we say we don’t need the federal government to provide X program, can we as a state do it more efficiently and serve this student population more effectively?”

Among the groups left on the sidelines was the Tennessee Disability Coalition, an alliance of organizations and individuals that advocate for full and equal participation of people with disabilities in school and all other aspects of life.

Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, one of two Democrats serving on the special legislative committee, had asked the panel’s co-chairs to invite the coalition to give a presentation about the intricacies of the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, known as IDEA, and the services it covers for students with disabilities. However, the coalition received no invitation, said Jeff Strand, the group’s coordinator of government and external affairs.

None of the panelists who have testified thus far have spoken in depth about IDEA, its services, or impacts.

“Some panelists have even mischaracterized the tenets of IDEA that are codified in (Tennessee state law), with one even saying that IDEA is in the code in its entirety,” Strand said.

Committee leaders also declined a request from Tennessee parents to testify on behalf of Rise & Shine, a grassroots advocacy group organized after a mass shooting in March left three children, three adults, and the shooter dead at a private school in Nashville.

“It’s hard for me to see this as a neutral facts analysis that’s not political when they’re talking to outside organizations and not more Tennesseans who have a perspective and experiences with these federal programs,” said Maryam Abolfazli, a Nashville mom and the group’s founder.

“It feels like they view our voices as emotional pleas, rather than a way to get insights into how these programs and funding work for Tennessee families,” she told Chalkbeat.

School leaders and education commissioner air concerns

Moody, the House co-chair, declined to comment Tuesday when asked why testimony is needed from the two out-of-state groups, or whether it’s appropriate before a fact-finding panel.

Johnson, with the Center for Practical Federalism, did not respond to questions from Chalkbeat on Tuesday asking how and why he got on the agenda. But Nuzzo, with the James Madison Institute, said through a spokesperson that he was invited to speak by Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican serving on the committee. “He inquired whether the James Madison Institute had relevant expertise that could be helpful for the legislative panel to consider,” said the spokesperson, who said the institute provides research, legislative education, and testimony in Florida and throughout the country.

Those testifying so far have been researchers with the state comptroller’s office; the legislature’s fiscal review committee; and the Sycamore Institute, a nonpartisan research group and think tank in Tennessee.

The committee also heard from Austin Reid, the legislative director of the National Conference of State Legislatures; and from four school district superintendents who said Tennessee schools could use more funding if the state has the resources to reject federal funding and fill the gap with state revenues.

Many of those testifying warned that Tennessee will enter uncharted territory if it opts to reject federal money. And Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds, who started her job in July, echoed those concerns on Tuesday in her first testimony before state lawmakers.

“Many federal requirements are also codified in Tennessee state law, and the issue of accepting or rejecting federal education funding is a complicated one, with numerous legal implications and uncertainties,” Reynolds said.

“For these reasons, it’s hard to project exactly how decisions (to opt out of federal funding) would play out,” she added.

Possible ramifications could include budget cuts or tax increases during a future shortfall or recession; protracted court battles over federal requirements that may still exist for schools even if funding is refused; and Tennesseans having to pay federal income taxes for education support that would go to other states.

Correction: Nov. 17, 2023: A previous version of this story said Sal Nuzzo, with the James Madison Institute, did not respond Tuesday to questions from Chalkbeat asking how and why he got on the agenda. The story has been corrected to include a response from an institute spokesperson, which was emailed to Chalkbeat Tuesday night.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Marta at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee should boost education funding, not reject federal money, school leaders say

2023-11-08T01:01:44+00:00

A state committee studying whether Tennessee should reject federal education dollars heard a unified plea from public school leaders not to do that — and to instead invest the state’s excess revenues in K-12 students, teachers, and schools.

“The needs are so great,” said Toni Williams, interim superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Tennessee’s largest district, during remarks Tuesday before the panel.

She described dozens of school buildings that are over a century old, outdated HVAC systems, and the need to mitigate everything from mold to rats. Last year, a library ceiling collapsed at Cummings K-12 Optional School, injuring the school librarian and two other staff members.

Toni Williams, interim superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, speaks to state lawmakers on Nov. 7, 2023.

“This year has been incredibly difficult,” Williams said of her district’s work to address its ailing infrastructure while also providing teachers and staff with competitive pay and preparing for an end to federal COVID relief funding.

The plea from Williams and three other district leaders ran counter to the panel’s charge to develop a strategy on “how to reject certain federal funding or how to eliminate unwanted restrictions.”

Tennessee receives about $1.8 billion in federal funds for education. The U.S. government generally covers about a tenth of a state’s spending for public schools. No state has ever said no to federal funding for its students.

But leaders of Tennessee’s GOP-controlled legislature say they’re frustrated by the federal oversight that’s attached to receiving the money. Many of them believe the state can afford to forgo federal funding and fill the gap with state money.

The committee, appointed by the speakers of the House and Senate, kicked off hearings into the matter this week and is to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by Jan. 9.

Federal funding cutoff could force tax increases later

On Monday, officials with the state comptroller’s office reported that districts in low-income and rural areas depend the most on federal funding. That money is directed to schools that serve disadvantaged students and programs that target certain needs ranging from rural education and English language learners to technology and charter schools.

On Tuesday, researchers with the Sycamore Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, said “much is unknown” if the state opts to pull out of the federal funding stream.

“There’s no precedent upon which to make projections,” said Mandy Spears, the institute’s deputy director.

Even with lower-than-projected revenues and experts predicting stagnant revenues ahead, Spears told the panel that Tennessee likely has room in its budget to replace federal dollars with state money. However, possible ramifications could include budget cuts or tax increases during a future shortfall or recession; protracted court battles over federal requirements that may still exist for schools even if funding is refused; and Tennesseans having to pay federal income taxes for education support that would go to other states.

Spears said federal requirements tied to federal funding provide an extra layer of accountability that’s important to many students and their families because of Tennessee’s history of racial discrimination, school segregation, and exclusion of students with disabilities from public schools.

“Students and families in these protected classes may worry that such practices could return in the absence of federal oversight,” Spears said.

Later Tuesday, the panel asked school district leaders numerous questions about staffing costs related to federal compliance and whether replacing federal funds with state money would give them more flexibility. They also questioned the superintendents about whether their districts measure how much federally funded food is wasted in school cafeterias.

They don’t.

“We just report the number of meals served every day,” said Williams of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, where food and nutrition is the second largest federally funded program at a cost of $89 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Williams said 60% of the district’s 100,000-plus students are considered economically disadvantaged.

“Some of these students wouldn’t have an opportunity (to eat), if not for our food and nutrition program,” she said.

District leaders say extra funding is needed

Asked for a list of burdensome requirements associated with federal education funding, none of the school leaders spoke up. But they spoke at length about the need for more funding for public schools and their students.

Marlon King noted that Madison-Jackson County Schools, where he is superintendent, is among several districts in West Tennessee making investments to develop the future workforce for Ford Motor Co.’s new electric pickup truck plant in nearby Haywood County.

Hank Clay, chief of staff for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, worried that any move toward eliminating federal funding or oversight could tempt districts to shift money that helps their most vulnerable students, especially when school leaders are dealing with other challenges around teacher pay and school facilities.

“If there’s funding on the table to replace these federal dollars, we would welcome that, but ask that it be in addition to — because our students deserve it,” Clay said.

Matt Hixson, who leads schools in Hawkins County, called infrastructure a “huge concern” and noted that his rural district is staring at a $15 million price tag for roof replacement at two high schools. That cost is borne by local taxpayers.

“The only way we have to fund some of those projects is to stand in front of my peers in the county and say we need more tax money,” he said. “I’m a taxpayer too. I’m not a fan of big taxes.”

Earlier this year, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations reported that the state needs to invest more than $9 billion in its K-12 education infrastructure over five years, an increase of nearly 9% from an assessment done a year earlier.

Of that amount, about $5.4 billion is needed for renovations and technology improvements, while nearly $3.6 billion is needed to build additions and new schools.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tenn. study on rejecting federal education funds has ‘no predetermined outcome,’ leader says

2023-10-05T14:50:17+00:00

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A leader of the group of lawmakers exploring whether Tennessee can feasibly reject nearly $1.9 billion in federal education funding says that the panel’s work will begin in early November, and that its findings — not politics — will guide its recommendations.

“There is no predetermined outcome for this working group, or for what the information we gather is going to show,” Sen. Jon Lundberg, a co-chair of the panel, said Wednesday.

“We want to look at what federal education money we get, where it goes, what we’re required to do to get those funds, and ultimately what’s the return on the investment,” the Bristol Republican told Chalkbeat. “I think this will give us a good overview.”

Lundberg, who also chairs the Senate Education Committee, was responding to criticism from Democrats that Republicans are seeking to undermine public education, cater to charter and private school interests, and advance the political aspirations of House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Crossville Republican and likely candidate for governor in 2026.

In February, Sexton said Tennessee should consider forgoing U.S. education dollars to free schools from federal rules and regulations, and should make up the difference with state funding. On Sept. 22, he and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, appointed eight Republicans and two Democrats to the working group to look into the idea and report back by Jan. 9, when the General Assembly convenes a new session.

Most of the federal money the state receives supports low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. Tennessee school districts that are most reliant on U.S. dollars tend to be rural, and have more low-income and disabled students, less capacity for local revenue, and lower test scores in English language arts, according to a recent report from the Sycamore Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

Sen. Jon Lundberg

On Thursday, Lundberg and co-chair Debra Moody, a Covington Republican who chairs a House education committee, released the panel’s schedule showing five days of meetings in November, with the kickoff meeting on Nov. 6.

If the committee finds ways for the state to feasibly wean itself from federal education money that Tennesseans help generate through their taxes, Lundberg expects legislation to come out of its work. But he acknowledged that state revenue collections have lagged in recent months, potentially making it harder to cut the cord.

“Revenues are a valid concern, but that’s not our charge at this point,” he said. “We just want to do a deep dive on where we stand.”

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bo Watson warned lawmakers in August that Tennessee likely will need to begin curbing state spending. But on Wednesday, he endorsed the panel’s task.

“I think it’s premature to say whether there will be budget constraints,” said the Hixson Republican. “Evaluating our programs and our funding is always a healthy exercise.”

Even if officials decide the state can afford to pass on federal funds, JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, questions whether it could effectively manage resources designed to support underserved communities and ensure equal access to education.

He cites the Achievement School District as one example of poor oversight for a state-run program intended to serve students attending low-performing schools. The turnaround district took over dozens of neighborhood schools beginning in 2012, mostly in Memphis, and turned many of them over to charter operators. But it has had few successes to show for its decade of work.

Lundberg said that example shouldn’t stop the state from investigating the possibility.

“Do I trust the state more than the federal government? Absolutely,” Lundberg said. “I think that government that operates closest to the people is the best government.”

Gov. Bill Lee has said he’s open to the idea and denounced what he called “excessive overreach” by the federal government. However, he didn’t give specific examples on education when answering questions from reporters last week.

Advocates for historically underserved student populations say federal oversight is needed to ensure that the state and local districts adequately provide for every student and school.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats pointed out that the federal government provided nearly $30 million last year to public schools in Cumberland County, which Sexton represents. That’s 44% of the East Tennessee district’s budget. Three school districts in Anderson County, where McNally lives, received $31 million in U.S. funds, which covered 32% of their budgets.

You can look up exactly how much federal education funding is on the line for every Tennessee county.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information about the panel’s meeting schedule.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee legislative panel will look into rejecting federal education funds

2023-09-25T21:13:40+00:00

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When Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton floated the idea in February of the state rejecting U.S. education dollars to free schools from federal rules and regulations, most supporters of public education hoped it was nothing more than political posturing.

But on Monday, Sexton and his counterpart in the Senate, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, took the significant step of creating a legislative panel to conduct a comprehensive review of Sexton’s pitch.

The panel will look into the feasibility of doing without federal support for K-12 students and report back to legislative finance and education committees by Jan. 9. Currently, Tennessee receives up to $1.8 billion from the federal government for its schools, most of which supports low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities.

Federal funds typically make up about a tenth of a state’s K-12 budget.

No state has ever rejected federal funding for its students and schools.

But Sexton has said that by rejecting the federal funds that Tennesseans help generate through their taxes, the state can avoid the federal strings attached to those dollars, and make up the funding difference with state money.

McNally, in a statement Monday, cited the state’s “excellent financial position” while deeming Sexton’s proposal as “worthy subject of examination and study.”

Tennessee has been flush with cash in recent years, but its revenues have begun to flatten.

Last month, when the legislature approved $100 million in one-time funding during a special session on public safety, Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican who chairs his chamber’s finance committee, warned that Tennessee needs to tighten spending in the future. And last week, state Finance Commissioner Jim Bryson reported that state revenues for August — the first month of Tennessee’s fiscal year — were $39 million less than budget estimates.

Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, one of two Democrats named to the panel, said the trend should diminish any appetite to forgo federal cash.

“Most of us know how important federal funds are to our state budget, whether for our schools, roads, or health care,” Akbari told Chalkbeat. “My goal on this task force is to support the continued use of federal funding for K-12 education.”

“Besides,” she added, “Tennesseans pay federal taxes. Why should our tax dollars go to support schools in Georgia or California or New York, and not our own schools?”

Many Republicans, though, bristle at the federal oversight tied to receipt of federal education dollars.

Most notable are civil rights protections for students based on race, sex, and disability. Tennessee’s Republican-dominated government has challenged the spirit of those protections by passing laws in recent years to restrict classroom discussions and library books related to race, gender, and bias, as well as to prohibit transgender youth from playing girls sports and restrict which school bathrooms they can use.

“This working group will help provide a clearer picture of how much autonomy Tennessee truly has in educating our students,” Sexton said in a statement Monday.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Lee said he looks forward to reviewing the panel’s findings.

The governor “remains committed to working with the General Assembly to ensure all Tennessee students have access to a high-quality education, while pushing back on federal overreach,” said Elizabeth Johnson, Lee’s press secretary.

The speakers appointed the 10 members to the exploratory panel, five from each chamber:

Sen. John Lundberg, R-Bristol (co-chair)
Rep. Debra Moody, R-Covington (co-chair)
Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis
Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald
Sen. Bill Powers, R-Clarksville
Sen. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro
Rep. Ronnie Glynn, D-Clarksville
Rep. Timothy Hill, R-Blountville
Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge
Rep. William Slater, R-Gallatin

In a Sept. 22 letter creating the joint working group, the speakers outlined four tasks:

Identify the amount of federal funding the state, districts, and schools receive and the laws associated with accepting such funds;
Examine how the state, districts, and schools use or intend to use the funding, and whether there are conditions or requirements for accepting such funds;
Report on the feasibility of the state rejecting federal education funding;
Recommend a strategy on how to reject certain federal funding or how to eliminate unwanted restrictions placed on the state due to receiving the funding.

Last month, the Sycamore Institute reported that Tennessee distributed $1.1 billion in federal funds to school districts across the state — or about 11% of total district revenues — in 2019-20. The nonpartisan think tank also calculated that each of Tennessee’s 142 school districts received between $314 and $2,500 per student in federal funds, accounting for 3% to 20% of each district’s total revenues.

The group’s report said school districts most reliant on federal dollars tend to be more rural, and have more low-income and disabled students, less capacity for local revenue, and lower test scores in English language arts.

Tennessee already ranks in the bottom fourth of states in spending per pupil, and eliminating a key funding source would have serious consequences, said Gini Pupo-Walker, executive director of The Education Trust in Tennessee.

“We would not only redirect Tennesseans’ federal tax dollars to other states in the country, but we would have to dip into our rainy day fund in order to maintain our current level of education funding, limiting our capacity to invest in our students in the future, particularly those most in need,” Pupo-Walker said.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education, which in February called Sexton’s proposal “political posturing,” said students need more — not fewer — resources to support academic recovery following the pandemic, as well as to address a crisis in youth mental health.

“Any elected leader in any state threatening to reject federal public education funds should have to answer to their local educators and parents in their community about the detrimental impact it would have on their community’s education system and their students’ futures,” the spokesperson said.

A statement from the Tennessee Disability Coalition said the group wants to work with the panel “as a resource in conveying the vital importance of federal education funding for students with disabilities.”

“As the past 50 years have shown us, these funds and associated regulations have dramatically improved outcomes for Tennessee students with disabilities and served to protect them from institutionalization, segregation, and marginalization,” the group said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a comment from the U.S. Department of Education.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee teachers group drops one of two lawsuits challenging new state laws

2023-08-11T20:37:24+00:00

Tennessee’s largest teacher organization, which recently challenged two new state laws affecting educators, has quietly dropped its lawsuit about payroll dues deduction, while its other lawsuit over classroom censorship moves ahead in federal court.

The Tennessee Education Association asked a state court to dismiss its case challenging a 2023 law that prohibits local school districts from making payroll deductions for employees’ professional association dues.

A three-judge panel, which had let the payroll ban proceed while the case was being tried, granted TEA’s request for a dismissal on Monday.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has set a Dec. 12 meeting with all parties in TEA’s other lawsuit to discuss how that case will proceed. The teachers group has joined with five public school educators to challenge a 2021 state law restricting teachers from discussing certain concepts about race and gender with their students.

The federal case is being spearheaded by the Free and Fair Litigation Group, a nonprofit firm created by two veteran prosecutors who led the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into Donald Trump’s business dealings. The firm’s focus is on pursuing high-impact cases that bolster democracy.

“TEA’s challenge of the prohibited concepts law is unrelated to the payroll lawsuit. We believe we have a strong case and that federal court will rule in favor of Tennessee teachers,” TEA President Tanya Coats said Thursday.

TEA filed its first lawsuit after Gov. Bill Lee pushed through a new law linking the controversial ban on payroll dues collection to a popular provision aimed at raising teacher pay.

The lawsuit charged that Lee’s strategy violates the state constitution’s single-subject requirement for laws.

A new state court — with judges from Davidson, Fayette, and Hamilton counties — had temporarily blocked the law from taking effect on July 1 while attorneys for TEA and the state made their arguments in the case. But the panel lifted that order on July 28 after deciding the plaintiffs were unlikely to win based on the merits of their arguments. The judges said the bill’s caption of “being relative to wages” was broad enough to address payroll deductions too.

“TEA is still confident in the merits of our case and believes we would have ultimately received a favorable ruling,” Coats said in response. “But TEA decided not to pursue the lawsuit because it is unlikely that the court would rule on the case this school year.”

When the payroll ban passed the legislature in April, the teachers group began converting members to online dues payment. Most members have made the switch, according to Coats.

Whether the payroll changes will lead to a drop in TEA membership is uncertain.

The latest numbers from the National Education Association showed that Tennessee’s organization had 36,218 members in 2020-21, down 4% from the previous year.

But Coats, who is an educator from Knox County, suggested that TEA’s recent advocacy work for public school communities is having the opposite effect. If anything, she said, educator frustration with the new laws has “energized” support for the organization.

“TEA is signing up new members every day and converting the remaining members from payroll deduction,” she said. “The attempt from some state leaders to silence educators has only strengthened educators’ resolve to fight for their students and the profession they love.”

The state’s new dues law also affected Professional Educators of Tennessee, the state’s second largest teacher organization. That group mostly uses its own online system to collect dues, but also had payroll deductions set up with eight school districts.

JC Bowman, the group’s executive director, agreed with TEA that the legislature should have considered the matters of teacher pay and payroll deductions separately. But he worried that TEA’s legal challenge over the payroll issue could have put pay raises at risk.

“That part was concerning to us,” Bowman said Friday. “If that had happened, we would have interceded (in court) on behalf of our members.”

The law’s pay schedule sets Tennessee’s base salary for teachers at $42,000 for this school year; $44,500 for 2024-25; $47,000 for 2025-26; and $50,000 for 2026-27. A raise in the base pay also affects how more experienced teachers are paid.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

How Memphis’ investment in teacher salary schedules will increase paychecks

2023-08-02T21:41:48+00:00

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Memphis-Shelby County Schools teachers will get salary raises and be able to move up the district’s salary schedule faster under an agreement with the two teachers unions.

The new schedule is one part of $78 million in new funds the district is putting toward salaries and bonuses, which officials hope will encourage teacher retention and entice new teachers to fill hard-to-staff roles.

Teacher raises will vary wildly for the upcoming school year as MSCS implements the new scale, offering some teachers thousands in salary increases. But teachers who have worked in Memphis schools the longest will benefit least.

In Memphis, as in other places, teacher pay is generally determined by years of experience and by post-secondary degrees. A salary schedule combines these factors in a table that shows educators how much they will make.

What is changing with Memphis teacher pay?

The budget for salaries and bonuses this school year increased by $78 million. Here’s what those funds will pay for:

At a cost of $27.3 million, MSCS introduced a new salary schedule for educators, reducing the number of steps from 30 to 18 and adding a lane to compensate teachers for education specialist degrees.
The new schedule raises the minimum salary by $1,000 to $47,000 for new teachers with bachelor’s degrees.
For existing teachers, transitioning to the new scale could provide raises as high as $13,000 — and as low as $300 for the most experienced educators.
Following months of appeals to the school board, mental health employees will be paid according to a new salary schedule.
Several teachers are eligible for bonuses in hard-to-staff positions.

Educators on a 10-month contract can find their new salary and raise by inputting their gross pay in the calculator below. The calculator does not apply to teachers working in iZone schools. New salaries take effect Aug. 4.

The district’s previous schedule charted a 30-year path from a teacher’s first year to their maximum salary. The new schedule shrinks that time to 18 years, with a similar range — about $22,000 — between minimum and maximum pay on the scale.

With fewer steps, “teachers will see their salaries grow faster” on the new scale, the district said.

For some of the teachers who negotiated the schedule, the end result has been lacking. A political bargaining process yielded a schedule that Memphis’ two teacher unions didn’t agree upon — particularly when it came to pay for older teachers. Plus, both unions sought higher salaries than MSCS officials said the district could sustainably afford.

MSCS administrators and the school board have said they will seek funding sources to reach a $50,000 minimum salary for educators.

What Memphis teachers will make for the 2023-24 school year

Teachers who are on 10-month contracts and do not teach in iZone schools can use the calculator below to determine their salaries under the new schedule.

Input your salary before deductions, rounded to the nearest dollar. Don’t include bonus pay or pay you made for extra teaching assignments, such as summer school.

(Story continues after calculator.)

District offers bonuses to stymie teacher vacancies

The $78 million for the pay increases came from reallocations, plus new education dollars from the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement funding formula, called TISA, which takes effect this school year.

Sustainability concerns prevented the district from putting more than $27.3 million in new funds into the salary schedule, said Tito Langston, the district’s chief financial officer. On average, teachers will see a 5% raise with its implementation, said interim Superintendent Toni Williams.

The other $50 million is funding bonuses for existing and new teachers, plus some general pay raises.

Several Memphis educators qualify for bonuses

In efforts to fill hard-to-staff roles, MSCS is investing more than $14 million in the following bonuses:

“Critical need subject” teachers, including for special education and preschool: $5,000 to $15,000
English as a second language (ESL) teachers: $10,000
iZone retention bonus: $2,000
iZone sign-on bonus: $2,000
New certified teachers: $5,000
Teacher mentors: $2,000

More than $10 million in funds will go toward awarding teachers for performance. Current educators are eligible for performance bonuses between $2,500 and $5,000. Bonuses are determined this year from state testing data, rather than evaluation scores. iZone educators are eligible for $5,000 performance bonuses.

Athletics and performing arts staff will have increased stipends. Clerical assistants, education assistants, and special education assistants, plus bilingual mentors and school security officers will also see pay raises.

Negotiations with teacher unions yielded new pay scale

Both teacher unions — Memphis Shelby County Education Association and the United Education Association of Shelby County — bargained for the salary schedule as part of contract negotiations in January and February. The process was atypical for Tennessee, but offered by the district as a compromise.

The two unions and district officials breezed through new agreements on bereavement pay, the grievance process, and health care. Salary negotiations took weeks.

With 18 steps, the new scale is more similar to surrounding school districts and previous Memphis pay scales than the 30-step scale that then-Superintendent Joris Ray implemented in 2021. That scale brought standardization to teacher pay that had drifted in the absence of an active scale.

Teacher raises this year will vary, as educators are slotted into the 18-step scale. Once on the scale, salaries are more predictable. The scale could change again next year, however, after more bargaining in January between the district and the teachers unions.

Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

Former MSCS board member alleged ‘corruption.’ Here’s what an MSCS audit found.

2023-06-21T17:27:15+00:00

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Memphis-Shelby County Schools paid a lawn care vendor more than its contract allowed, lost some lawn equipment to theft, and paid an employee for days they didn’t work.

The lapses surfaced in a regular independent financial audit of the district for the 2021-22 school year and were detailed in a report shared with state officials in January. The findings prompted personnel changes and a reorganization of the district’s procurement department, a Chalkbeat review of public records shows.

Interim Superintendent Toni Williams announced some of those changes last fall, soon after she was appointed to take the place of Joris Ray, who resigned as superintendent under a cloud of scandal. The actions drew praise from board members and community advocates as a fresh sign of accountability from the new district leader.

But Williams’ decision to pursue the permanent superintendent post, after promising not to, has roiled the search for Ray’s successor, and sparked new scrutiny of the way the district does business.

When school board Vice Chair Sheleah Harris resigned unexpectedly from her post last week, she called for a district audit “going back at least 5 years” to root out what she claimed was widespread corruption. She cited conflicts of interest in contract awards and misuse of philanthropic funds.

Such allegations are not new, and the district has repeatedly faced calls for audits from critics of its leadership and financial management, even though the district’s finances are audited regularly. In the case of Harris’ allegations, some of the issues she raised appear to mirror the ones addressed by the most recent audit.

The personnel and procurement changes Williams made “are part of ongoing efforts to improve efficiency and transparency,” the district said in a statement responding to Harris’ sweeping allegations.

The latest independent audit, by accounting firms Watkins Uiberall PLLC and Banks, Finley, White, & Co., spanned the period from July 2021 to June 2022. During that period, Williams was the district’s chief financial officer under Ray.

More audit findings about the district may be forthcoming. In addition to the changes Williams announced last fall, district officials hired an auditor to look into potential fraud or noncompliance in managing its $775 million in federal pandemic relief funds, records show. The district did not respond to requests for an update on the status of that audit.

Lawn service contract drew scrutiny from auditors

After her resignation Tuesday, Harris directed reporters to probe her claims, but she declined Chalkbeat’s request for documents supporting her allegations, and wrote that she would not answer further questions.

In her statements following her resignation, Harris suggested there were irregularities with vendor contracts that were worth less than $100,000 — a threshold that requires board approval — saying some were “direct conflicts.”

The district has spent this school year correcting issues related to that policy and strengthening controls, records show.

During the 2021-22 school year, Isaac Wright, an employee who oversaw the district’s grounds and cleaning services, approved payments to a lawn company beyond allowances in the contract. Those payments exceeded the $100,000 threshold, meaning they would normally have warranted a board vote. Details are reflected in the audit report the district regularly files to the state, plus internal audit documents obtained by Chalkbeat through a public records request.

The lawn company submitted invoices in the beginning of August 2021, as the district was preparing to reopen school buildings after a year of online learning. Wright told the district that he paid the company because of pressure from a district official “to get all properties cut before schools’ reopening,” according to the internal report.

The district official, business operations chief Genard Phillips, had told Wright that the contract expansion could be taken to the board for “after the fact” approval, internal auditors wrote. The MSCS board later approved an expansion to the contract, public records show. (The vendor, Supreme Lawn Care, has an active contract with MSCS.)

The internal audit report said Phillips “exceeded his authority” with those instructions. Phillips resigned from MSCS late last year, and his personnel file does not include any internal investigations related to the audit. But his departure and replacement were recorded in the audit report filed with the state as a corrective measure to improve the ethics and accountability of district processes.

“I didn’t authorize (Wright) to do anything that would have been outside of board policy,” Phillips told Chalkbeat, adding that he did not dispute any of the findings in the audit report filed with the state.

Wiiliams appointed Phillips’ successor, Julius Muse, in October 2022. Muse would also oversee a new procedure for monitoring district inventory, according to the state report, which found that some lawn equipment had been stolen.

Auditors also found that Wright violated the district’s “vague” conflict-of-interest policy on gifts by accepting tickets to Grizzlies basketball games and other sporting events from cleaning vendors. The vendors at the time — ServiceMaster Stratos and SKB Facilities, plus former subcontractor Action Chemical — told auditors they were not aware of the district’s policy, and regularly gave tickets to all customers.

Wright was put on leave last fall. While MSCS told auditors he was terminated, Wright said — and his personnel file shows — that he resigned, shortly after the internal audit report was complete.

“I never abused my position,” Wright told Chalkbeat.

Department restructuring targeted conflicts of interest

Among other allegations in her statements, Harris questioned a subsequent restructuring that shifted the procurement department from business operations to finance.

According to the audit, that was done “to provide more fiscal oversight and independence from operations.” Several staff received training to avoid conflicts of interest, and the district planned to strengthen procurement policies and procedures.

The audit also found that a senior employee — who was assigned to review payroll for part of their department — received unowed payment during vacation time, of about $1,000. MSCS responded by requiring direct supervisors and department heads to review payroll, the audit shows.

Documents about these matters are addressed to the members of the board and the school board chair. Since their publication, the findings have not appeared to be part of public discussions by the body. MSCS did not respond to a Chalkbeat request for confirmation of this.

Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee teachers group sues over new law banning local payroll deductions for dues

2023-06-13T22:07:05+00:00

Tennessee’s largest professional teachers organization is challenging the constitutionality of a new state law that prohibits school districts from making payroll deductions for employees’ professional association dues.

The Tennessee Education Association filed its lawsuit Tuesday in Davidson County Chancery Court on behalf of its local education associations and 41,000 members statewide. The complaint names Gov. Bill Lee’s administration, which pushed for the change, and the state education department as defendants. Several local education associations have joined the suit.

The law passed in April after Lee proposed legislation linking the controversial ban on payroll dues collection to a popular provision aimed at raising teacher pay.

That link is the crux of the problem, according to TEA leaders who charged that the strategy violates the state constitution’s single-subject requirement for laws.

“Sliding a payroll dues deduction ban in a bill to raise the minimum pay was a cynical attack on Tennessee teachers,” TEA President Tanya Coats said in a statement. “We look forward to our day in court.”

Lee, speaking with reporters during a school visit Tuesday afternoon in Sumner County, said he had no misgivings about a law that both gives to teachers and takes away.

“The intent of that was to give teachers a pay raise and to make sure that taxpayer dollars are used appropriately and not inappropriately,” Lee said. He contends that districts bear costs for administering a dues deduction program.

The lawsuit is the latest volley between Lee’s administration and the influential teachers organization, which has criticized many of the Republican governor’s policies. The TEA has channeled teacher concerns about a 2021 law that, beginning this year, puts students at risk of having to repeat third grade if they don’t score as proficient on a single standardized test used by the state to gauge reading levels. The group also has opposed Lee’s efforts to expand private school vouchers and charter schools in Tennessee.

Lee’s proposal singled out the TEA

In filing its lawsuit, the TEA asked for a restraining order, as well as temporary and permanent injunctions on the payroll dues deduction ban, which is set to take effect on July 1.

In addition to challenging the law’s breadth, the complaint charges that it negates current negotiations and legal contracts between school districts and local teacher associations that include provisions allowing dues deductions for thousands of members.

Steve McCloud, the TEA’s chief attorney, said more than half of Tennessee’s teachers work under such agreements.

“The law is unconstitutional, and we filed suit to protect the rights of our membership to have their voluntary dues dedicated from their paychecks, something they have been able to do for many decades as a matter of convenience and at no cost to school districts,” McCloud said.

Supporters of the policy change said it doesn’t prevent teachers from joining the TEA or electronically paying their dues directly to the organization.

Automatic dues deductions “are a thing of the past,” Republican House Majority Leader William Lamberth declared this spring when arguing for the bill on the floor of his chamber.

But critics from both sides of the aisle noted that the law singles out teachers as the state’s only public employees prohibited from having their dues collected through payroll deductions.

“The state actually takes dues out for different organizations. … Let’s be consistent,” Republican Rep. Gary Hicks, of Rogersville, told the House when urging members to strip the dues deduction provision from the legislation.

Sen. London Lamar, the Memphis Democrat who chairs her party’s caucus, said Tuesday that the law’s ban on dues deductions will further diminish the collective power of Tennessee educators.

“All workers, including teachers, deserve the freedom to organize for better pay, benefits and working conditions — without interference from politicians,” Lamar said in a statement.

Dues provision survived challenge in the legislature

Lee’s annual state address in February drew mostly polite applause — until he promised legislation to increase teachers’ minimum salary from $41,000 to $50,000 over the next four years.

His brief comments about teacher compensation prompted two standing ovations from lawmakers in a state that ranks toward the bottom in K-12 funding and where many teachers have to work 10 to 15 years to reach a salary of $50,000.

Once unveiled, the governor’s proposal — to increase minimum pay to $42,000 this year and $50,000 by the 2026-27 school year — included a surprise provision targeting the TEA and its longstanding process for collecting membership dues.

“Both of these items, the governor believes, are good public policy,” said Brent Easley, the governor’s legislative director, when pressed about including a dues ban in a teacher pay bill.

The legislation stayed intact, despite an initial House vote to remove the dues language. Many opponents eventually backed off in the legislature’s rush to adjourn for the year.

It’s uncertain whether the policy change could lead to a drop in the number of teachers on TEA rolls. The organization already has lost significant power over the last half century.

In 1978, lawmakers banned teachers from striking and in 2011 did away with their collective bargaining rights. No teacher is required to join the organization as a condition of employment.

Still, TEA maintains a strong grassroots network and makes contributions to both Republican and Democratic candidates through its political action committee. That PAC, which is funded through separate contributions and not through dues, has given $1.3 million to state candidates and causes over the last four campaign cycles, according to the Tennessee Journal.

The Professional Educators of Tennessee, a rival organization, already uses its own collection systems for membership dues.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee is talking about rejecting federal education funding. What would that mean for kids?

2023-02-16T11:00:00+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Subscribe to our free Tennessee newsletter to keep up with the Shelby County public school system and state education policy.

When House Speaker Cameron Sexton recently floated the idea of Tennessee rejecting U.S. education dollars to free its schools from federal rules and restrictions, he made the pivot sound as simple as making up the difference with $1.8 billion in state funds.

“I don’t think the legislation would be too hard to do,” he said last week after publicly declaring his desire to “do things the Tennessee way” at a Tennessee Farm Bureau reception on Feb. 7.

But the way federal funding works is pretty complex. Some districts and schools are more dependent than others on that money, which is directed to schools that serve disadvantaged students and programs that target certain needs ranging from rural education and English language learners to technology and charter schools. A related web of state and federal laws and policies created in response to the federal grants also likely would have to be unwound.

Sexton told Chalkbeat he’s working on legislation to “start a conversation” about the possibilities. And once filed, his written proposal might answer some of the many questions that Tennesseans are asking about what such a change would mean for kids and schools.

But for now, here are a few answers, along with more questions to ponder:

Is the proposal in Tennessee serious?

While a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education dismissed Sexton’s comments as “political posturing,” the House speaker said he’s dead serious.

“I absolutely think we should do it,” Sexton told Chalkbeat.

Sexton noted that, based on the latest budget information, Tennessee could tap into $3.2 billion in new recurring revenues, which would more than cover any lost federal funds for education.

“Now is the time to look at it,” said Sexton, who as House speaker is one of the state’s most influential Republicans. “It doesn’t mean that you do it this year or you have to do it in the next six months, but it starts with the idea.”

Spokespeople for Republican Gov. Bill Lee and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally expressed openness to Sexton’s proposal, while several education leaders in Tennessee’s GOP-controlled legislature expressed outright enthusiasm.

“I would do everything in my power to pass that bill,” said Rep. Scott Cepicky, of Culleoka, who chairs a House education subcommittee and said he “wants Tennessee to have more autonomy when it comes to educating our kids.”

“It’s intriguing,” added Rep. Debra Moody, of Covington, chair of the House Education Instruction Committee. “I think my constituents at home would love it.”

Others were more reserved in their comments.

“It’s a thought-provoking idea, but I’d like to see details,” said Senate Education Committee Chairman Jon Lundberg, of Bristol. “I have questions about what federal strings would be removed and, more importantly, do those strings need removing? Right now, I don’t know.”

Can Tennessee say ‘no’ to federal money?

Probably. No state has rejected the funding so far, mainly because states typically need the money, which on average makes up about a tenth of their budgets for K-12 education.

But Republican leaders in other states have talked about the idea before, and Oklahoma lawmakers are currently considering legislation to phase out federal funding over 10 years for pre-K through 12th grade. A smattering of small school systems across the nation already have passed on federal money because of the cost of compliance.

“States do not have to accept federal funding at first glance,” said Matthew Patrick Shaw, assistant professor of law, public policy and education at Vanderbilt University. “These are carrot-stick programs in which the federal government has policy objectives and, in order to encourage states to go along with them, offers money that they believe states need to operate these programs.”

Would the change disrupt finances for students and schools across Tennessee?

Possibly, but a lot would depend on how it’s done.

Through a program known as Title I, the federal government distributes hundreds of millions of federal dollars to Tennessee schools that serve large concentrations of students from low-income homes to help improve achievement. If Tennessee replaced Title I funding with state money, would it still use the federal formula for distributing that money? Sexton hasn’t said.

The same question applies to federal funds that go to Title III programs to support English language learners, or for Title V programs to support rural education.

Sexton says Tennessee would still cover the costs of all of those programs, as well as free meals funded through assorted grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But in Memphis-Shelby County Schools, where all but eight of the system’s 155 district-run schools have Title I designations, some officials aren’t convinced about the stability of state funding.

“If Tennessee decided to do it our way, what does ‘our way’ look like?” asked school board member Amber Huett-Garcia, whose district expects to receive more than $892 million in federal funding next year.

“Would it achieve equity? Would Memphis continue to receive the share that it currently gets?” she continued.

What federal strings does Sexton want to cut?

Testing is the main problem, according to Sexton.

“I don’t think the TCAP test measures much of anything, and I think teachers would tell you that you’re teaching to a test,” said Sexton about the state’s annual test under the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program.

States that take federal money must give annual assessments in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school. They also are required to administer a science test one time each in elementary, middle and high school grades. Thus, each state must give 17 tests annually, though no individual student takes more than three of those tests in a given school year.

Sexton said Tennessee could scrap TCAP — which Tennessee developed through its testing companies to align with the state’s academic standards — and create a better test with the help of its educators.

But several education advocates note that states already have more flexibility than ever to develop their testing, evaluation, and accountability systems under a 2015 federal law crafted with the leadership of former U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

“When shepherding the Every Student Succeeds Act, Sen. Alexander was laser-focused on Tennessee and what Tennessee would need to be successful,” said Sasha Pudelski, national advocacy director for the School Superintendents Association.

States receiving Title I funds also must participate in national tests of fourth- and eighth-grade students in reading and math every two years. Known as the nation’s report card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress allows comparisons across states and is an important marker for showing how students are doing over time.

Lundberg, a key education leader in the Senate, said such testing data is important for Tennessee.

“I want to make certain that we’re able to continue comparing Tennessee to Montana or California or Michigan,” he said. “If we really want to be No. 1 in the nation in education, we need to be able to measure apples to apples across states.”

Incidentally, the TCAP exam that Sexton wants to scrap is the same standardized test that a 2021 Republican-backed reading law uses as the only criterion to determine whether third-graders can progress to the fourth grade. Lawmakers have filed numerous bills this year to address concerns about the retention policy, which kicks in with this year’s class of third graders.

What other federal mandates are considered burdensome?

Few would dispute that accepting federal funding comes with a lot of red tape. Mounds of paperwork and numerous audits of how money is spent are all part of a huge bureaucratic infrastructure that comes with administering billions of dollars of federal funding.

But Sexton, who said there are “a gazillion restrictions” he doesn’t like, did not enumerate other burdens beyond testing, despite Chalkbeat’s multiple requests to his office for a list.

Marguerite Roza, a Georgetown University professor who researches education finance policy, said she suspects the bigger objections are related to current “culture wars” about curriculum and whether transgender students should be allowed to use school bathrooms or play sports consistent with their gender identity, which may not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.

“Those strings come from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights,” Roza said.

Civil rights enforcement is the mission of that office based on the passage of federal laws such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of education amendments passed in 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, and disability.

And Tennessee has been at the forefront of culture war legislation. It passed more laws in 2021 aimed at limiting the rights of transgender people than any other state in the nation, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

The state also has passed laws in recent years to prohibit the teaching of certain concepts related to race and sex in classrooms and to allow an appointed state panel to ban certain school library books statewide if members deem them inappropriate for the ages of students who can access them.

If Tennessee rejects federal funds, would the state still have to ensure students’ civil rights protections under federal laws, including for students with disabilities?

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, is a federal funding statute that says schools must identify students with disabilities and provide them with a free and appropriate public education tailored to their needs. But generally speaking, legal experts say, those requirements apply only to states that accept IDEA funds.

“If I were a parent of a child with a disability, this would be a major concern,” said Gini Pupo-Walker, state director for The Education Trust in Tennessee. “Would my child’s rights and needs be protected without the federal funding and oversight?”

Sexton says the state would still fund services that are currently part of IDEA and would come up with a similar program that he believes could be better.

But the Tennessee Disability Coalition says there’s no assurance that a Tennessee version would give families the same or better protections than under IDEA or other federal laws designed to protect students with disabilities.

“It’s hard for the disability community to trust Tennessee when our state’s track record hasn’t been so great,” said Jeff Strand, the coalition’s government affairs coordinator. “Our state institutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a long history of abuses, and we continue to see a troubling pattern of actions such as our state’s choice not to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid services.”

Gov. Bill Lee speaks to advocates for people with disabilities gathered at the Tennessee State Capitol on Feb. 4, 2020.

Another concern is where families could appeal when the system isn’t working for their students. Under IDEA, they can call for a meeting at school to speak with teachers, administrators, and case managers. If they’re not satisfied, they can appeal all the way up to the Office of Civil Rights. Dozens of disability-related cases in Tennessee schools are currently being investigated by that federal office, which has the power to take away funding from states or schools that don’t follow the law.

“It’s already tough to live with a disability in Tennessee,” said Strand. “A change like this would cloud a specific longstanding avenue that ensures that the rights of students with disabilities are being protected. And it clouds it for no good reason.”

Beyond IDEA, federal civil rights laws are hard to unpack because some are also linked to receipt of federal funds, so it may depend on how state laws are structured.

The Office of Civil Rights also enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a civil rights statute which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, as well as Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which extends this prohibition against discrimination to government services such as public schools, regardless of whether they receive any federal financial assistance.

Several legal experts believe many Tennessee families likely would turn to the courts over alleged violations of those laws based on the state constitution, which guarantees equal access to a system of free public education, or the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law and due process of law.

“If you want to know how this change would affect children,” said Vanderbilt’s Shaw about the possibility of rejecting federal funds and restrictions, “there’s just a lot of uncertainty.”

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Gov. Lee aims to raise minimum salary for Tennessee teachers to $50,000 by 2027

2023-02-07T11:00:00+00:00

Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday that he’ll propose legislation to increase the minimum salary for Tennessee teachers from $41,000 to $50,000 over the next four years.

If the proposal passes, the new base salary in the fall of 2027 would be up 42% from 2019, Lee’s first year in office, when the state’s minimum teacher pay was $35,000.

The Republican governor has sought to raise teacher compensation annually and said he wants $125 million more toward pay increases next school year.

He didn’t give details about his long-term pay proposal during his state address Monday night before a joint session of the Tennessee legislature. But his brief comments about teacher compensation prompted two standing ovations from lawmakers in a state that ranks toward the bottom in K-12 funding and where many teachers have to work 10 to 15 years to reach a salary of $50,000.

Lee’s education chief, Penny Schwinn, told Chalkbeat that a large jump in base pay would transform efforts to recruit educators to the profession — and retain them in subsequent years.

“This is a game changer in terms of how we talk about the profession, how we compensate the profession,” Schwinn said. “This is that retention component that is going to be critical.”

Raising base pay would have a “domino effect” on how more experienced teachers are paid, too, she said.

“You raise the minimum, which raises the midpoint, which raises the end-point salary. That’s what we see every year that we’ve raised the base salary by about a thousand dollars. You see a domino effect for all of the salary schedules statewide,” Schwinn said.

In conjunction with his address, Lee’s administration released his $55.6 billion proposed budget for next fiscal year, recommending that the state’s largest new investment — $3.3 billion worth — go to repair and build roads and bridges to address Tennessee’s decaying transportation infrastructure.

For education, he proposed adding $350 million to the $750 million in recurring funds already approved to launch the state’s new education funding formula, known as the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, or TISA, which takes effect July 1. Signed into law last year, TISA will replace the state’s 30-year-old funding system and sets a base funding rate of $6,860 per pupil, then distributes additional money to support students who need the most help.

The governor asked the legislature to approve one-time funding of $20 million for school safety grants and nearly $30 million for a related school safety initiative to hire at least one Homeland Security special agent in each of the state’s 95 counties to work with local schools and law enforcement.

“We’ve done a lot to make schools safer, but I don’t want to look up months from now and think ‘we should’ve done more,’” said Lee, promising to prioritize school safety every year he’s in office.

He’s also asking for recurring new funding of nearly $61 million to extend summer learning camps across Tennessee and to expand eligibility from grades 4-8 currently to kindergarten through the ninth grade, plus $10 million to provide bus transportation to and from those camps.

Lee seeks more funds for charter commission

Lee used his annual address to tout both public schools and voucher programs that give parents taxpayer money to send their children to private schools. He introduced Vincent Hunter, principal at Whitehaven High School in Memphis, which has expanded dual enrollment, advanced placement, and foreign language course opportunities and boasts a graduation rate above 90%. He also introduced Nashville fourth-grader Natalia Serrano, who enrolled in Holy Rosary Academy through Tennessee’s education savings account program, which kicked off this school year.

“I have always believed that we should strive to have the best public school system in the country — and provide choices for parents,” Lee said.

But Lee made no mention of charter schools in this year’s address, after using the platform a year ago to endorse a “partnership” with Michigan’s Hillsdale College to open classical charter schools in Tennessee that align with his conservative ideology. That effort initially failed (although Hillsdale’s American Classical Education charter group is trying again and recently submitted applications to open schools with five Tennessee districts).

Lee’s spending plan, however, includes more than $1 million more in recurring funding to support the state’s new Charter School Commission and its growing portfolio of state-authorized charter schools.

In his speech and budget blueprint, the governor called for more support for new mothers, foster care, and crisis pregnancy centers. He proposed investing $193.5 million to bolster the state’s embattled children’s services agency, which has been under scrutiny for sweeping failures in overseeing Tennessee’s most vulnerable children.

“DCS caseworkers have an incredibly difficult job, and they deserve our support,” Lee said. “Last year, we provided two pay raises for caseworkers, and I intend to boost their pay again in this budget.”

Critics say Lee’s policy plans fall short

The governor’s teacher pay proposals drew cautious comments from the Tennessee Education Association, the state’s largest teachers organization, which noted that Alabama’s minimum starting salary for a teacher this year is $43,358.

“Tennessee has a long way to go to reach Gov. Lee’s goal of a starting salary of $50,000, but the state is well positioned to make this a reality sooner rather than later as we continue to record significant surpluses,” the group said in a statement.

For instance, Tennessee tax collections for the current fiscal year have been beating forecasts by hundreds of millions of dollars. And for the new fiscal year that begins in July, Lee proposes adding another $250 million to the state’s “rainy day” reserve fund, which is already at a record high.

Meanwhile, “teachers, like other Tennesseans, have been affected by inflation and rising costs in the family budget,” said TEA President Tanya Coats. “More can be done to improve the economics of being a professional teacher in our state.”

Outside the Tennessee Capitol earlier Monday, a small group of Nashville-area pastors called on the governor to pursue policies that benefit everyone, not just a select few people or special interest groups.

“There is nothing more beneficial to the common good than fully funded, high-quality public education,” said the Rev. Kevin Riggs, pastor of Franklin Community Church in Franklin.

Nashville-area pastors and faith leaders speak outside the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville on Feb. 6, prior to Gov. Bill Lee’s 2023 state address.

Riggs criticized new state laws aimed at banning books in classrooms and school libraries, holding back third graders if they don’t test as proficient in reading, and targeting LGBTQ students.

“These policies are failing our families,” he said. “We need to listen to teachers and principals and support the work of our public schools, making them stronger and our communities healthier.”

Over the weekend, House Minority Leader Karen Camper urged the governor to halt any policies that drain money from public schools, such as vouchers.

“Let’s invest in pre-K, smaller classroom sizes, and professional teachers who are preparing our children, not just for this decade, but for those beyond our lifetimes,” said the Memphis Democrat, in her party’s “prebuttal speech.”

“We must guard against the expansion of policies that result in the re-segregation of schools,” Camper continued. “If we ignore our past, we insult the struggles of so many heroes like Ruby Bridges, the Memphis 13, and Clinton 12, who passed down progress and inclusion in every generation since.

Tennessee lawmakers will begin reviewing the governor’s budget this week in their finance committees. The legislature must approve a final budget before recessing for the year this spring.

You can read the governor’s full address here

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee schools need $9 billion of infrastructure investment, report says

2023-01-27T20:28:04+00:00

Tennessee needs to invest more than $9 billion in its K-12 education infrastructure over five years, an increase of nearly 9% from an assessment done a year earlier, a new state report says.

Of that amount, about $5.4 billion is needed for renovations and technology improvements, while nearly $3.6 billion is needed to build additions and new schools, according to the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

The report, approved Thursday by the commission, comes as local and state officials grapple with how to cover the soaring costs of school construction, which have doubled in the last decade due to rising material and labor costs.

Meanwhile, years of research shows that fixing school buildings can improve student learning, health, and behavior. One study in Tennessee shows a direct connection between student achievement and the condition of school buildings. Another study from New York found that poor building conditions can lead to higher rates of chronic absenteeism.

In Tennessee, cities and counties pay for most of their school facility needs with property and sales tax revenues. But some state lawmakers are looking for ways to ease that burden.

Last year, one legislative proposal would have directed tax revenues from Tennessee’s new sports betting industry toward local school facility costs. But the measure fizzled in committee as legislators opted to keep most of that money — at least for now — for higher education scholarships, such as the state’s popular HOPE and Tennessee Promise programs.

This year, new legislation to eliminate state mandates on class sizes — if approved — could slow the need for new schools and additions.

But many local officials would prefer a new state revenue stream to help them repair or replace aging schools.

Miska Clay Bibbs, a former school board member in Memphis who was elected last year to the Shelby County Commission, said a broader conversation is overdue. At least 33 Memphis schools were built before 1950.

“Not only is Memphis-Shelby County Schools the state’s largest school district, but most of our school buildings are some of the oldest,” said Clay Bibbs. “These buildings don’t mirror the greatness of the students, teachers and families that these schools represent.

“It makes for a difficult learning environment,” she said.

A new building to replace Trezevant High School was put on hold last year due to limited funding. The school has one of the highest deferred maintenance bills of any public school in Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Tennessee needs 70 more schools

The inventory compiled by the state commission, which reports directly to the legislature, serves as a yearly reminder of Tennessee’s billions of dollars in unmet capital construction needs — from schoolhouses and roads to bridges and water lines. The report has been compiled every year since 1998 and has become an important tool to identify critical needs and set state priorities in the budget-making process.

The latest needs list tallied $63 billion in all, with education ranking second again, behind transportation and just ahead of health and safety infrastructure needs such as clean water, law enforcement, fire protection, and public health.

In the education category, college campuses saw a decrease in their infrastructure needs after several years of new investments, while K-12 public schools saw their needs increase.

To keep on track, local officials reported needing to build 70 more schools across Tennessee, at an average estimated cost of $42 million each. That amount can vary widely, however, depending on the school’s size, location, and purpose. For instance, Sullivan County’s new high school cost $75 million, while a new K-8 school in Lincoln County came in at $17 million.

Rep. David Hawk, a Republican from Greeneville, said his local school district is staring at a $50 million price tag to build a new middle school in Upper East Tennessee. He added that something has got to give.

“Brick and mortar for education is one of the largest costs to local governments, which go into substantial debt to build schools to meet state mandates,” said Hawk.

For much of his 20-year legislative career, Hawk has looked for a way to direct state funds to build schools, and he sponsored last year’s failed bill to use sports betting revenue for that purpose. He doesn’t plan to file a similar bill this year but says he wants to continue to “push the envelope.”

“We can and should do more,” Hawk said.

Sen. Jon Lundberg says infrastructure challenges aren’t the impetus for his bill this year to eliminate Tennessee’s maximum class size requirements of 25 students in kindergarten through third grades, 30 students in grades 4-6, and 35 students in grades 7-12.

“My goal is not to create larger class sizes; it’s just to give localities more discretion when there are extenuating circumstances, such as when a classroom has teacher aides,” Lundberg said. “The state would still put out best practices on optimum class sizes.”

But the Bristol Republican, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, acknowledged that such a change could also have the unintended effect of lessening pressure on local governments to build new schools or additions as their student populations grow.

“It’s possible,” he said. “My expectation is that locally elected leaders will do what’s right.”

Memphis has a long list of building needs

Last August, the collapse of a school library ceiling at one school — when school was in session — underscored the importance of addressing longstanding capital needs in Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

No students were in the library at the time at Cummings K-8 Optional School, but the school librarian and two other staff members were injured. All students will finish out this school year at a neighboring school pending repairs and the outcome of a structural review.

According to the state’s latest breakdown of local needs, Memphis-Shelby County Schools needs to address school infrastructure projects totaling more than $464 million, at a cost of $3,450 per student, by mid-2026.

But funding is a challenge. Last summer, Shelby County commissioners granted only half of the Memphis district’s $55 million request for capital improvements, putting several major projects on hold, including a replacement building for Trezevant High School in the city’s Frayser community.

Interim Superintendent Toni Williams is compiling a new capital improvement plan to bring before the commission this year. But Clay Bibbs, who chairs the Shelby County Commission’s education committee, says relief from the state could expedite improvements.

“Imagine if we had more dollars to take on more projects. Change could happen faster,” she said.

Tennessee received over $4 billion from three federal COVID relief packages, but Gov. Bill Lee and GOP leaders encouraged school districts to use at least half of their portions on programs and resources to help their students catch up academically from the pandemic.

Districts spent much of the early funds on technology upgrades like digital tablets. Some used part of their later funds to upgrade ventilation, heating, and air conditioning systems in school buildings. However, much of that spending was not captured in the latest state report, which gives a snapshot of infrastructure needs as of July 2021.

“We might see a drop in some of those areas next year,” said Tyler Carpenter, the commission’s research manager and the report’s co-author.

The governor has said he’ll prioritize Tennessee’s transportation infrastructure backlog this year. He is expected to unveil his proposed state budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year on Feb. 6.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee textbook panel says it’s ill-equipped to manage library book appeals

2022-12-16T11:00:00+00:00

Tennessee’s textbook commission has wide new powers to determine which books students can and can’t access in public school libraries. But members say the panel doesn’t have enough resources to finish its most pressing new task: providing guidance to school leaders on how to comply with several recently enacted library laws.

The all-volunteer commission blew past a statutory Dec. 1 deadline to finalize its guidelines, and decided last week that it can’t do so without first getting legal advice.

“We have gotten zero guidance from any attorneys — zero. And we’re just out here as volunteers doing this,” said commission member John Combs, a school superintendent from Tipton County.

The new laws require schools to periodically screen their library materials for “age appropriateness,” based on local standards and community input. They also empowered the 13-member Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission to rule on appeals to local decisions about individual books — and to even ban challenged books statewide — a significant expansion of the commission’s original mandate.

With the commission’s final vote on guidance likely weeks or even months away, school administrators are on their own for now to figure out how to navigate changes in the law.

This month’s missed deadline, though, is a symptom of a larger concern that commission members are grappling with as they prepare for a potential onslaught of appeals of book challenges in a state that’s one of the nation’s leaders in banning literary, scholarly, and creative works.

When GOP lawmakers passed the library appeals law in the waning hours of the legislative session this spring, they provided no funding for the commission to hire staff to manage its new appeals work. The law’s fiscal impact was identified as “not significant,” according to an analysis by legislative staff.

But essentially, it was an unfunded mandate.

Established in 1983, the textbook commission has no offices, no full-time staff, and no independent lawyers with whom to confer. Most members have full-time jobs and lean on administrative support from the state education department to fulfill the body’s core responsibility of approving textbooks and instructional materials, and establishing contracts with publishers to guarantee availability to schools at the lowest price.

In its new appellate role over school libraries, the panel will have to dive into local disputes over age-appropriateness and community standards. That means setting up processes to make sure complainants are eligible to appeal, reviewing all documentation leading up to the local decision, and analyzing the materials in question, possibly with statewide consequences.

“It’s a lot of work to be added to people who already have a full load,” commission Chair Linda Cash told a legislative subcommittee in September.

Linda Cash, flanked by commissioners Lee Houston and John Combs, chairs the Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission.

Cash, who is school superintendent in Bradley County near Chattanooga, has asked Gov. Bill Lee’s administration for recurring funding to hire staff and set up offices similar to several other education agencies. For instance, the 2-year-old Public Charter School Commission, which Lee championed, has a 14-member staff to help its nine appointed members manage charter school appeals. The State Board of Education has 15 employees who help its 11 appointees set policies ranging from academic standards to teacher preparation and licensing requirements.

In a Nov. 22 letter obtained by Chalkbeat, Cash told Tennessee Finance Commissioner Jim Bryson “it is imperative” that the commission hire an executive director, an attorney, and administrative support to help it carry out both its old and new responsibilities. And during last week’s commission meeting, she also cited the need for a policy adviser and additional support from the state education department.

“Our goal … is to follow the legislative intent and to provide guidance on this law on the age-appropriate materials in school libraries,” she told fellow commissioners. “Limited staffing often makes our task more difficult.”

Rep. John Ragan, who co-chairs the legislative committee overseeing government operations, has endorsed Cash’s request. He called the panel’s newest charge from the legislature “yeoman’s work.”

“If they need additional support, let’s make sure we try to get it for them,” the Oak Ridge Republican told representatives of the state education department in September.

But state Rep. John Ray Clemmons, a Nashville Democrat who spoke against the school library bill on the House floor, questions the need to add another bureaucratic layer and notes that the legislation came from the political party that claims it’s for less government and more local control.

“The core function of the law is to pull books off of bookshelves, and now we’re faced with implementing this bad and dangerous education policy,” Clemmons told Chalkbeat. “Tennessee taxpayers are going to be on the hook for the whole thing.”

Number of expected appeals remains uncertain

As commissioners seek to staff up, the big unknown is the workload they’ll face under Tennessee’s new school library laws, which were enacted at the urging of Lee and House Speaker Cameron Sexton following several high-profile challenges over books and curriculum in 2021.

Katie Capshaw, president of the Tennessee Association of School Librarians, says it’s “very rare” for school librarians to receive complaints about items in their collections in the first place.

And Cash has been optimistic that local attention and diligence in addressing complaints will make appeals unnecessary.

But Commissioner Laurie Cardoza-Moore, whom Sexton appointed from Williamson County to represent parents and who has allies in the conservative activist group Moms for Liberty, has said the panel should prepare for a wave of appeals once it formally establishes its appellate process next year.

Laurie Cardoza-Moore, a member of the state textbook commission, speaks to members of a Moms for Liberty chapter in Franklin, Tennessee, on Jan. 11, 2022.

“I just received a packet that I shared with all of you this morning,” she told fellow commissioners last month, “and there are numerous items that are being challenged.”

According to PEN America, a group that advocates for free expression in literature, Tennessee trails only Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania in logging the most restrictions or attempted restrictions on books. Most of the objections have to do with sexuality, LGBTQ themes, and issues related to race and racism.

In the last month, school leaders in at least two Tennessee districts have addressed book complaints with different outcomes.

Wilson County Schools, east of Nashville, pulled two books that its board deemed sexually graphic — “Tricks” and “Jack of Hearts” — from high school libraries.

Sumner County Schools, north of Nashville, voted to keep “A Place Inside of Me” on its shelves. The book includes a poem and illustrations showing a Black child dealing with his emotions after a police shooting.

Nationwide, the number of attempts to ban or restrict library resources in schools, universities and public libraries in 2022 is on track to exceed record counts from 2021, according to preliminary data released in September by the American Library Association.

Commissioners may not have to read an entire book

Tennessee’s textbook commission has been drafting broad guidance for school districts on how to comply with the laws. Much of its draft is based on model guidance developed by the Tennessee School Boards Association and already used by many school boards and charter school governing bodies across the state.

During last week’s two-hour virtual meeting, commissioners nailed down a timetable that would require complainants to file their request for appeal within five school days of a local decision. The originating district or charter school would then have up to 20 school days to submit documentation of deliberations and decisions. And the appeal would be heard at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the commission, which meets twice a year.

Members of Tennessee’s textbook commission prepare to convene in Nashville on Nov. 18, 2022.

Among the panel’s considerations would be whether the material is suitable and consistent with the school’s educational mission; appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access it; containing literary, historical, and/or artistic value and merit; and offering a variety of viewpoints.

A student, parent, guardian, or school employee would be able to file only two appeals in a single year. And appeals couldn’t be filed on a book that the commission has already ruled on until after three years, which would be timed to the appointment of new commission members.

But commissioners wouldn’t necessarily have to read an appealed book in its entirety before voting — unless they want to.

Commissioner Lee Houston, a school librarian in Cumberland County, sought to include that requirement because “context is important,” she said. But her motion failed for lack of a second after Commissioner Billy Bryan said a simple review should be sufficient, without reading the entire book.

“We don’t know how many appeals we’re going to get and how many books we’re going to be required to read,” Bryan said. “And there’s a limited amount of time on my already busy schedule for reading who-knows-how-many library books.”

Tennessee school leaders await final guidance

Since the commission has no staff attorney of its own, members voted to seek legal counsel from the state attorney general on its draft guidance, but to go to lawyers for the legislature or education department if necessary.

In the meantime, school leaders are relying on their own processes for reviewing challenged books and materials.

“I believe we’re in compliance with these new laws, but it would be affirming if the commission could reinforce what we’re already doing,” said Danny Weeks, director of Dickson County Schools, west of Nashville, where the school board has voted on two book challenges in 10 years.

“State guidance,” he added, “would be nice to have.”

Marta W. Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee private schools could get $60 million in leftover pandemic relief funds

2022-11-30T00:26:06+00:00

Tennessee is taking steps to ensure that private schools get the opportunity to receive nearly $60 million in unused federal COVID relief funds set aside for them in 2021.

But the state is considering loosening some of the strings that the federal government initially attached to those funds. In particular, under several options outlined Monday by Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, private schools wouldn’t necessarily have to serve a “significant” share of students from low-income families to be eligible for aid, as the Biden administration had required.

Following federal rules, Tennessee recently moved leftover money from the federal emergency assistance program for nonpublic schools to a discretionary COVID education fund managed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee. His office will have more flexibility to figure out a distribution plan that may or may not factor in student poverty levels.

And based on Lee’s discussions with several legislative leaders, their goal is to make sure private schools get a second crack at the funds, instead of using them for public education needs across the state.

“I just think (private school leaders) feel like they weren’t given the opportunity to take advantage of the resources that were put in place for them,” said Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican and legislative finance leader, who reviewed the issue Monday with other members of Lee’s pandemic relief spending accountability group.

Private school advocates cite hurdles in federal rules

At issue is the federal relief fund for nonpublic schools, through which Congress set aside $2.75 billion in 2021 for states to distribute to private schools as part of a massive pandemic relief package that included $128 billion for K-12 education.

Tennessee received nearly $74 million in 2021 to help private schools rebound from the pandemic — but had awarded only $10.2 million after the deadline for applications passed this spring.

One reason cited by private school leaders: The Biden administration’s distribution rules restricted funding to nonpublic schools that enroll at least 40% of their students from low-income backgrounds — a threshold that has been used as a “measure of significant poverty” when identifying Title I schools under federal law.

The 40% language differed from an earlier relief package approved in 2020 under the Trump administration, which sought to require districts to share education aid with private schools. According to federal data, private schools serve significantly fewer poor households than public schools do.

This year, Tennessee successfully petitioned the U.S. Department of Education to reduce the poverty threshold for eligibility from 40% to 33%, based on the average poverty rate among private schools that participated in the earlier, less restrictive COVID relief package.

But out of 481 eligible private schools, only 44 submitted an application by April 1, and only 22 of those were deemed eligible based on federal poverty data.

Ultimately, the state’s private school participation rate was 5%, compared with 19% for the smaller federal relief program in 2020.

Sarah Wilson, executive director of the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools, said untapped funding shouldn’t be perceived as a lack of interest or need by private schools. Her organization represents 61 out of hundreds of private schools that vary from large, well-funded schools in urban areas to small church-affiliated schools across the state.

“Some of our schools applied, but there were a host of reasons why many did not,” Wilson told Chalkbeat.

Beyond the poverty threshold, some were ineligible because federal law disallowed any private school that received a loan under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program after December 27, 2020. Still others found the state’s application process “more onerous and difficult” than under the 2020 relief package, she said.

“I really appreciate that policymakers are looking now at what happened with this funding, recognizing that it was originally earmarked for nonpublic schools, and wanting to fulfill that intention if there is interest and need,” Wilson said.

Seeking a new formula for distributing funds

Exactly how Lee’s office would distribute funds to private schools under his emergency fund is still being discussed.

While the governor’s fund has more flexibility than the previous fund that her department oversaw, Schwinn said federal law prohibits using any of the money for private school vouchers, scholarships, or education savings accounts. And all funds must be spent by June 30, 2024.

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn

The commissioner presented four options. One would use the Trump administration’s previous rules for distribution, in which public school districts could count the number of students from low-income families in local private schools and share federal funding proportionally. Other options wouldn’t factor in poverty at all and instead would set allocations per pupil using various percentages.

“We can calculate this in whatever way you all want,” Schwinn told the group, as long as it’s for initiatives that address pre-K through higher education.

Democrats hope the governor, who fought to bring private school vouchers to Tennessee, will still factor in student poverty in any new calculations for private schools. They note that distribution of $2.2 billion to Tennessee public schools under Biden’s American Rescue Plan was based on the number of low-income families served by their districts.

“Our state talks a lot about being fiscally stable, but let’s not confuse fiscal stability with fiscal responsibility,” said Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat. “In our state, we tend to consistently punish people for being poor.”

Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, who serves on the governor’s accountability group, told Chalkbeat that she wants to see data about how the various scenarios could play out. But ultimately, she wants dollars intended for private schools to go to private schools. After all, she said, while all public schools received some federal support during the pandemic, not every private school did.

“A straight per-pupil allocation would be simpler, but we don’t want to be hasty,” said the Signal Mountain Republican, who chaired the House Budget Committee during the recent legislative session.

“We also have to be mindful that we’re dealing with a finite timeline,” she added. “Schools are going to need to submit their applications soon so money can get disbursed.”

You can watch the governor’s financial accountability group’s discussions here. Schwinn’s presentation began at the 1-hour, 18-minute mark.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

MSCS leaders put new Frayser school, other projects on hold in revised budget

2022-06-16T21:36:06+00:00

After years of advocating for the construction of a state-of-the-art high school in Memphis’ Frayser neighborhood, Regenia Dowell thought it was finally going to happen this spring.

In tandem with its 2022-23 budget approved in May, Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials proposed spending about $22 million to break ground on a replacement for Trezevant High School, which has one of the highest deferred maintenance bills of any other public school in the city.

But that proposal hinged on the district’s request for $55 million in capital improvement funds from Shelby County. When commissioners decided this month to grant MSCS less than half that amount, district officials were forced to put off the project for at least another year. Dowell was heartbroken.

“It’s hard when you’ve been working all these years and you can see it, but you can’t touch it,” said Dowell, treasurer of the Frayser community’s parent-teacher-student association. “Our children need this; they need to know they’re valued. They see other schools and see that their school is not nearly as nice as those schools. Why can’t it be like that here?”

The new Frayser high school is one of several MSCS construction projects currently paused as the district dials back its capital spending plans in response to the funding setback. On Tuesday, during a specially called meeting, the MSCS board unanimously approved a revised $2.1 billion budget that puts those projects in limbo and strips out more than $10 million in other planned projects.

Administrators had hoped the $55 million fiscal year 2023 allotment would be the first installment of a 10-year, $550 million commitment from the county to address decades of deferred facility maintenance and update aging school buildings. Over 33 MSCS schools were built before 1950, meaning the buildings are 70 or more years old.

“We have kids that are going into bathrooms that have not been renovated since 1950. They’re learning in science labs that have not been renovated since 1950,” Patrice Thomas, the district’s chief of staff, told the County Commission during its June 6 meeting.

But the commission approved only $21 million of the $55 million request, calling on the district to liquidate assets or build its case for raising taxes countywide to generate funds.

It marks the second year that MSCS has had to delay several flagship projects from its Reimagining 901 school improvement and facility plan. Last summer, the county similarly balked at the district’s $55 million request, citing the federal COVID relief aid flowing into the school system. Some commissioners also voiced concern about the effect that level of spending could have on the county’s finances and taxpayers.

Frayser community concerned about construction delay

The current Trezevant High School in Frayser serves more than 500 students across grades 9-12 — most of whom are Black and come from low-income families.

The new high school was to be the first of five new schools in the Reimagining 901 plan unveiled last year, and was targeted for 2025 completion at a projected cost of about $89 million.

The district planned to build the school on existing school property — either at the Trezevant site or at Martin Luther King Preparatory High School, part of the Frayser Community Schools charter network.

In the spring, the MSCS board agreed to spend about $3 million drafting designs and plans for the new campus. The board also spent millions to do the same for two other proposed schools: A Treadwell K-8 that would combine Treadwell elementary and middle schools, and an Orange Mound K-8 that would combine Bethel Grove, Cherokee, and Dunbar elementary schools. Those schools had targeted completion dates of 2026 and 2027, respectively.

The district’s $55 million request to the county called for nearly $22 million just to break ground on the Frayser high school. Yet the county’s total allocation to the district amounted to about $1 million less than that.

Now, it’s unclear when MSCS will be able to complete the new Frayser high school, or the next two schools in line for construction. During the Tuesday board meeting, Toni Williams, the district’s chief financial officer, said she hopes to begin construction on the high school in 2024.

But Dowell remains uneasy. Although district officials have assured her that they remain committed to the project, she worries it won’t happen unless the County Commission has a massive change of heart in future years.

Dowell wishes MSCS could find the funds for the school in its own budget.

“I feel like we are being held hostage here in Frayser by the funding situation,” she said.

For Bobby White, founder and CEO of Frayser Community Schools, the new school represented new possibilities for the children of Frayser.

While the neighborhood already has three high schools — Frayser Community Schools’ M.L.K College Prep, Trezevant, and Memphis Business Academy — White envisioned a comprehensive high school providing families with another educational option and children with more opportunities.

For example, he hoped more students would be able to take classes in languages besides Spanish — like Latin or Mandarin, as offered in MSCS high schools like White Station or Central, and have more access to college, career and technical education courses, as in other Memphis schools.

Still, White says he’s optimistic for the neighborhood he grew up in.

“We’re not going to allow this to derail our focus on trying to provide a quality education at Trezevant, MLK, and (Memphis Business Academy),” he said.

Other changes in revised budget

In MSCS’ revised 2022-23 school year budget adopted Tuesday, officials also slashed $5 million of gym and safety renovations at Richland Elementary, another $5 million for a new stadium at Tobey Park, and cut about $480,000 from a stadium improvement project at Raleigh Egypt High School.

Maintenance and facility upgrade projects that remain in the district’s new capital improvement budget for 2023 include:

$5.1 million for new intercom systems at several schools
$5.1 million for new heating and air systems at Snowden K-8
$3.1 million to replace the roof at Peabody Elementary
$3 million to increase outdoor lighting at various schools
$1 million for the Raleigh Egypt stadium project

In an interview last week, school board Vice Chair Althea Greene said that she’s disappointed MSCS didn’t get all of the funding it asked for, but that she understands that county commissioners have “way more asks than they have funds to disburse.”

She cautioned district families that concerns about school maintenance, modernization, and beautification projects may not be addressed as quickly as the district had hoped.

“We can only spend what’s allocated to us,” Greene told Chalkbeat. “When it comes to deferred maintenance, we will continue to be behind, because we continue to not get enough funding to get ahead.”

Samantha West is a reporter for Chalkbeat Tennessee, where she covers K-12 education in Memphis. Connect with Samantha at swest@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee private school voucher law is stuck at the starting gate, despite court victory

2022-05-27T16:59:11+00:00

Three years after squeaking through the legislature, Tennessee’s controversial private school voucher law has yet to provide a single eligible student with public funding to pay for private schooling — a record that will be difficult to change this fall.

Despite a favorable ruling this month by the state’s highest court, Gov. Bill Lee’s administration must clear numerous legal and logistical hurdles before launching his mothballed Education Savings Account program.

The state Supreme Court’s ruling on May 18 invalidated one of the claims brought by opponents of the law. But litigants behind one of two lawsuits in the case say they intend to press ahead with up to four remaining claims challenging the law’s constitutionality. And plaintiffs in the other suit are considering a similar move.

Equally important, a program with the complexities of vouchers cannot be rolled out in short order. The state education department must process applications from potentially thousands of families — each involving an average of 12 interactions with the applicant, according to court documents. It must revisit its roster of dozens of private school participants and put processes in place to oversee the spending of millions of taxpayer dollars — all in alignment with the school year that, in Tennessee, generally begins in early August.

“The state must begin making administrative preparations by early March or else the ESA Pilot Program will not be ready by fall,” stated a motion by voucher proponents seeking to lift the initial order while the case was under appeal.

The circumstances mean Tennessee’s primary voucher push is likely to remain on pause while lawyers hash out their arguments in court, similar to other voucher battles playing out in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Lee, who has set aside $29 million annually in the state budget to cover the program’s cost, acknowledged the uncertain road ahead when reporters pressed him recently for a new voucher timeline in light of the court decision.

Gov. Bill Lee has sought more education choices for parents since taking office in 2019.

“There are legal decisions yet to be made and, until those are made, then there can’t be any steps going forward,” he said.

Lee’s voucher law passed in 2019, and the education department spent 10 months preparing for its launch. That was all before the pandemic struck. In the years since, private school enrollment has surged in both Memphis and Nashville, the program’s two pilot areas, adding a new hurdle for the voucher program: limited capacity.

“The pandemic brought tremendous shifts in enrollment,” said Claire Smrekar, a Vanderbilt University associate education professor who studies voucher demographics. “If capacity is not in place with independent private schools, then you’re looking at a whole array of problems with this policy right out of the gate. And that will diminish faith in this notion of providing new choices for parents.”

Legal issues are far from settled

Lee’s Education Savings Account program would designate about $7,300 annually to each eligible student who moves from public to private or home schools in Memphis and Nashville. The program was to start with up to 5,000 students in its first year, potentially reaching 15,000 students by the fifth year.

But a Nashville judge blocked the law before its scheduled start in the fall of 2020, ruling for plaintiffs who said it violates the state constitution’s “home rule” provision, which says lawmakers can’t pass legislation that singles out individual counties, unless they have local support. An appeals court agreed.

The legal challenge came from Davidson and Shelby counties, the only two affected by the law. In order to win support, sponsors stripped out other counties with low-performing schools, so the law would apply only to students enrolled in the state’s two largest cities.

In its 3-2 ruling, the high court overturned the lower courts and declared the law doesn’t violate the home rule clause because it governs the actions of local school districts, not the counties that sued and which help to fund those schools.

While Lee hailed the ruling as “a good first step,” voucher critics called it a setback for the principle of local control in Tennessee.

“If the Home Rule Amendment doesn’t stop the legislature from singling out two of 95 counties for injury, I’m not sure why we have a Home Rule Amendment,” said Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, a Nashville Democrat.

“The trial court and appellate court struck down education savings accounts based on very sound reasoning,” added Wallace Dietz, the law director for Metro Nashville government, whose team has huddled in recent days to determine next steps.

Dietz has until May 31 to decide whether to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider the matter. “We continue to evaluate all options, including the possibility of filing a motion to reconsider,” he said Thursday. (Update: Before the deadline, Metro Nashville petitioned the court to review its ruling and argued that the reasoning outlined in the majority opinion is wrong.)

Meanwhile, other attorneys are analyzing the path forward based on claims in a second lawsuit filed in 2020 on behalf of 11 public school parents and community members in Memphis and Nashville.

“We still feel very strongly about the remaining claims and intend to move forward on them,” said Chris Wood, a Nashville attorney who is litigating that case jointly with the Education Law Center, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the ACLU.

Their complaint, called McEwen v. Lee, includes four other claims under the Tennessee Constitution:

Public education (Article 11, Section 12): The constitution requires the legislature to provide for a system of free public schools. Attorneys argue that, by funding private schools through vouchers, the state is funding multiple separate systems, which they say is inconsistent with its constitutional obligation.
Equal protection: Several clauses guarantee equal protection under the law. Attorneys argue that, while the state is obligated to maintain a system that provides for substantially equal educational opportunities for its residents, vouchers would create unequal systems by targeting two counties and diverting funds from their public school systems to private and home schools.
Appropriation of public monies: (Article 2, Section 24): The constitution requires the General Assembly to appropriate the estimated first year’s funding for every law passed during a legislative session, but the state did not do that when the voucher bill passed in 2019. Attorneys argue that failure makes the law null and void.
Basic Education Program: The so-called BEP is the statutory formula for allocating state funds to public schools, and attorneys argue that those funds are not designated for private education. But since the state will switch to a different, voucher-friendly funding formula for the 2023-24 school year, the applicability of the BEP claim depends on whether the state tries to implement the voucher law before that transition.

Voucher battles across the nation typically are fought in state court systems, not the federal courts.

“The most common way that voucher laws violate constitutional protections is to undermine the public education guarantees that are core in state constitutions,” said Jessica Levin, senior attorney for the Education Law Center, which is also involved in voucher litigation in West Virginia.

For instance, she said, private schools funded through a voucher program are not likely to have the same level of academic, accountability and anti-discrimination standards as public schools. “Private schools would be allowed to discriminate against students and families based on things like their religion, LGBTQ status, and disabilities,” she said.

New court to hear lingering case

Several of the McEwen suit’s claims overlap with those outlined by Davidson and Shelby counties in their lawsuit. If attorneys for the two local governments decide to argue those claims, the case is likely to be consolidated by a three-judge trial court appointed by the high court to hear them.

The newly named judicial panel is the result of a 2021 state law creating a statewide court to hear constitutional matters related to state government. Nashville Chancellor Anne C. Martin, who overturned the voucher law, will chair the panel that includes Judge Valerie Smith of Memphis and Judge Tammy Harrington of Maryville.

Tennessee’s voucher law includes another issue that could lead to a legal challenge in federal court, however. The law bars the participation of students who are in the U.S. without permission, which could be in conflict with Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court precedent that bars discrimination in education based on immigration status. No lawsuit has been filed in Tennessee over that matter.

Tamara Henderson, a Memphis mom to two school-age children, is waiting to see how it all works out.

She applied to participate in the program for its inaugural year but received no voucher money when the program was abruptly halted. Her children attended public charter schools this year and she’s trying to get financial aid for her 13-year-old son to attend a private school, where she thinks he’ll be more academically challenged.

“The money would make a tremendous difference for our family and lessen the financial strain,” said Henderson, a single mom who is self-employed. “I’d like to have that choice.”

Marta W. Aldrich is a senior correspondent who covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ $1.93 billion budget proposal wins board approval

2022-05-18T21:38:02+00:00

Memphis-Shelby County Schools teachers would receive a 2% pay raise and $1,500 retention bonuses as part of the $1.93 billion proposed budget approved by school board members Tuesday.

Fulfilling Superintendent Joris Ray’s promises earlier this year to invest in educators, the 2022-23 budget would also funnel nearly $12 million into educators’ tiered pay scale and add a new step on the scale for principals.

The budget, passed on a 5-0 vote, also directs $3.5 million to bump up the district’s contribution to employee health insurance premiums to 70% from 66%, and $3 million to raises for substitute teachers. (Board Chair Michelle McKissack and members Sheleah Harris, Billy Orgel, and Kevin Woods were absent from the meeting.)

Tennessee’s largest school district also plans to request $55 million from the Shelby County Commission to support a host of capital improvement projects, from school renovations like replacing boilers and fire alarm systems, to a new high school in Frayser and a new stadium at Tobey Park. The district is asking the county to contribute $22 million toward the Frayser school’s projected $80 million cost.

Ahead of the vote, Ray pleaded with county commissioners for funds to address millions of dollars of deferred school maintenance and aging school buildings. Over 33 MSCS schools were built before 1950, meaning the buildings are 70 or more years old.

“It’s a shame that I graduated from high school almost 30 years ago, and I look at some of the same buildings that I entered and they’re in the same shape they were 30 years ago,” Ray said. “Enough is enough.”

The investment in schools, Ray said, is essential to the district achieving its mission to improve literacy in the community and provide a world-class education to Memphis’ children, most of whom are students of color from low-income families.

“To put it plainly, I want us to build schools, not jails,” he said.

MSCS will formally present the proposed budget to county commissioners on Wednesday. But the $55 million ask for capital projects may face an uphill battle: Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has proposed putting $28 million toward school construction funding. And last year, district leaders had to go back to the drawing board after the commission allocated just $22.3 million of its capital improvement budget to MSCS — less than half the district’s $55 million request.

Overall, the proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 represents a nearly 15% decrease from last year, which marked the district’s largest proposed budget in history.

Facing declining enrollment, MSCS is set to receive about $18 million less from the state this year based on student counts from 2020. The district continues to grapple with enrollment dips: For the second year in a row, enrollment shrank by nearly 4,000 students. That represents a decrease of just over 3% from 2020-21.

For the most part, though, the district has been able to weather the decreased state funding, even with some new expenditures, said Toni Williams, the district’s chief financial officer. The district received nearly $11 million more from the county than last year, thanks to higher-than-expected sales tax receipts. And the district has been able to make cuts in some areas, including $10.6 million from central office positions and equipment, Williams said. Because of declining enrollment, the district will be able to save about $3 million on textbooks and $20 million on staffing.

Meanwhile, MSCS has been able to shift some budgeted expenditures from the general fund to other areas. For example, $15 million for summer programming will be covered by grants, Williams said, and federal COVID relief programs for education, known as ESSER, will fund $6 million in academic supports, $590,000 of health and safety initiatives, and $337,000 for social-emotional services.

Williams also touted how the district is currently spending $776 million of ESSER funding. Those funds have gone toward expanded tutoring, summer learning, investments in technology, facility upgrades, and extra support for the district’s most vulnerable student populations, such as English language learners and those with disabilities.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly said a new high school in Frayser will cost $22 million. The total projected cost is $80 million, and the district is requesting $22 million from the county for the project.

Samantha West is a reporter for Chalkbeat Tennessee, where she covers K-12 education in Memphis. Connect with Samantha at swest@chalkbeat.org.

No education issue was too big — or small — for Tennessee lawmakers this year

2022-05-06T14:00:00+00:00

Tennessee lawmakers’ scrutiny of public education this year ran the gamut, from completely rewriting the state’s K-12 funding formula to authorizing teachers to confiscate students’ cell phones if they’re deemed a distraction in class.

The 65 or so education bills that ultimately passed during the 2022 session showed lawmakers were willing to not only undertake big, systemic reforms, but also to assert state power over issues traditionally handled at the local or school level. Among them: which books are OK for libraries and how to resolve a dispute between two cities over school properties.

All measures ultimately will affect students in pre-K through 12th grade, their educators, and schools — most beginning this fall.

They include several anticipated new laws aimed at addressing the state’s teacher shortage by loosening restrictions on licensing, plus another bill that expands Tennessee’s private school voucher program for students with disabilities to include those with dyslexia.

And one year after a 2021 law restricted how race and bias can be taught in schools, new legislation requires schools to infuse multiculturalism throughout the K-12 curriculum, with special attention to Black history in grades 5 through 8.

The legislature’s focus on culture war issues was notable, from scrutinizing content in school libraries to pulling state funding from schools that allow transgender youth to participate in girls sports.

Also notable were the proposals that didn’t pass.

Pushback from advocates of traditional public schools helped to sideline bills that likely would have led to significant expansion of the state’s charter school sector. One measure, which was resurrected after stalling last year, would have opened the door to for-profit charters in Tennessee. Another would have let charter organizations bypass local districts and apply for authorization directly to the state’s new charter commission.

Lawmakers struck down a perennial bill to allow school superintendents to be elected by voters instead of being appointed by school boards, albeit by a closer margin than in previous years.

Also scuttled were bills that would limit which supplemental materials that teachers can use, ban corporal punishment in schools, and require that state tests be given only during the last 20 days of the school year.

Still, the GOP supermajority saw many of its bills head to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature.

After the final gavel fell on April 28, Lee touted the passage of his legislative agenda as “America at its best,” including the funding rewrite that he signed into law this week, a $500 million one-time investment in middle and high school career and technical education, and a $125 million increase toward teacher pay.

House Minority Leader Karen Camper, however, characterized this year’s session as one of “missed opportunities.” Citing the state’s historic revenue surplus and billions of dollars in one-time federal COVID relief funding, the Memphis Democrat said the state could have invested even more in education, as well as health care, housing, and other needs critical to the average Tennessean.

Here is a roundup of some of the 2022 bills that passed:

FUNDING

Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (HB2143-SB2396): The so-called TISA formula will replace the state’s 30-year-old funding system. It sets a base funding rate of $6,860 per pupil, then distributes additional funding for students who are considered economically disadvantaged, have unique learning needs, or live in communities that are rural or have concentrated poverty. The governor, who is running for reelection, pledged to inject an extra $1 billion annually into the base and weights when the formula kicks in beginning in 2023-24.

Budget (HB2882-SB2897): The state’s $53 billion spending plan includes a $125 million recurring funding increase toward teacher salaries and a one-time $500 million investment in career and technical education for middle and high schools. But legislative finance leaders stripped away $200 million that Lee wanted for relocating 14 Tennessee schools built in floodplains. The budget also sets aside $32 million to help charter schools pay for facilities. And it includes about $29 million to launch Tennessee’s paused school voucher program, just in case the Tennessee Supreme Court overrules a lower court’s 2020 ruling that it is unconstitutional.

SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Age-Appropriate Materials Act (HB2154-SB2407): The governor’s plan requires each school library to publish the list of materials in their collections and periodically review them to make sure they are “appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access the materials.” It also requires school boards to establish processes for receiving feedback and removing books that don’t meet that standard, which is to be defined by each district based on local community standards.

New appellate process (HB2666-SB2247): Tennessee’s textbook commission can overrule local school board decisions and ban certain school library books statewide if they are deemed “inappropriate for the age or maturity levels” of students who can access them. Under legislation approved on the final day of the session, which Lee has said he’ll sign, the politically appointed panel can hear appeals from parents, school employees, or other complainants on the decisions of locally elected officials over challenged materials.

Tennessee library coordinator (HB1667-SB1784): Creates a position at the state education department to strengthen school library programs and promote best practices among librarians and technology coordinators. The Tennessee Association of School Librarians lobbied for the position.

CURRICULUM

Black history (HB2106-SB2501): Requires, rather than recommends, instruction on Black history in schools. Schools must infuse multiculturalism throughout the K-12 curriculum, with special attention to Black history in grades five through eight. The bill takes effect in 2025-26 to align with a scheduled review of the state’s social studies standards.

Virtues of capitalism (HB2742-SB2748): Requires instruction on the “virtues of capitalism and the constitutional republic form of government in the United States and Tennessee, as compared to other political and economic systems such as communism and socialism.”

GRADING

Grading scale (HB0324-SB0388): Returns Tennessee to a 10-point grading scale for high school students instead of a seven-point scale for assigning A-F letter grades, to help with post-secondary financial assistance. So instead of a 93-100 average to receive an A, the range would be 91-100. The shift, which has been discussed in the legislature for several years, would align Tennessee’s high school grading scale with its colleges and universities. The primary goal is to put Tennessee students on an even playing field with their peers elsewhere, including eight bordering states.

HIGHER EDUCATION

HOPE scholarships (HB2152-SB2405): Lawmakers approved the largest increase for HOPE scholarships for academic achievers at public four-year universities in Tennessee since the scholarships launched in 2004. Beginning with the 2022-23 academic year, the awards will increase from $3,500 to $4,500 for full-time eligible freshmen and sophomores and from $4,500 to $5,700 for juniors and seniors. Funded from the net proceeds of the Tennessee Lottery, the program aids students who graduate from a Tennessee high school with a 3.0 GPA or higher and score at least 21 on their ACT or 1060 on their SAT.

‘Divisive concepts’ in higher education (HB2670-SB2290): Gives public university students the right to sue professors if they believe they received low grades based on politics or ideology.

Legislative staff and lobbyists mingle in front of House hearing rooms in February in the Cordell Hull Building near the state Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee.

LGBTQ ISSUES

Transgender athletes (HB1895-SB1861): Legislation signed by the governor requires the state education department to withhold funds from schools that don’t identify athletes’ genders assigned at birth or that allow transgender girls to play on girls’ sports teams. A second bill prohibits trans women from playing on women’s college sports teams.

But legislation stalled that would have shielded schools from recourse if a teacher disregards the preferred pronouns of students. And lawmakers scuttled another bill that would have banned “textbooks and instructional materials or supplemental instructional materials that promote, normalize, support or address lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender issues or lifestyles.”

VOUCHERS

Expansion of vouchers for students with disabilities (HB0751-SB1158): Under a bill that the governor is expected to sign, nearly 35,000 students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia would be eligible to participate in Tennessee’s private school voucher program for students with disabilities. The legislation would almost double the number of students now eligible to receive state money to pay for private education services through the state’s 6-year-old Individualized Education Account program. Currently, that program serves 284 students with disabilities that include autism, hearing and vision impairments, and traumatic brain injury. State officials estimate the families of about 250 students would opt to participate and receive an average of $7,811 annually during the first year. Such an expansion would shift more than $2 million in state funding from public to private schools and vendors.

TEACHER SHORTAGE

Temporary teaching permits (HB1901-SB1863): Extends for another two years temporary teaching permits to teach certain courses and subjects where vacancies are hard to fill.

Limited license pathway (HB1899-SB1864): Allows teachers holding a temporary teaching permit to apply to the state for a practitioner’s license before the permit expires.

Retired teachers and bus drivers (HB2783-SB2702): Through 2025, retired teachers and bus drivers could be reemployed as a teacher, substitute teacher, or bus driver, without having their retirement benefits taken away or suspended. Currently, retired teachers can return to work, but only for 120 days maximum. The change would allow workers to return for an entire school year if there are no other qualified applicants. During reemployment in a school system, retirement benefits would be reduced to 70% of retirement allowance, and the existing salary cap would be removed.

Occupational teaching licenses (HB2455-SB2442): Amends qualifications necessary to receive an occupational teaching license to address the shortage of instructors for vocational and career and technical education programs.

GERMANTOWN SCHOOL DISPUTE

Transfer of schools to Germantown (HB2430-SB2315): Memphis school officials will have to transfer three suburban schools to neighboring Germantown under heavily amended legislation that gives both parties until next year to reach an agreement. Germantown officials have sought the expensive properties for a decade, but leaders of Memphis-Shelby County Schools countered that they offered no long-term plan for educating the 3,300 students who would be affected, most of whom live near Germantown in unincorporated parts of Shelby County. A federal judge approved the original 2013 agreement that transferred five of eight Germantown schools from the Memphis district to the Germantown school system. Memphis leaders have said they may take the matter back to court.

Marta W. Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee governor signs public education funding formula into law

2022-05-02T23:29:57+00:00

Gov. Bill Lee has signed into law his plan for changing how Tennessee funds public education and promised that every parent soon will know exactly how much the state spends on their child’s K-12 education.

Lee also said he intends to sign another bill to let the Tennessee Textbook Commission overrule local school board decisions and ban certain school library materials statewide.

The signing of the funding bill took place Monday in the auditorium of Franklin High School, where Lee graduated in 1977 from the Williamson County school district south of Nashville.

“I wanted to do it in my public high school,” the governor said, hailing the formula as an historic change that “will take us to a new frontier.”

Known as Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, or TISA, the law sets a base funding rate of $6,860 per pupil, then distributes additional funding for students who are from economically disadvantaged families, have unique learning needs, or live in rural or impoverished communities.

TISA was the signature piece of the Republican governor’s legislative agenda and the GOP-controlled legislature approved it on April 28, the last day of this year’s legislative session. With the new law, Tennessee joins 38 other states and the District of Columbia in having some type of student-based funding model.

Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, TISA will replace the state’s 30-year-old Basic Education Program funding formula, a complex, resource-based system that distributes money to school systems based on student enrollment and assumptions about resources needed for staffing, textbooks, technology, transportation, and dozens of other education costs.

The transition will require calculations to determine exactly how much money state and local governments distribute to districts and charter schools for each individual student’s education.

“From this day forward, when we put dollars into education, I think we’re going to see exactly where they go and where they’re spent,” Lee told reporters after signing the bill. “Families can actually see the amount of dollars that are going to be committed to their individual children in the public school that they choose to go to.”

Lee, who is running for a second term in office this fall, has pledged to put $1 billion more into the new formula when it takes effect next year.

But even an additional $1 billion in TISA won’t significantly alter Tennessee’s national ranking in the mid-40s in funding for public school education — a point seized on by Democrats who sought a billion-dollar investment in the state’s current funding formula this year.

“I can’t help but recognize that this has been a wasted opportunity,” Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro said last week, citing the state’s historic revenue surplus and billions of dollars in federal COVID relief funding.

“We could have made literal game-changing investments — not just in public education but child care and health care and making housing more affordable,” said Yarbro, a Nashville Democrat. “And we failed to do it.”

The state’s 2022-23 budget includes $125 million more for teacher pay — equivalent to a 3% raise — and $500 million in one-time funding for career and technical education for students in middle and high school, plus money for early literacy programs, summer camps, and charter school facilities.

Lee called this year’s investment “historic,” even when adjusted for inflation.

“It’s important that we make that significant investment,” he told reporters. “And then, of course, we’ll look as we do every year going forward with what the next steps are.”

Lee will sign second major school library bill

The latest bill aimed at school libraries sets up an appeals process in which the state’s textbook commission can overrule local school board decisions about challenged materials. The politically appointed body could then order statewide bans of certain books that it deems to be “inappropriate for the age or maturity levels” of students who can access them.

The legislation passed last week, a month after Lee signed into law his own plan requiring school libraries to screen their materials for “age appropriateness.” However, Lee’s plan leaves it up to each school system to define what is considered age appropriate in their community.

The Tennessee Association of School Librarians has urged Lee to veto the second bill after its sponsor, Republican Rep. Jerry Sexton of Bean Station, suggested on the floor of the House that he would “burn” some library materials.

“We think this undermines the governor’s own age-appropriate library bill by removing local control of school libraries from school board jurisdiction,” said Lindsey Kimery, who serves on the library organization’s executive board.

But Lee said Monday that he supports the new bill as “another step of oversight.”

“The General Assembly felt that was appropriate,” Lee said. “It was made in conjunction with my belief that parents should have the ability to know what their kids have access to in libraries and classrooms.”

Marta W. Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee governor’s education funding overhaul passes legislature

2022-04-28T19:58:44+00:00

Gov. Bill Lee’s plan to change how Tennessee funds public education passed Thursday out of the legislature, setting the stage to replace the state’s 30-year-old funding formula next year with one that provides more money for students with higher needs.

The sweeping bill, which Lee’s administration unveiled nine weeks ago after a months-long review of the current funding system, easily cleared the GOP-controlled House and Senate Wednesday along mostly partisan lines. On Thursday, the House concurred with a slightly different Senate version.

When signed into law, the new plan will dramatically affect nearly 1 million students, their teachers, and schools, with significant implications for local finances. Beginning with the 2023-24 fiscal year, it will set a base funding rate of $6,860 per pupil, then distribute additional funding for students who are considered economically disadvantaged, have unique learning needs, or live in communities that are rural or have concentrated poverty.

Currently, 38 other states and the District of Columbia have some type of student-based funding model.

The rewrite, called the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, or TISA, will replace the state’s Basic Education Program, created in 1992. The current funding system is a resource-based formula that distributes money to school systems based on student enrollment and assumptions about resources needed for staffing, textbooks, technology, transportation, and dozens of other education costs.

The Republican governor, who is running for reelection this fall, announced in late January that he wanted to pour $1 billion more into public schools annually. But he said Tennessee must first update its funding system to focus more on the needs of individual students than on school systems.

Democrats in opposition argued that the promise of $1 billion more in a new formula wasn’t enough to remedy Tennessee’s national ranking as 44th in funding adequacy, according to the Education Law Center, which also graded the state low for its public education investment as a share of its economy.

“At the end of the day, the most important part of a funding formula is the funding, and right now in Tennessee, we don’t do that well,” said Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, a Nashville Democrat.

Last week, Yarbro proposed adding $1 billion this year to the current formula, but the Senate voted that down.

Instead, buoyed by another year of state revenue surpluses, the legislature passed a state budget that takes effect this July 1 with a $125 million increase toward teacher salaries — equivalent to a 3% raise — and a one-time $500 million investment in career and technical education in middle and high schools.

Opponents concerned about funding levels, ‘labels’ on students

Democrats sought unsuccessfully Wednesday to amend the TISA bill to ensure that Tennessee follows through on Lee’s pledge and injects $1 billion next year into the new formula. They also failed to pass changes that would automatically address inflation in future years, increase transparency about what’s included in the per-pupil funding base, and remove additional investments in charter schools, among other things.

Many Democrats and a few Republicans said they supported establishing funding weights that reflect student needs, but wanted more time to vet legislation of such magnitude.

“We usually take two years to do this,” said Yarbro about significant funding changes, “and we’ve done this in two months.”

Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro speaks on the floor of the Tennessee Senate.

Sen. Joey Hensley, one of a few Republicans who voted against the bill, agreed. “I’m afraid that this formula is going to incentivize schools to put more labels on more students … so they can get more money,” said the Hohenwald lawmaker, referring to the funding weights for certain groups of students.

But Republican leaders hailed the formula as comprehensive and cited the input of thousands of Tennesseans based on public comments, 16 town halls, and dozens of meetings with education stakeholders.

“We have ripped this bill up and down,” said House Education Committee Chairman Mark White, a Republican from Memphis, about amendments to the bill.

“Change is hard. Even positive change is hard,” said Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican who chairs his chamber’s finance committee. “But this is transformational, and it’s time to transform education in Tennessee.”

Adding more accountability layers and competitive-pay grants

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, who spearheaded the state’s funding review, said TISA’s base covers all the costs of the current formula and more, including enough money to get Tennessee schools to the nationally recommended ratios of school nurses and counselors, a dire staffing need highlighted by the pandemic.

Beyond the base and weights, the plan allocates funding of $500 per K-3 student to improve reading, as well as money to pay for literacy tutoring for struggling fourth-grade readers and to support career and technical education for older students. It also sets aside funding to help charter schools pay for their facilities and to help fast-growing districts with infrastructure needs.

The law creates several new panels charged with holding school systems accountable for how they spend state funds to improve academic performance, even as schools and districts are set to receive their first letter grades this fall as part of accountability measures under a 2015 federal education law.

One new committee can order a corrective action plan or appoint an inspector general to oversee school programming or spending for districts or charters schools that get a D or F on the state report card. Another “progress review board” can recommend that district leaders complete training if they fail to make incremental improvements toward the state’s overall goal of getting 70% of third-graders proficient in reading, based on state test results. Currently, only a quarter of Tennessee students meet that threshold, down from a third before pandemic disruptions to schooling.

Watson, the Senate’s finance leader, called the literacy goal “one of the most critical pieces of this piece of legislation.”

Another late change adds state grants to help school districts offer competitive salaries to educators working in counties with a higher cost of living than the state average. Those currently include Anderson, Davidson, Shelby, and Williamson counties.

Big questions loom about impact on local finances, intent

Lee’s funding plan faced an uphill political battle at the outset of the legislative session in January, with GOP leaders calling it a heavy lift during an election year when lawmakers are anxious to recess early to begin their campaigns.

Professional organizations representing school superintendents, school boards, and teachers never signed off on the plan. But as the legislation changed, momentum grew, including an endorsement last week by a statewide alliance of more than 40 civil rights, social justice, and education advocacy groups. While the groups still had questions, they ultimately concluded that TISA would be an improvement over the current formula.

Significant concerns remain. Local governments are constitutionally required in Tennessee to contribute funding for schools, and the average split is 70% from the state and 30% from locals.

An analysis by The Tennessean showed that, while nearly every school district will receive more funding under TISA, nearly two-thirds will receive a lower percentage of the state funding pie than under the previous formula because of how local contributions will be calculated.

Lee’s administration has assured local officials that they’ll have three years at the same local funding level to adjust to the new formula, but many are concerned they’ll have to significantly raise local sales or property taxes in the 2027 fiscal year.

Student-centered funding, also known as “backpack funding” because the dollars follow the student, has been called a gateway to private school vouchers by public school advocacy groups wary of the model drafted in 2010 by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council.

“Student-based funding formula is not necessarily a bad concept inherently,” said Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat who voted against the bill. But “I have really grave concerns about how this formula is going to accelerate defunding the public school districts.”

She cited the growth in Tennessee of charter schools, virtual schools, and private school vouchers for students with special needs.

Lee, who has tried to expand both charter schools and private school vouchers, has denied that privatization is a goal behind his funding plan. The state’s 2019 school voucher law, which Lee pushed for but was overturned by a judge in 2020 for applying only to students in Memphis and Nashville, is awaiting a ruling on the state’s appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Reaction is mixed to TISA’s passage

Education groups supporting TISA cheered the bill’s passage as a way to help school communities meet the unique learning needs of students.

“The additional state funding from TISA will help students in so many ways as districts invest the money to address achievement gaps, provide intensive early literacy support, and better support students living in rural communities or concentrated poverty,” said David Mansouri, president and CEO of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education.

But JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, worried about the eventual impact to local taxpayers and whether state dollars earmarked for teacher salaries will reach the pockets of teachers.

“We believe we could have addressed both of these problems,” Bowman said, “if we were given more time to discuss and debate those critical issues.”

Marta W. Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee governor’s education funding plan lands major endorsement

2022-04-18T11:00:00+00:00

A statewide alliance of more than 40 civil rights, social justice, and education advocacy groups on Monday announced their support for Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal to revamp how Tennessee funds public education.

The Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education called Lee’s formula, which provides more funding for students with higher needs, a “marked improvement” over the state’s current approach and “an important step forward in advancing equity and centering student needs” in K-12 funding.

More than half of the alliance’s 72 partner organizations signed the endorsement, ranging from the NAACP and the Tennessee Disability Coalition to the Memphis Education Fund, Stand for Children, and the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance.

Their collective support comes as state lawmakers enter the homestretch of their 2022 legislative session and ahead of this week’s key committee votes on Lee’s plan, called Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, or TISA. If the legislature approves the rewrite, Tennessee will join 38 states and the District of Columbia in having some type of student-based funding model.

Tennessee’s current funding system is resource-based and allocates money to school systems to pay for staffing, bus transportation, textbooks, technology, and dozens of other education needs. The state ranks 44th nationally in state and local education funding, according to the Education Law Center, which last year gave the state Fs for its funding level and effort.

Lee wants to add an annual $1 billion in state funding but also wants an education funding formula that Tennesseans can understand better than the current one, which is considered among the nation’s most complicated. The 30-year-old Basic Education Program formula uses student enrollment and 46 components to determine funding levels and another process to set state and local shares.

In late February, the Republican governor released details of his proposal to replace the BEP with a simpler, more transparent approach. It would set a base funding rate of $6,860 per pupil, then distribute additional money per pupil to support students in certain groups such as those who are considered economically disadvantaged, have unique learning needs, or live in communities that are rural or have concentrated poverty.

The bill, based on Lee’s proposal, has been amended several times, including dropping his plan to give an extra per-pupil funding weight for charter school students. The latest version instead would provide direct funding to help charter schools pay facility costs.

Democrats and some Republicans have asked for more time to vet TISA and get answers to their questions, citing the importance of the issue for students and schools, as well as concerns that the changes could have a significant effect on local budgets and taxes. But leaders in the GOP-controlled legislature said recently that they’re satisfied with the bill’s progress and can make changes next year, if needed, before the new funding formula would take effect beginning with the 2023-24 school year.

In its statement, the alliance supported the governor’s proposed new investment, as well as the base of $6,860 for every student, which is above the national median of $6,000 per student.

The group liked that about 95% of the money would flow through either the per-pupil based allocation or additional weights, “ensuring that this new formula focuses on the financial needs of local schools, provides overall financial stability for school districts, offers greater transparency to school personnel and community members, and provides maximum spending flexibility for districts to meet each student’s unique needs.” The alliance also cited a recent analysis from the Sycamore Institute, a nonpartisan research group, that said TISA is unlikely to lead to local tax increases.

Leaders with several of the alliance’s partner organizations said their decision to support TISA hinged on their conclusion that it’s ultimately a better formula than the state’s current one.

“People can argue the fine points of TISA forever, but at the end of the day, TISA is a more equitable funding approach and cuts across demographics and circumstance to give each student in our state a better opportunity to succeed than they had under the old formula,” said Jared Bigham, senior adviser on workforce and rural initiatives for the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Jeff Strand, with the Tennessee Disability Coalition, said the funding weights acknowledge that students have different needs — and that some needs cost more to address.

“We are encouraged by TISA’s generous weights for students with disabilities, as well as its focus on providing funds to fully staff schools, which includes nurses, counselors and social workers,” said Strand.

Gini Pupo-Walker, state director of the Education Trust in Tennessee, said her organization has been mostly pleased with several amendments, including one to involve the State Board of Education in any new system for holding districts accountable for how they spend state funds to improve student achievement.

“This formula isn’t perfect and there’s still work to do, but we feel like the fundamentals are good,” said Pupo-Walker. “We’ve been talking about moving to a student-centered formula for two years, and this checks a lot of boxes.”

The alliance launched in 2021 to continue the work of the former Tennessee Education Equity Coalition by advocating for policies that promote educational equity for underserved students.

Visit here to read the alliance’s full statement and see the organizations that signed it.

Marta W. Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools seeks feedback for next school year’s budget

2022-03-16T20:56:48+00:00

As Tennessee’s largest school district prepares its spending plan for next school year, Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials are seeking feedback from families and community stakeholders.

From facilities improvements and digital learning resources to social-emotional support and wraparound services like health care for students, the district survey seeks input about how to prioritize budget spending.

District spending aside, the survey also asks for input on other issues, such as whether Shelby County has enough pre-kindergarten classrooms and if K-2 teachers and parents have enough support to teach children how to read. It also seeks to gauge community awareness of various services the district provides, including tutoring, the summer learning academy, and its new social-emotional learning curriculum.

Many of the questions asked in the survey are in tandem with the priorities Superintendent Joris Ray outlined in his recent state of the district address, including retaining and recruiting high-quality educators, boosting early literacy, and reducing the student-adult ratio at the K-2 level.

The survey comes a week before the school board will host a series of community meetings to discuss the upcoming budget, ESSER spending, and the district’s renewed literacy commitment. Under its second grade retention rule that it will implement at the end of this year, all students must be able to read before entering third grade. The meetings are scheduled for:

Monday, March 21, 5:30 p.m., A. Maceo Walker Middle School, 1900 Raines Road, hosted by board members Miska Clay Bibbs and Joyce Dorse Coleman.
Monday, March 21, 5:30 p.m., Richland Elementary School, 5440 Rich Road, hosted by board members Kevin Woods, Sheleah Harris, and Billy Orgel.
Wednesday, March 23, 5:30 p.m., Snowden School, 1870 N. Parkway, hosted by board Chair Michelle McKissack and board members Stephanie Love and Althea Greene.

The district will also live-stream the meetings and make them available online at voiceofscs.com and scsk12.org/board.

Samantha West is a reporter for Chalkbeat Tennessee, where she covers K-12 education in Memphis. Connect with Samantha at swest@chalkbeat.org.

5 issues to watch as Tennessee education funding proposal gains momentum

2022-03-11T20:41:25+00:00

Gov. Bill Lee’s sweeping proposal to change how Tennessee funds public education faced an uphill legislative battle just weeks ago, but Republican leaders now sound optimistic about the prospect of approving his plan before adjourning next month.

“I think it will pass the Senate this year,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said Thursday, as his chamber prepared to start discussions in committee.

On Friday, Speaker Cameron Sexton said the House of Representatives has “ample time” to work through concerns and vote on Lee’s plan this spring. He added that lawmakers can make adjustments as needed when they return to Capitol Hill next year, since the plan takes effect with the 2023-24 school year.

Outnumbered Democrats have a different perspective.

“What’s the rush? This is too important,” Nashville Rep. John Ray Clemmons said as the bill debuted before a House education panel earlier in the week.

“I think it’s premature to talk about whether we’re going to pass a piece of legislation that, at this point, so few people understand,” Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, also of Nashville, told reporters later.

The Republican governor released details on Feb. 24 for his plan, called the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, or TISA for short. He wants a simplified student-based formula to replace the state’s 30-year-old Basic Education Program, or BEP, a model that focuses more on providing schools with resources and is considered among the nation’s most complicated education funding systems.

Local leaders have been poring over the governor’s 34-page proposal and projected state allocations under TISA to analyze the potential impact on their school communities. They have lots of questions, as do legislators.

“There’s a lot on the table,” said Jon Lundberg, a Bristol Republican who chairs the Senate Education Committee. “And it seems like the more I know, the more that I realize I don’t know.”

As discussions ramp up, here are five issues to watch:

Understanding the per-pupil base

The proposed formula would set a base of $6,860 per pupil, then distribute additional money per pupil to support students in certain groups who need the most help. That student-centered approach has broad support. However, Lee’s administration has not released details to show how it determined the base amount.

Other questions remain about approximately 10,000 licensed educators whose positions are currently paid for locally — not through state allocations, which has been a major criticism about the inadequacy of Tennessee’s existing funding formula. Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn has said 265 principals outside of the BEP would move under the TISA base but has not addressed whether the state would assume responsibility for paying for thousands of licensed teachers currently outside of the BEP.

Who gets extra funding?

Using a student-weighted formula, the governor wants to direct an extra $1.8 billion toward students who are economically disadvantaged, have unique learning needs, attend charter schools, and live in communities that are rural or have concentrated poverty. But leaders from traditional public schools and local governments have criticized the extra funding weight for charter school students.

“Charter schools are public schools in Tennessee, and their students should get base funding just like every other public school student,” said Dale Lynch, who leads the state superintendents organization.

Schwinn said the weight is necessary to help charter schools pay for their facilities, but others point out that charter students also would get access to new resources under the proposal, such as a coordinated school health program that would be moved into the base under TISA and could benefit all public schools.

Another concern is TISA’s definition of which students are considered economically disadvantaged. In addition to identifying students who are homeless, foster, runaway, or migrant, Lee’s administration proposes using a process known as direct certification for people with low incomes to receive certain federal benefits. However, the state could expand the definition by adding to the criteria several other existing programs such as TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program.

What are local funding impacts?

Because local school funding typically accounts for about 65% of local government budgets, changing the state’s funding system could have a dramatic effect on local spending plans and taxes. The governor has said he doesn’t want to trigger local tax increases and would set lower local contributions to TISA for four years until 2027 to give governments time to transition to the changes. But what would happen after that?

“We have a lot of questions,” said David Connor, executive director of the Tennessee County Services Association, which represents county mayors and commissioners who oversee most local school funding. “We know the General Assembly is going to need to put in more state money to the formula year after year, which is going to trigger additional increases in the local match.”

Another concern is the state’s plan to simplify how TISA would calculate how much money local governments should contribute for schools. Currently, the BEP uses two formulas, but Lee’s plan would switch to only one method from the University of Tennessee’s Center for Business and Economic Research, or CBER.

“Moving completely to CBER appears to hurt about 99 districts and it’s better for maybe 44 districts,” said Connor. “Rural districts would be less protected, but Nashville’s district also would do worse under CBER. The question is: Are we making this change just for the sake of simplification? If so, we’re penalizing some districts over others.”

Holding districts accountable

One major change from the BEP is a new pathway for lawmakers to hold districts accountable for low-performing schools.

Under TISA, district leaders could be ordered to report to a new legislative committee if one or more of their schools receive a D or F on the state report card. The ad hoc committee, whose members would be appointed by the speakers of the Senate and House, could require a “corrective action plan” or appoint an inspector general to oversee the district’s “academic programming and spending.”

Rep. Vincent Dixie, a Nashville Democrat, noted that one low-performing school could trigger the action, which is more likely to happen with large school systems that operate dozens of schools.

“In essence, our superintendent of schools would come in and answer questions all the time,” said Dixie. “And you have someone putting an action plan together who has no educational expertise.”

But Republican leaders say tying funding to performance is necessary, especially if Tennessee invests an additional $1 billion annually in public education as Lee has proposed.

“The public has been asking for years for proof of the return on their investment,” said Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican who chairs the Senate Finance Committee.

Who makes the rules?

TISA gives the state education department responsibility to write rules and regulations for overseeing the new funding system. Those would include the details of the accountability provisions mentioned above and the parameters of a “corrective action plan” that lawmakers could order. For instance, would the ad hoc committee have authority to fire a superintendent and replace elected school board members with appointed ones?

Some legislators have discussed whether the state Board of Education might be better suited to the rule-making task. That entity already sets rules on an array of K-12 issues ranging from academic standards to teacher licensure to charter schools.

“TISA would be a significant policy shift, and we’re putting a lot of weight into figuring out the details later through rules that would be determined at a later time,” Lundberg said. “I want to know more about how the department would develop these rules.”

To learn more, scroll down to see state’s projections for how much money districts would receive under TISA. The department is answering frequently asked questions here and this week released a two-minute video about student-based funding. You can track the bill’s movement via the legislature’s website.

District	Funding Increase for FY24 TISA vs. FY23	Does TISA Increase Local Maintenance of Effort?	Average Change in Student Enrollment, FY16-FY20	Enrollment Change, FY19-Projected FY23
Alamo City Schools	$139,097.12	No	-0.69%	-0.55%
Alcoa City Schools	$2,134,622.76	No	2.26%	8.68%
Anderson County Schools	$6,988,237.51	No	-0.81%	-3.51%
Arlington Community Schools	$2,370,048.70	No	-1.18%	6.27%
Athens City Schools	$800,702.07	No	0.01%	1.54%
Bartlett City Schools	$5,249,973.85	No	0.06%	-3.51%
Bedford County Schools	$11,105,745.96	No	1.02%	1.97%
Bells City Schools	$32,821.38	No	-0.56%	-8.04%
Benton County Schools	$2,066,626.05	No	-0.79%	-5.51%
Bledsoe County Schools	$696,687.11	No	-2.48%	-9.46%
Blount County Schools	$10,456,723.61	No	-1.10%	-4.89%
Bradford Special School District	$363,777.06	No	1.12%	16.99%
Bradley County Schools	$9,801,516.35	No	-0.12%	-1.16%
Bristol City Schools	$3,775,893.88	No	0.88%	-3.14%
Campbell County Schools	$5,583,140.14	No	-1.58%	-8.16%
Cannon County Schools	$1,408,589.45	No	-1.27%	-1.95%
Carroll County Schools	$-	No	13.31%	6.72%
Carter County Schools	$3,938,291.41	No	-1.47%	-12.64%
Cheatham County Schools	$4,260,462.31	No	-2.01%	-9.14%
Chester County Schools	$2,266,856.65	No	0.17%	-4.60%
Claiborne County Schools	$2,945,828.36	No	-2.11%	-5.84%
Clay County Schools	$492,571.60	No	1.07%	-1.15%
Cleveland City Schools	$7,359,773.32	No	1.19%	0.74%
Clinton City Schools	$504,767.10	No	0.31%	-1.20%
Cocke County Schools	$4,586,655.08	No	-1.22%	-5.43%
Coffee County Schools	$5,084,808.54	No	-0.64%	-5.32%
Collierville Schools	$6,662,001.99	No	3.53%	7.20%
Crockett County Schools	$2,062,377.13	No	0.36%	-3.89%
Cumberland County Schools	$8,619,326.19	No	-0.10%	-3.10%
Dayton City Schools	$809,596.72	No	-0.07%	-8.45%
Decatur County Schools	$617,343.36	No	-0.82%	-13.16%
DeKalb County Schools	$3,147,865.71	No	0.12%	-0.36%
Dept of Children’s Services	$2,384,607.54	No	0.62%	-12.02%
Dickson County Schools	$8,945,414.03	No	-0.29%	-3.93%
Dyer County Schools	$3,186,328.02	No	0.38%	-7.73%
Dyersburg City Schools	$3,462,724.49	No	-0.90%	-3.15%
Elizabethton City Schools	$2,614,389.30	No	0.43%	4.31%
Etowah City Schools	$99,613.01	No	1.37%	-10.12%
Fayette County Public Schools	$-	Yes	-0.59%	-14.09%
Fayetteville City Schools	$912,629.89	No	-0.23%	-13.32%
Fentress County Schools	$1,352,622.25	No	-1.06%	-1.24%
Franklin County Schools	$4,532,163.01	No	-1.57%	-7.52%
Franklin Special School District	$-	No	-0.92%	-12.76%
Germantown City Schools	$4,744,304.65	No	2.98%	2.14%
Gibson County Special School District	$2,269,791.66	No	0.16%	-3.17%
Giles County Schools	$3,327,478.50	No	-1.55%	-6.81%
Grainger County Schools	$2,568,578.74	No	-1.26%	-11.92%
Greene County Schools	$5,538,623.13	No	-2.00%	-10.14%
Greeneville City Schools	$2,415,653.18	No	0.72%	3.61%
Grundy County Schools	$954,525.39	No	-2.37%	-15.25%
Hamblen County Schools	$12,407,901.37	No	0.49%	-3.14%
Hamilton County Schools	$45,919,206.18	No	0.76%	1.88%
Hancock County Schools	$761,271.72	No	-0.25%	-1.63%
Hardeman County Schools	$2,439,769.14	No	-2.56%	-12.23%
Hardin County Schools	$3,689,911.00	No	-0.50%	-4.56%
Hawkins County Schools	$5,360,978.31	No	-1.80%	-7.40%
Haywood County Schools	$2,472,705.34	No	-2.70%	-9.11%
Henderson County Schools	$4,662,336.67	No	-0.08%	0.41%
Henry County Schools	$3,788,825.43	No	-0.62%	0.86%
Hickman County Schools	$982,010.74	No	-1.40%	-6.88%
Hollow Rock Bruceton Special School District	$532,620.14	No	-0.02%	-3.01%
Houston County Schools	$391,336.11	No	-0.38%	-7.01%
Humboldt City Schools	$607,552.55	No	-0.45%	-0.51%
Humphreys County Schools	$2,587,845.52	No	0.10%	-6.79%
Huntingdon Special School District	$1,648,875.04	No	1.41%	5.28%
Jackson County Schools	$634,967.93	No	-1.57%	-3.09%
Jackson-Madison County Schools	$13,159,664.14	No	-0.84%	-5.26%
Jefferson County Schools	$8,217,188.09	No	-0.67%	-4.41%
Johnson City Schools	$6,849,604.54	No	0.40%	-1.81%
Johnson County Schools	$10,251,411.43	No	-1.80%	115.64%
Kingsport City Schools	$7,335,730.65	No	0.90%	0.90%
Knox County Schools	$54,239,178.82	No	0.69%	0.12%
Lake County Schools	$290,166.42	No	-3.26%	-6.86%
Lakeland City Schools	$3,122,366.26	No	17.42%	34.99%
Lauderdale County Schools	$2,378,794.70	No	-3.08%	-15.64%
Lawrence County Schools	$8,436,063.48	No	0.29%	-2.34%
Lebanon Special School District	$4,028,894.23	No	0.86%	7.55%
Lenoir City Schools	$2,546,338.91	No	0.03%	11.01%
Lewis County Schools	$661,726.25	No	-2.05%	-3.46%
Lexington City Schools	$657,671.24	No	-2.35%	-2.31%
Lincoln County Schools	$4,643,421.67	No	-0.76%	0.74%
Loudon County Schools	$5,316,826.66	No	-0.22%	-2.15%
Macon County Schools	$5,444,501.95	No	1.18%	4.13%
Manchester City Schools	$1,417,819.06	No	1.20%	8.21%
Marion County Schools	$4,276,007.68	No	-1.18%	-6.05%
Marshall County Schools	$5,951,359.36	No	0.39%	-4.03%
Maryville City Schools	$4,458,271.58	No	0.92%	5.77%
Maury County Schools	$18,595,916.96	No	1.40%	3.50%
McKenzie Special School District	$1,189,941.18	No	-1.95%	-10.28%
McMinn County Schools	$6,347,231.59	No	-1.44%	-9.56%
McNairy County Schools	$2,841,320.94	No	-0.97%	-9.16%
Meigs County Schools	$1,750,733.71	No	-0.22%	-0.36%
Metro Nashville Public Schools	$47,502,753.98	No	0.72%	-2.89%
Milan Special School District	$1,645,866.45	No	-1.12%	-4.04%
Millington Municipal Schools	$1,683,569.34	No	-1.57%	-4.59%
Monroe County Schools	$5,614,646.88	No	-0.98%	-6.66%
Montgomery County Schools	$43,022,138.93	No	2.51%	10.06%
Moore County Schools	$-	No	-1.47%	2.42%
Morgan County Schools	$1,818,302.72	No	-2.28%	-8.20%
Murfreesboro City Schools	$9,208,709.61	No	3.60%	9.69%
Newport City Schools	$551,860.59	No	-1.56%	-6.48%
Oak Ridge City Schools	$4,380,065.70	No	-0.07%	2.93%
Obion County Schools	$2,633,802.30	No	-2.49%	-8.41%
Oneida Special School District	$513,265.18	No	-0.57%	5.76%
Overton County Schools	$2,382,772.90	No	-1.18%	-1.61%
Paris Special School District	$648,829.68	No	-1.32%	-9.18%
Perry County Schools	$438,087.71	No	-1.69%	-3.15%
Pickett County Schools	$23,889.49	No	-3.79%	-5.30%
Polk County Schools	$1,190,476.05	No	-2.69%	-11.72%
Putnam County Schools	$14,004,933.68	No	1.04%	4.86%
Rhea County Schools	$3,609,249.91	No	-0.57%	-4.69%
Richard City Special School District	$-	No	-2.25%	-19.88%
Roane County Schools	$6,690,184.12	No	-1.70%	-7.05%
Robertson County Schools	$12,279,145.51	No	0.57%	26.59%
Rogersville City Schools	$599,967.76	No	-0.07%	-2.09%
Rutherford County Schools	$57,439,262.14	No	2.34%	11.00%
Scott County Schools	$1,709,356.41	No	-0.78%	-13.06%
Sequatchie County Schools	$2,206,426.63	No	-1.07%	-8.61%
Sevier County Schools	$13,342,091.87	No	-0.06%	-0.99%
Shelby County Schools	$113,053,615.92	No	-0.61%	-5.64%
Smith County Schools	$2,601,644.57	No	-0.96%	-4.86%
South Carroll County Schools	$90,722.15	No	-1.98%	-14.14%
Stewart County Schools	$1,442,106.10	No	-0.71%	-4.20%
Sullivan County Schools	$6,152,527.56	No	-2.46%	-14.71%
Sumner County Schools	$28,292,106.77	No	0.78%	2.62%
Sweetwater County Schools	$781,620.30	No	-1.49%	-3.75%
Tipton County Schools	$10,451,793.20	No	-1.44%	-8.64%
Trenton Special School District	$780,746.16	No	-0.71%	-1.40%
Trousdale County Schools	$1,217,092.66	No	0.45%	10.58%
Tullahoma County Schools	$3,776,484.61	No	0.22%	5.17%
Unicoi County Schools	$1,626,694.90	No	-1.97%	-10.92%
Union City Schools	$1,254,798.21	No	1.24%	-8.74%
Union County Schools	$5,863,189.94	No	-2.55%	42.70%
Van Buren County Schools Van	$130,931.41	No	0.26%	1.03%
Warren County Schools	$8,127,182.95	No	-0.34%	-3.49%
Washington County Schools	$7,941,311.72	No	-1.21%	-4.52%
Wayne County Schools	$-	Yes	-2.14%	-10.28%
Weakley County Schools	$3,654,322.78	No	-1.62%	-6.24%
West Carroll Special School District	$185,598.10	No	-2.02%	-9.51%
White County Schools	$4,157,747.47	No	-0.81%	-5.26%
Williamson County Schools	$22,014,404.70	No	3.32%	9.79%
Wilson County Schools	$18,892,155.11	No	2.26%	8.91%

TISA district projected allocations

Funding increase excludes outcomes and growth.

Marta W. Aldrich is a senior correspondent who covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Governor unveils $9 billion proposal to change how Tennessee funds K-12 education

2022-02-24T17:00:59+00:00

Gov. Bill Lee has unveiled his proposal for overhauling K-12 funding in Tennessee, including a base of $6.6 billion to provide per-pupil funding to educate nearly 1 million public school students and $1.8 billion in extra support for students needing the most help.

The governor wants another $376 million for programs to improve literacy in kindergarten through the fourth grade and strengthen career and technical education for older grades.

He also wants to set aside $100 million to reward schools whose students demonstrate success in learning to read and in college and career readiness.

Lee outlined the first details of his long-awaited TISA plan, which stands for Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, on Thursday with his education chief, Penny Schwinn. Beginning in 2024-25, the state would provide $6.3 billion, and local governments would contribute $2.5 billion.

If the legislature approves the plan, Tennessee would join 38 other states that have some type of student-based funding model. Lee wants TISA to replace Tennessee’s 30-year-old funding formula called the Basic Education Program, or BEP, which is a mostly resource-based model that’s built around enrollment.

Critics say the state has chronically underfunded its BEP, and Lee has proposed investing $1 billion more annually for students through his plan by 2024. Tennessee currently ranks 44th nationally in education funding with an annual investment of $5.3 billion by state government.

“We need to invest more in our public schools in our state, but we don’t need to invest in a bulky, out-of-date funding formula,” said Lee, calling his plan a “straightforward (model) that Tennesseans can understand.”

The Republican governor’s proposal faces an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled legislature. While there’s broad support for putting more money into education while the state is flush with cash, many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle question whether they’ll have enough time to vet changes of such magnitude before adjourning in mid-April to face voters in an election year.

“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Lee acknowledged, “ but we certainly are very hopeful that this can get accomplished in this session.”

The rollout came following months of meetings and town halls to solicit statewide feedback on how to focus education funding more on students than on systems. The governor said every school district with stable enrollment would get more money under his plan.

Proposal starts with an expanded per-pupil base

The proposed base would cover the 46 components currently covered by the BEP, including teacher salaries, textbooks, technology, and bus transportation.

That base would be expanded to hire more school nurses and counselors at nationally recommended levels and more academic specialists to work with struggling students. And there would be additional state money to cover compensation for all school principals across Tennessee. Currently, about 265 school administrators are funded outside of the BEP through their local districts.

Funding for school safety — which lies outside of the current formula and requires districts to apply for grants — would move into the base and be distributed automatically.

But Lee isn’t advocating to add the state’s public pre-K program to the base. Pre-K is on the wish list of advocates lobbying to bring the program under the state’s funding formula and expand it to serve more 4-year-olds.

Extra funding for certain students

The proposed formula would set a base of $6,860 per pupil, then distribute additional money per pupil to support students in certain groups:

Economically disadvantaged students would get an extra 25%. That would affect more than 322,000 students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals through direct certification or are homeless, foster, runaway, or migrant students.
Students living in areas of concentrated poverty would receive an extra 5%, affecting more than 652,000 students in schools designated to receive federal Title I money to help high percentages of disadvantaged children.
Students in rural areas and small school districts would get an extra 5%, affecting more than 326,500 students in counties with fewer than 25 students per square mile or in districts with 1,000 or fewer students.
Students with unique learning needs would receive between 15% and 150% extra, depending on 10 categories of need and allowing for the cost of services. This would affect more than 288,000 students with unique learning needs ranging from speech and language challenges to dyslexia to English language learners to students who are homebound or in residential programs.
Charter school students would get an 4% extra, affecting 42,000-plus students to help pay for facilities for the publicly financed, independently operated schools. Once under the formula, charter school facilities would be eliminated as a line item in the state’s annual budget, Schwinn said.

The weighted funding is “stackable” — meaning that students could draw extra funding for multiple needs. For instance, a student who is allocated additional funding for being economically disadvantaged could also draw extra funding for living in a rural area, and still more funding if they are learning to speak English as a second language.

Fast-growing districts get stipends

Lee proposes giving additional per-pupil funding allowances to districts that grow their enrollment by more than 2% from the previous year.

Districts with that level of growth for three consecutive years can also receive funding allowances to help pay for building and infrastructure needs.

Local funding would be affected — but not immediately

Tennessee has one of the nation’s most complicated calculations for determining how much state funding that districts receive and local governments must contribute for schools.

The BEP distributes state funding among school districts based on their local fiscal capacity, which generally is driven by local property or sales tax revenue.

Lee is proposing the state pay 70% and locals 30% to cover TISA’s per-pupil base and extra weights for students needing extra support. The state would cover all of the funding for direct programs, outcomes, and fast-growing districts.

To give local governments time to transition to the changes, the total local contribution would freeze for four years until the 2027 fiscal year, when Schwinn said the increase would be similar to what districts would normally experience under the BEP.

Locals would still have to follow state laws requiring that local funds budgeted for schools cannot decrease when state funding for schools increases.

Inflation, cost of living are not factored in

During a media call with reporters, Schwinn said the proposal contains no mechanism to address inflation and the cost of living. The state would address those, she said, by regularly increasing funding to the base, as determined by the legislature.

Keeping up with escalating education costs and factoring in the cost of living, especially for urban areas, have been among the problems with the BEP. In recent years, court challenges by multiple districts charged the formula routinely allocates funds arbitrarily instead of basing them on research about current education costs and local markets.

Questions remain about intent

Student-centered funding allows money to follow a student to his or her school based on a student’s needs, which would make it easier for Tennessee to start a private school voucher program or shift more funding to charter schools from traditional public schools.

Lee — who has done more than any Tennessee governor in history to champion programs that give families more education choices — has denied that’s a goal behind his funding proposal. However, numerous local officials are skeptical of his motives.

The rollout of Lee’s proposal came on the same day the Tennessee Supreme Court was re-hearing oral arguments about the state’s school voucher law, which Lee pushed for but was overturned by a lower court in 2020 for applying only to students in Memphis and Nashville. The state, which was sued by local governments in those cities, has appealed the ruling.

To learn more about the proposed funding formula, see the administration’s summary and proposed legislation and follow the bill’s progress.

Marta W. Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Gov. Lee proposes $1 billion boost for Tennessee education

2022-02-01T03:23:59+00:00

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wants to add $1 billion to Tennessee’s nearly $6 billion education budget. Lee announced the proposed increase Monday night during his annual State of the State address, where he shared his 2022-23 priorities and the highlights of his proposed budget. The proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 is $52.6 billion, with 41 cents out of every dollar spent on education.

Some top lines for K-12 education include:

$32 million for charter school facility funding.
$125 million to increase teacher salaries.
$200 million to relocate public schools in flood plains, including schools in Shelby County.
$550 million in career and technical education grants.
$750 million toward additional education investments.

The money for the proposed raise for teachers received some of the loudest applause of the night.

“Historically, funds put into the salary pool don’t always make it to deserving teachers, and when we say teachers are getting a raise, there should be no bureaucratic workaround to prevent that,” Lee said. “So in our updated funding formula, we will ensure that a teacher raise is a teacher raise.”

The infusion of money for teacher salaries and education is part of Lee’s plan to overhaul Tennessee education funding. The Education Law Center gave the Volunteer State an F for its funding level in its Making the Grade 2020 report.

Last year, Lee ordered a review of the Basic Education Program, a funding formula with 46 components that determine how much money the state sends to districts for textbooks, technology, and other needs. Under the proposed student-centered funding formula, districts and charter schools would get additional education investments to assist students who are managing issues such as learning disabilities and the challenges of living in poverty, and that should translate to more help for teachers in the classroom, said Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn.

“Some of the things we’ve heard the most about are things like counselors and nurses and supports for students who need those supports and ensuring our teachers can focus on the academic instruction,” Schwinn said in an interview before Lee’s speech. Schwinn added that teachers have been asking for additional support for high-needs students.

“It’s time to do right by them, and I think this is a good first step,” she added.

Pointing to a 2020 report by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relation, some education advocates say that Tennessee schools need an additional $1.7 billion of state money, so even with the billion-dollar-boost proposed Monday night, Tennessee education would still be underfunded.

Other organizations praised the governor’s announcement.

“The priorities laid out in the State of the State, including an additional $1 billion investment in education, an increase in teacher pay, and dedication to expanding career and technical opportunities for students, if adhered to, will make the 2022 legislative session a success for Tennessee’s students and their futures,” Adam Lister, president and CEO of Tennesseans for Student Success, a middle Tennessee-based nonprofit organization, said in a statement.

“Governor Lee’s call for the General Assembly to overhaul and improve the way the state funds education is a transformational moment,” Lister added.

Lee also weighed in on the culture wars in the classroom in the wake of anti-critical race theory laws and national debates about when and how to teach children about or protect them from learning the harsh realities of U.S. history.

Lee highlighted recently introduced legislation to ban some books from Tennessee libraries. He announced a state partnership with Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian college in Hillsdale, Michigan, to expand civics education in Tennessee that promotes “informed patriotism.” He also announced that the state would give $6 million to create the Institute of American Civics at the University of Tennessee, a center that would combat what he described as “anti-American thought” in higher education.

A replay of the governor’s speech is on his YouTube channel.

Does Tennessee’s education funding blueprint deliver on governor’s promises? Maybe, but ‘the devil’s in the details’

2022-01-14T00:36:46+00:00

A blueprint for overhauling Tennessee public education funding appears to align with Gov. Bill Lee’s pledge to consider each student’s needs and circumstances. But the big question is how much more money would be added to bolster learning for nearly a million students.

Lee wants a student-centered funding approach that would set a base amount of funding per pupil, then distribute additional money per pupil to support students in certain groups, especially those from economically disadvantaged families. Thirty-eight states use that model, or a hybrid that also includes separate funding for certain resources.

Tennessee’s would become a hybrid too, since the blueprint also calls for extra funding for programs like tutoring and career and technical education.

The four-page document, released this week by Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, also recommends additional money to support the state’s neediest students, including those learning the English language, living in rural areas, or with disabilities.

Funding for school nurses and counselors — where Tennessee trails nationally recommended numbers and the pandemic has exposed huge vulnerabilities — would be part of the formula’s foundation, as would educator salaries, technology, and the state’s intervention program for struggling students.

Other funds would be set aside to tutor rising fourth-grade students who scored below proficiency on third-grade state tests.

“We’re encouraged,” said Gini Pupo-Walker, director of The Education Trust in Tennessee.

“But the devil’s in the details,” she added. “We know the state is going to put more money in. The question is how much, and will it be recurring?”

‘A unique opportunity’

The state’s 30-year-old Basic Education Program, or BEP for short, is a resource-based formula built around enrollment. Forty-six components determine how much school systems get from the state to pay toward teacher salaries and resources like textbooks, technology, and bus transportation.

Two former governors, Republican Bill Haslam and Democrat Phil Bredesen, failed at attempts to update or revise the BEP, which has been chronically underfunded and prompted a pending lawsuit against the state by nearly half of Tennessee school systems.

To reform education funding, conventional wisdom among policymakers and funding experts is that Tennessee must create a bigger pie — not just divide it differently — to avoid creating winners and losers. That’s especially significant in an election year, when Lee and lawmakers are asking voters to keep them in office.

With one of Tennessee’s largest budget surpluses in history, “the current budget landscape creates a unique opportunity” for a rewrite, the document said.

“This fiscal year, our state has taken in a billion dollars over what we budgeted due to economic growth, so we’re blessed and this is a real opportunity,” said Rep. Mark White, a Memphis Republican who chairs a House education committee.

Democrats say the formula may need updating, but that the foundational problem is inadequate funding. Many parents and advocates agree.

“One of the things I, as a parent, would like to see is just additional dollars,” said Venita Doggett, advocacy director of the Memphis Education Fund. “If we’re really going to support students, we have to make a concerted effort to increase the amount of dollars that flow to kids. It’s just not enough.”

Tennessee invests $5.6 billion annually in K-12 education, or just over $11,000 per pupil. That’s almost $4,300 below the national average and puts the state 44th in funding, according to the Education Law Center.

Last year, the group gave the state two Fs and a D for its funding level, allocation as a percentage of economic activity, and distribution, respectively.

Student-centered

The blueprint recommends weighting the heaviest funding for students living in poverty, moderate additional funding for students in rural areas, and light extra funding for the state’s 42,000-plus charter school students.

The amount of extra funding for students with unique learning situations — whether disabilities, giftedness, learning the English language, or qualifying for a Section 504 dyslexia plan — would depend on the need, according to the document.

JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, was excited to see dyslexia on the list. “That’s a big issue, and a lot of students with dyslexia have gone underfunded for a long time,” he said.

The next phase of the conversation will be about how much extra funding to assign to each category of need, as well as the definitions used to count those students.

“At the end of the day, it’s about whether our highest-needs students are getting the resources they need to learn,” said David Mansouri, president and CEO of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education.

Mansouri called the framework “the right track.”

The blueprint also proposes setting aside more funds for fast-growing school systems and to bolster career and technical education, the latter of which has been a priority for Tennessee’s businessman governor, who has a mechanical engineering degree.

Charter school expansion is another priority for Lee, who has championed additional funding to pay for charter facilities each year since taking office in 2019. More than half of Tennessee’s charter school students are considered economically disadvantaged. Because the weighted funding is “stackable” — meaning that students could draw extra funding for multiple needs — those students could draw additional dollars for both categories.

Wish list

Other major costs are still under consideration. Among them: decreasing class sizes for Tennessee’s lowest grades and expanding the state’s program for pre-kindergarten students beyond the 22% of 4-year-olds who are now served.

Both needs have been discussed for years, but the pandemic has heightened the urgency of making impactful interventions in the early grades to address learning lag and support student mental health.

More than three-fourths of Tennessee school districts have waiting lists to enter pre-K. Meanwhile, the state’s pre-K program, which currently is funded outside of the BEP, hasn’t been expanded since 2007, and the funding level hasn’t kept up with inflation.

“We know the pandemic has exacerbated what was already a significant early learning crisis,” said Blair Taylor, president and CEO of Tennesseans for Quality Early Education. “Research repeatedly proves pre-K can help lay a critical foundation for education and life success, and it’s time for us to make better use of this tool.”

The wish list also includes career coaches for middle school students to guide them to the best options in high school. Others want any new formula to retool the salary schedule for non-educator school staff.

Tying funding to outcomes

The proposal outlines a per-student funding bonus for performance, especially for economically disadvantaged students, with five possible areas of measurement: literacy, college and career readiness, career and technical education, work-based learning and apprenticeships, and completion of the form for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, to apply for financial aid for college.

Advocates say those areas need fine-tuning.

A big decision will be whether the state would measure reading improvement based on academic growth or proficiency. Tennessee’s current accountability framework is based on growth, which takes into account out-of-school factors like poverty that might hold students back.

“We’d like to see outcomes that incentivize growth, not just flat achievement,” said Pupo-Walker.

FAFSA completion is one of the more surprising components, since it’s not an indicator of college and career readiness. It’s just about who completes a form.

“This is not to say our proposal is the final draft,” Schwinn said Thursday to members of the governor’s 12-member steering committee reviewing feedback. “I’m giving you all the options on the menu.”

Looming questions

Much of the feedback so far has centered on concerns about what local governments would be expected to contribute, since the formula requires a local match.

Schwinn promised plenty of time for local officials to make adjustments. Any launch would require a year of planning and preparation. She’s also recommending a five-year “grace period” to give local funding agencies time to make adjustments.

But other questions loom.

Would school systems still have flexibility over how to spend the state’s allocation, as they do under the current formula?

Will Tennessee make teacher pay more competitive as its educator workforce shrinks?

And, should the state slow the funding conversation? After all, it took years to come up with the current formula, which has lasted longer than the people who created it expected.

“We cannot afford for Tennessee to fumble on a funding model in which our students could suffer,” said Leah Watkins, superintendent of Henry County Schools, a rural district in West Tennessee.

“It’s a heavy lift,” acknowledged White, the Republican education leader in the House. “But, if not now, when?”

Tennessee is asking for public comment on its draft summary by emailing tnedu.funding@tn.gov by noon, Jan. 18. More formation is available here.

The governor is expected to present any resulting proposal during his State of the State address on Jan. 31.

5 education issues to watch as Tennessee lawmakers return this week

2022-01-10T12:00:00+00:00

One year after tackling pandemic-related school challenges during a special legislative session called by Gov. Bill Lee, Tennessee lawmakers return to the Capitol this week with another major focus on students: how to fund public education.

Lee wants to overhaul the 30-year-old formula that determines how much money the state distributes to school systems, as well as how much local governmental agencies should contribute. He’s expected to work with fellow GOP leaders to offer a legislative proposal this month.

But some say the legislature shouldn’t rush that discussion, especially since it took years to come up with the current formula known as the Basic Education Program, or BEP.

“It’s OK to hold this and keep working on it if we need to,” said Rep. Scott Cepicky, a Republican from Maury County. “Let’s get this right.”

Lawmakers also aren’t inclined toward a lengthy session during an election year. They’ll look to pass a budget and wrap up by mid-April, if possible, so they can return home to campaign.

Until then, here are five issues to watch:

Funding reform

Since October when Lee called for a review of the state’s funding formula, Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn has spearheaded the process that included eight town halls and dozens of meetings with policymakers and education leaders.

Last week, she called the issue “the biggest policy decision we make” and said Tennessee should seize this “moment in time.” She also hinted a draft proposal will be unveiled early this week.

“There is funding that is potentially available, there is momentum. We see need across the state,” she told a forum hosted by Tennesseans for Quality Early Education.

The review, which aims to shift Tennessee to a more student-centered funding approach, has drawn public praise but generated private concerns about its intent. Many public school advocates worry the goal is to pave the way for a new private school voucher program halted by ongoing litigation, though the governor has denied that.

“I’m trying to keep an open mind and not draw conclusions before getting all the information,” said Sen. Ferrell Haile, a Gallatin Republican who is on Lee’s 12-member review committee to create a new strategy.

Schwinn said any future formula must factor in the needs of individual children. That includes students who have disabilities, are English language learners, or come from low-income families.

Currently, enrollment is the main component of the BEP, a formula with 46 components that determine how much school systems receive to pay for teacher salaries and other needs like textbooks, technology, and bus transportation. But districts have flexibility on how to spend that money, which explains why the BEP is considered a funding formula, not a spending plan.

“We want to put more money into education, but we want to make sure the money is being spent well,” said Rep. Mark White, a Memphis Republican who chairs a House education committee and supports forging a new formula this year. “Let’s give it our best shot.”

More school nurses, counselors, pre-K

Whether the state revises its funding formula this year or not, the legislature must pass a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 — and is flush with cash. Tax collections during the pandemic’s economic rebound were higher than projected. The state also is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants intended to help working low-income families.

Meanwhile, Tennessee ranks 44th in the nation for student funding, according to the Education Law Center, which gave the state Fs last year for its funding level and funding effort.

The state’s BEP review committee, an influential panel of policymakers and education leaders, has urged the governor to prioritize more funding for school nurses and counselors to get Tennessee to nationally recommended ratios. A $110-million annual investment would fund 1 nurse for every 750 students instead of the current 1:3,000, and 1 counselor for every 250 students instead of the current ratios of 1:500 and 1:350 for elementary and secondary schools, respectively.

In addition to perennial discussions about raising teacher pay, there’s talk about expanding Tennessee’s pre-K program, which serves a fifth of the state’s 4-year-olds. Most districts have waiting lists.

During the pandemic, consensus has grown that pre-K and early grades are the best places for impactful interventions to address learning lag and social-emotional challenges.

“It’s a timely topic that is deserving of deep discussions,” Haile said.

Supplemental teaching materials

A controversial proposal to limit which supplemental materials teachers can use advanced last year in two House panels before stalling in the Senate Education Committee.

Sen. Janice Bowling, a Republican from Tullahoma, promised to bring her bill back for consideration this year and address worries that “good” materials from organizations like the Tennessee Farm Bureau could be excluded.

The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver of Lancaster, would prohibit teachers from using materials that supplant state-approved textbooks unless district leaders approve those materials in advance. Any approved print or electronic materials would be listed on district websites.

“We absolutely need to do something,” agreed Sen. Brian Kelsey, a Republican from Germantown, “but we need to do it in a way that doesn’t have unintended consequences.”

The president of the state’s largest teachers organization called the proposal “demoralizing” for teachers and logistically impossible for school districts. For instance, a teacher couldn’t use yesterday’s newspaper in a current events class.

“This is a move toward completely scripted lessons,” said Beth Brown of the Tennessee Education Association, noting that a new Tennessee law already restricts what teachers can discuss in their classes about racism, white privilege, and unconscious bias.

Testing

State testing went well last year, with a 95% participation rate despite the pandemic. But lawmakers are still expected to bring several proposals to change when and how tests are administered.

Expect one proposal to require that testing occur during the last 20 days of the school year, instead of the earlier testing window set by the education department.

“That’s going to give our teachers an extra 30 days of instruction time, which is a lot,” said Cepicky.

Other likely legislation would require students in grades 3-8 to continue testing on paper, while local school systems could opt to move students in higher grades to online exams.

This school year, Tennessee high schoolers are taking their exams online under the state’s plan to transition back to computerized testing after several years of technical snafus.

Teacher evaluations

Should teachers be judged on how much their students know — or how much they grow?

Tennessee has mostly focused on the latter when evaluating their educators and schools through an academic growth model that measures learning over time, regardless of whether students are proficient.

But the complexity and opaqueness of the state’s statistical growth method, combined with increasing frustration over low student proficiency, could renew that debate among lawmakers this year.

“We’ve been doing this for 10 years, and where are we?” asked Cepicky, complaining that only a third of the state’s third graders are reading on grade level.

“Meanwhile, we’ve created an evaluation system where a teacher can get an A in academic growth even if their students aren’t proficient readers. We’ve got to get that commitment back to getting our kids proficient,” he said.

Such a move would mark a dramatic change for Tennessee, considered a pioneer in using “value-added” measurements to judge teachers and schools. For a decade, the guiding principle has been that all students can advance, regardless of out-of-school factors like poverty that might hold them back.

Other issues are sure to surface before this year’s legislature, including more funding for charter school facilities and how to address the state’s worsening teacher shortage. The statistics on the teacher supply is especially troubling, with thousands of Tennessee educators expected to retire by 2024 and fewer candidates entering teacher training programs.

“We’ve got to be creating multiple pathways to teaching in our state, and we’ve got to have a competitive wage,” said JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee.

The 2022 session of the 112th General Assembly convenes at noon Central Time on Tuesday. Visit the legislature’s website to track legislation, livestream meetings, and contact legislators.

Tennessee families and educators invited to review school funding

2021-10-13T17:54:44+00:00

The Tennessee Department of Education is seeking public input on its recently announced plans to overhaul its education funding formula. Tennessee students, parents, and education experts interested in helping to review and revise the state’s funding formula can apply to be on one of 18 education subcommittees that will meet online and in person over the next three months.

The groups range from the student engagement subcommittee to the fiscal responsibility group to the principal advisory team. According to a statement, subcommittee members will meet with Tennessee Department of Education employees to discuss how to strengthen education.

On Friday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee unveiled his plan to spearhead a “rigorous review” of Tennessee’s nearly 30-year-old public education funding formula.

“We all recognize that a funding formula that has been in place for 30 years likely has a lot of opportunity for improvement. Our schools are significantly different than they were 30 years ago. Our approach to learning is different than it was 30 years ago,” said Lee, during Friday’s press conference.

“There have been best practices across the country that have been implemented that we can learn from as we modernize and update our funding approach,” he added.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education, a research and advocacy group commonly known as SCORE, released a statement following the governor’s speech saying that the funding review is well-timed to help address the lingering disparities in education exacerbated by the pandemic.

Lee said that education funding should be a transparent and accountable “return on investment” and added that funding should not follow school systems but instead follow students. Several organizations have promoted this student-centered funding model for more than a decade, including the American Legislative Exchange Council, commonly known as ALEC, a conservative organization that drafts model legislation for lawmakers.

In a policy draft from 2010, the organization stated, “A student-centered public school finance model also compliments efforts to expand private-school choice because it is grounded in the principle that public funding is first and foremost for the benefit of students not school systems.”

Lee’s pivot to student-centered funding comes as the Tennessee Supreme Court is deliberating on the state’s appeal to have its overturned school voucher law restored. It also comes during an ongoing school funding lawsuit, which has stretched on for six years and now pits 147 school districts against the state.

Lee did not mention the lawsuits during Friday’s announcement, but he emphasized that he’s open to discussion and change. “Most important in the next weeks and months ahead is that we listen, it’s that we get input, it’s that we have feedback,” he said.

To sign up for one of the 18 subcommittees below, click here.

Student-centered funding subcommittees

Student Engagement Subcommittee, Chair: Elizabeth Brown, State President, Future Business Leaders of America – Tennessee; Senior, Coffee County High School
Students with Disabilities and Gifted Students Subcommittee, Chair: Commissioner Brad Turner, Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
English Learner Subcommittee, Chair: Raul Lopez, Executive Director, Latinos for Tennessee
Economically Disadvantaged and Highly Mobile Students Subcommittee, Chair: Victor Evans, Executive Director, TennesseeCAN
Parent Choice and Voice Subcommittee Parent Choice and Voice Subcommittee, Chair: Derwin Sisnett, Commissioner, Tennessee Public Charter School Commission
Teacher Advisory Subcommittee, Chair: Morgan Rankin, 2021-22 Teacher of the Year, Johnson City Schools
Principal Advisory Subcommittee, Chair: Farrah Griffith, Principal, White County Schools
School System Personnel Subcommittee, Chair: Steve Starnes, Director of Schools, Greeneville City Schools
School System Leadership Subcommittee, Chair: Danny Weeks, Director of Schools, Dickson County Schools
Rural and Small District Subcommittee, Chair: Janet Ayers, President, The Ayers Foundation
Suburban Districts, Municipals, and Fast-Growing Communities Subcommittee, Chair: Ted Horrell, Director of Schools, Lakeland School System
Urban District Subcommittee, Chair: Cato Johnson, Chief of Staff and Senior Vice President of Public Policy/Regulatory Affairs, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
Higher Education and Post-Secondary Readiness Subcommittee, Chair: Youlanda Jones, President, Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology- Covington, Ripley Newbern
Chambers of Commerce and Industry Subcommittee, Chair: Jared Bigham, Senior Advisor on Workforce & Rural Initiatives, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce
Post-Secondary Readiness and the Business Community Subcommittee, Chair: Randy Boyd, President, University of Tennessee System
Education Foundations Subcommittee, Chair: Dan Challener, President, Public Education Foundation
Regional Collectives and Advocacy Subcommittee, Co-Chairs: Scott Niswonger, Chairman and Founder, Niswonger Foundation, and Nancy Dishner, President and CEO, Niswonger Foundation
Fiscal Responsibility Subcommittee, Chair: Justin Owen, President & Chief Executive Officer, Beacon Center of Tennessee

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include the names of the subcommittee chairs, which state officials released Wednesday evening.

Tennessee governor calls for review of state education funding formula

2021-10-08T18:04:02+00:00

Gov. Bill Lee called Friday for a “robust review” of Tennessee’s nearly 30-year-old formula for funding public education with an eye toward spending that is more focused on students than on systems.

Lee and his education chief, Penny Schwinn, also announced they will seek public input about education funding over the next 90 days and invited Tennesseans to weigh in through surveys, committees, and meetings across the state.

The goal is to come up with a proposal before the Tennessee General Assembly convenes in January. Lee said he’s looking for investment strategies that incentivize learning, engage parents in their child’s education, and ensure that all students are served at a high level, regardless of where they live or what their needs are.

Student-centered funding allows money to follow a child to his or her school based on a student’s needs. The model has been promoted for at least a decade by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council.

Traditional funding models focus more on allocating money toward expenses such as the salaries of adults who work in a school building. But that can mean schools serving high-needs students, which often have less experienced and lower-paid teachers, get less money than schools with more affluent students.

During a news conference, Lee touted student-centered funding because it takes into consideration each student’s needs, circumstances, and learning path — and also yields more accountability.

“We ought to be able to see what we are investing in kids and what the outcomes are for those investments,” he said.

The model could force the state to do student-by-student calculations that could make it easier for Tennessee to start a private-school voucher program, which could be appealing to voucher advocates like Lee. The governor championed a voucher law during his first year in office in 2019, but a judge later overturned it and the state’s appeal is pending before the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Lee’s announcement comes as the state prepares to defend its system for funding public schools in a 6-year-old legal battle set to go to trial in February.

The case began with a lawsuit filed by Memphis-based Shelby County Schools about the challenges faced by urban districts that have a disproportionately high number of students who are people of color, have disabilities, and live in extreme poverty. The legal challenge since has expanded to pit more than half of Tennessee’s 147 school systems against the state over whether it allocates enough money to give students an adequate education.

During his press conference, Lee did not refer to the litigation or talk about whether the state is putting enough money into public education, even as Tennessee ranks near the bottom nationally in education funding and several recent studies show students tend to do better when their schools get more money.

But Lee said he anticipates proposing more education investments next year. Under his administration, he noted, the state has allocated millions of new dollars toward teacher salaries, career and technical education, literacy programs, and charter school facilities.

A review of the state’s funding formula is a bigger conversation that Lee said could be “one of the most important things that we do to shape the future of our state.”

At a cost of nearly $6 billion, K-12 education is the single largest expense in Tennessee’s state budget. Local governments contribute another $4 billion plus for public schools, with more than $1 billion coming from the federal government.

The state hasn’t significantly changed its funding formula, known as the Basic Education Program or BEP, since its adoption in 1992.

The formula is based on a complicated rubric of 46 components that determine how much state money is distributed to school systems to pay for needs ranging from salaries for teachers to textbooks, technology, and bus transportation. But districts have flexibility on how to spend that money, which explains why the BEP is considered a funding formula, not a spending plan.

“K-12 funding is complicated, it’s bureaucratic,” Lee said. “Everyone recognizes that our BEP formula is one that few understand (and) many do not like.”

In a news release announcing the review, the governor shared endorsements from more than a dozen education leaders from the legislature, school systems, philanthropic foundations, and advocacy groups.

“The timing is right in Tennessee to take a comprehensive look at the way we fund K-12 education,” Teresa Sloyan, president of the Memphis based Hyde Family Foundation, said in a statement.

Tennessee’s superintendent of the year, Ted Horrell, said student needs have changed in just the last 15 years.

“A thorough reexamination of our state’s K-12 funding system is both necessary and welcome,” said Horrell, director of the Lakeland School System, in suburban Shelby County.

Later, other education groups welcomed the review, but cited concerns.

“It is time for the state to modernize the way we fund our schools,” said JC Bowman, who leads the Professional Educators of Tennessee. “We also know, no matter how well intended, there will be ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in any new budgeting process.”

The Education Trust in Tennessee urged the governor and Schwinn to consider increasing state funding, as well as adopting a simplified funding formula guided by student needs that aim to eliminate gaps in achievement and opportunity.

“Our state’s formula does not have simple fixes,” the group said.

The BEP formula was created after the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled the state’s previous system was inequitable based on a legal challenge by 77 small school districts. The formula was last updated in 2007 by former Gov. Phil Bredesen, but some of those revisions were rolled back in 2016 under former Gov. Bill Haslam.

In 2014, Haslam put together his own task force to try to overhaul the funding system but ultimately retreated.

“We came in and looked at turning it inside out in every way possible,” he told Chalkbeat in a 2018 interview. “But it was very difficult because, when you change it, you’re going to have winners and losers. You just are. And so the only way to change it is to do it like we did — in times when you [can] add more money to the pie.”

In recent years, Tennessee has been fully funding schools under the BEP as it’s structured, but that doesn’t mean the state is fully funding schools to meet the needs of today’s students. For instance, nearly every district hires more teachers than the BEP formula generates, and local governments have increasingly contributed more money to take up the slack.

The state’s own BEP Review Committee comes up with an annual list of shortcomings that need to be addressed and recently asked Lee to prioritize funding for more school nurses and counselors in his proposed budget for 2022-23.

This year, House GOP leaders have shown interest in using BEP funding as a possible punitive tool against some schools and districts. In January, Majority Leader William Lamberth proposed withholding state funding from districts that were sticking with remote learning during the pandemic, while Speaker Cameron Sexton threatened in August to divert money toward private school vouchers if districts issue mask mandates or shutter their school buildings.

One controversial new state law allows the commissioner of education to withhold funds from schools or districts where teachers promote certain concepts about racism, bias, and other social issues that GOP lawmakers believe are associated with critical race theory.

Tennessee’s lingering school funding trial is reset before a new court

2021-09-03T00:39:01+00:00

A major lawsuit challenging whether Tennessee adequately funds public schools will be among the first to go to trial under a new law that is reshaping the state’s judiciary.

The trial in the 6-year-old case had been scheduled to begin in November before a single judge. But several recent court orders have reset the proceedings for February before a panel of three judges representing East, Middle, and West Tennessee.

And instead of being heard in Nashville — where constitutional challenges to Tennessee laws have traditionally been hashed out — the three-week trial will take place in a courtroom in Murfreesboro, a university town south of Nashville.

The changes come as the result of a new law that creates a statewide court to hear thorny matters related to state government. How the reshuffled judiciary could affect the trial’s outcome is being closely watched regionally and nationally, partly to see whether partisan politics come into play.

Signed by Gov. Bill Lee and effective July 1, the law stems from the GOP-controlled legislature’s frustration with rulings from judges elected in heavily Democratic Nashville, the seat of state government. Among them were last year’s decisions striking down Lee’s school voucher law and expanding access to absentee voting during the pandemic.

Critics have called the creation of a so-called “super-chancery court” an attack on Tennessee’s judiciary, while supporters argue the bench should better reflect the conservative political leanings of the state’s voters.

The outcome of the school funding trial could have major implications for K-12 education and, if successful, force Tennessee to invest significantly more money in public schools in a state that ranks 46th in the nation in student funding. Schools in lower-income areas and students who live in poverty, have disabilities, or are learning to speak English as a second language would be most affected.

Chris Candelaria, a public policy professor at Vanderbilt University, said the new judicial landscape adds another layer to an already complex case.

“When we think about school finance reform, the courts are one of the only opportunities to effect change outside of a political process that exists within the legislature. I think the concern now is whether partisan politics are shaping the court that ultimately has to make the ruling,” said Candelaria, who researches education funding.

The case pits 89 school systems against the state over whether it allocates enough money to give students an adequate education.

Memphis-based Shelby County Schools, the state’s largest district, filed the original lawsuit in 2015. Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools joined the case two years later, and a coalition of 87 smaller districts signed on as intervening plaintiffs in 2020.

Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson discusses the district’s funding lawsuit filed against the state of Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2015, as board members Chris Caldwell and Teresa Jones offer their support.

Lawyers representing the Memphis and Nashville districts declined to comment on the intent behind the new judicial law, but said they’re ready to move ahead with the trial.

“This doesn’t change anything in our minds. We believe in our case, and we believe we can win it in front of any judge,” said Lori Patterson, an attorney for the Memphis-based law firm of Baker Donelson.

The Tennessee Supreme Court picked judges for the new panel, which will be presided over by Senior Judge Don Ash of Murfreesboro. He is joined by Doborah Stevens, a circuit court judge in Knoxville, and William Cole, a chancellor who handles cases in five rural counties in West Tennessee.

The trio replaces Nashville Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, who recused herself from the case in March. Her recusal came without explanation but just days after a Republican state legislator, citing judicial overreach, introduced a resolution to have her removed from the bench over her absentee voting ruling.

The newly assigned judges have a lot of studying to do before February. Over six years, the case file has accumulated hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and generated dozens of depositions. Each side is using five expert witnesses.

The state attorney general’s office declined to comment on the case. But in court documents, its lawyers argue that courts shouldn’t dictate policy matters that the Tennessee Constitution delegates to the legislature.

Sen. Mike Bell, the Riceville Republican who pushed for the new statewide court, did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.

Several people familiar with the school funding debate say any possible efforts to politicize the trial’s outcome may backfire because of the involvement of Tennessee School Systems for Equity, the coalition of small districts that joined the state’s two largest school systems in the case.

“Having this go from just an urban lawsuit to one that’s also being pushed by rural and suburban areas is very important in terms of how it’s received, both in a court of law and the court of public opinion,” said Will Pinkston, a former Nashville school board member who pushed for the litigation.

“If this case was just about two urban districts, the judicial changes could be bad news because it will be argued before jurists from different jurisdictions,” Pinkston continued. “But now you’ve got a statewide panel that’s on the cusp of adjudicating a statewide issue. In a weird way, it makes a lot of sense.”

National research backs that up. City school districts have tended to fare worse in school funding lawsuits, while courts are more favorable to cases brought by a large swath of districts.

The plaintiffs plan to point to several recent studies showing that students tend to do better when their schools get more money.

Tennessee spends more than $10 billion annually on K-12 education, with about half coming from the state, $4 billion-plus from local governments, and the rest from the federal government, according to a 2020 report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

The last major overhaul of Tennessee’s school funding formula came in 1992 after the state’s highest court found that state government wasn’t equitably funding smaller districts. Except for some revisions in 2007 and 2016, the formula — which is known as the Basic Education Program, or BEP — has stayed mostly intact.

While the state has steadily upped funding for public education over the last decade, several of the state’s own research groups have acknowledged the BEP formula doesn’t allocate enough money to adequately staff classrooms, pay teachers a competitive salary, or provide schools with enough nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists. To take up the slack, local governments have contributed millions more than what’s required under the formula, the researchers say.

But a recent analysis by the conservative-leaning Beacon Center of Tennessee argues that school administrative costs are increasingly eating up funding meant for classrooms at the rate of about $11,300 per student. The group says that while taxpayer investment has grown by 30% since 2012, enrollment has increased by only about 5%.

Andy Womack, who was a state senator when the 1992 formula was developed, said he’s surprised the BEP has lasted this long without a major overhaul.

“A lot of student needs have changed, and the cost of education has gone up significantly since we enacted the initial legislation,” said Womack, a Murfreesboro Democrat who chaired his chamber’s education committee and left office in 2000.

“I would think we’re due for an update,” he said.

Chalkbeat national reporter Matt Barnum contributed to this report.

Tennessee should prioritize funding more school nurses and counselors, says key panel

2021-08-31T23:36:30+00:00

With the pandemic highlighting the importance of students’ physical, social, and emotional health, an influential Tennessee committee is urging Gov. Bill Lee to prioritize more funding for school nurses and counselors next year.

An annual investment of about $110 million would get Tennessee to nationally recommended ratios of nurses and counselors in public schools, according to the panel of government and education officials who annually review the state’s education funding formula.

The improvements, which were outlined Monday in a letter to Lee, would allow Tennessee to fund 1 nurse for every 750 students instead of the current ratio of 1 to 3,000.

Tennessee also could fund 1 counselor for every 250 students. Currently, the state covers the cost of 1 counselor for every 500 students in elementary schools and 1 per 350 students in grades seven through 12.

The recommendations mark the first time Tennessee’s BEP Review Committee has elevated both needs to the top of its priority list for how to improve public education through the funding formula known as the Basic Education Program.

The top billing acknowledges what education experts have been saying for a long time: Healthier students are better learners.

The committee’s endorsement boosts the likelihood that Lee and the legislature will seriously consider investing in needs that state officials have long discussed but deemed too costly.

Last year, the governor and lawmakers followed the panel’s recommendation to maintain funding for public schools in this year’s budget, even as student enrollment declined due to the pandemic. And former Gov. Bill Haslam heeded the panel’s suggestions when building several of his spending plans, resulting in hundreds of millions of additional dollars allocated toward teacher compensation.

In its letter, the 22-member BEP committee said nurses are critical “to meet the needs of all students, and in light of the ongoing public health crisis.”

The panel also cited the “expanded role and scope of responsibilities of school counselors,” who create comprehensive programs focused on student outcomes and help students navigate paths toward college and career opportunities.

The letter was signed by Lillian Hartgrove, a member of the BEP panel and chairwoman of the Tennessee State Board of Education.

Lillian Hartgrove, who chairs the Tennessee State Board of Education, speaks with students during a school visit.

Lee was traveling Tuesday in East Tennessee, and his press secretary, Casey Black, said the governor was reviewing the committee’s recommendations.

Earlier this year, as the pandemic continued to take a toll on student wellbeing, Lee championed a budget that included a $250 million trust fund to address student mental health through annual investment income — but did not include extra money to quickly hire more school nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists.

A leader with the Tennessee School Counselors Association lauded the prospect of more funding for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which begins next July.

“We have definitely never been at the top of this list before,” said Lauren Baker, who serves on the association’s board of directors.

Baker said the ratio of counselors to students is especially dire in elementary and middle schools, since much of Tennessee’s counseling focus is on college and career readiness. But the early grades are just as important, she said.

“A lot of industry people have talked to our Tennessee leaders about college graduates struggling to regulate their emotions or having difficulty with communication or problem-solving skills. If we don’t start teaching those core competencies to children, it’s much harder to teach them as adults,” Baker said Tuesday.

Most districts already hire more nurses and counselors than are funded through the BEP formula. Providing more state funding for those areas would free up local funds for other needs, including teacher compensation, technology, or hiring more specialists for the state’s 7-year-old instructional intervention program. All three of those items rounded out the committee’s Top 5 list of recommended funding priorities.

Tennessee schools have received $4 billion-plus in federal relief funding — a historic amount — to pay for COVID-19-related expenses that range from learning recovery and acceleration programs to improved ventilation systems for school buildings. But that money must be spent or obligated by September 2024, when it will no longer be available to fill recurring expenses like salaries.

Still, many districts are using the federal funds to hire more nurses and counselors temporarily — an approach that kicks the can down the road, said Robert Eby, vice chairman of the state Board of Education.

“I think we need to realize that the [federal] funds are one-time-only,” Eby said at a recent BEP Review Committee meeting. “They weren’t originally in there for recurring costs.”

At the same meeting, Hartgrove addressed funding naysayers who say the federal infusion of cash should be enough for now.

“In reality, these are temporary pots of money to assist with the current crisis. But you have a long-term need, regardless of the pandemic,” she said.

Below is the committee’s letter to the governor:

Memphis school leaders take a second look at budget after Shelby County rejects proposal for facilities increase

2021-06-08T23:35:22+00:00

Shelby County Schools officials will have to find additional money to help them with “Reimagining 901,” the district’s school improvement and construction plan, after the County Commission failed to grant the district the $55 million it requested for building projects and maintenance Monday night.

Instead, the commission dedicated $22.3 million from its capital improvement budget to Shelby County Schools, about the same amount as last year.

District officials were hoping that the requested $55 million would be the first installment in a 10-year, $550 million commitment from the commission, funds that it promised to use to bulldoze, renovate, and build dozens of schools.

“We’re appreciative of our relationship with the County Commission. We want to be able to continue to build out the plan to support our students all across the district,” said Shante Avant, co-chair of the schools’ audit, budget, and finance committee.

The district’s total budget, which includes construction costs, salaries, and academic programs, is $2.2 billion, its largest ever.

Because of the healthy amount of federal aid that has flowed into the school system, some county commissioners scoffed at the district’s $55 million capital improvement request.

For weeks, county budget committee chair Edmund Ford II has voiced concern that what the district requested for facilities was impossible to allocate without raising property tax bills or ballooning the county debt.

Some of the big changes proposed under the 10-year plan include: closing Trezevant High School and merging students into a new Frayser high school in 2025, closing Treadwell Elementary and Treadwell Middle School and merging students into a new Treadwell PreK-8 in 2026, and closing Bethel Grove, Cherokee, and Dunbar Elementary Schools and merging students into a new Orange Mound K-8 in 2027.

Under the initial budget, five schools were set to get new or upgraded gyms: Delano Elementary, Douglass K-8, Grahamwood Elementary, Richland Elementary, and Kingsbury High. Under the revised budget, only Delano is currently slated for a gym addition. The district also removed $800,000 of improvements to Central High School from its list of 2022 projects, and a slew of paving and painting projects.

The revised budget still includes upgrades at Whitehaven High School Stadium and Central High School’s Halle Stadium. Track upgrades at Raleigh Egypt Stadium were recently added. And the district plans to forge ahead with the architectural and design work for the three proposed new schools.

“There’s a list of projects, they’re listed based on priority, so those that are the top priorities, something like an HVAC that controls heating and cooling in the building, we prioritize them,” said Avant.

“Those that are at the top of the priority list are what we will look at first, then we’ll have to go back to see how we might be able to shift some funds for some of the other capital projects.”

Some of that money will come from the more than $750 million the district has received in federal aid dollars, which the district hopes to use for fire alarm system upgrades at several schools. The board will vote on the amended budget and resubmit the budget to the commission for approval on June 16.

Before Monday’s seven-hour County Commission meeting, members of the Moral Budget Coalition campaigned for commissioners to delay the budget vote and asked commissioners to dedicate more dollars toward “vital priorities” such as literacy programs, school nurses, mental health services, public transportation, affordable housing, and relief for renters.

“All these things are things that should be at the core of any budget and that’s why we’re calling it the moral budget,” said Paul Garner, outreach coordinator for Stand for Children Tennessee.

“We wish we would have had the benefit of having a budget calendar available to the public sooner. I wasn’t able to get a copy of the budget itself from the city or county until late April, and that’s when we saw these budgets presented, and so outside of that, we would have to be mind-readers to know what their plans for the budget were,” Garner added.

Tennessee raises teacher base pay to $38,000

2021-05-28T00:16:01+00:00

Tennessee teachers with a bachelor’s degree and no teaching experience will be paid an annual minimum of $38,000 beginning with the new school year, a $2,000 increase over the last two years.

The new salary schedule, approved last week by the State Board of Education, means the minimum pay will also go up by $2,000 for teachers with advanced degrees and additional years of experience.

The increases will help the state’s lowest paid public school teachers, whose local districts provide the state’s minimum required salary. The Department of Education estimates the change will affect about 5,200 out of nearly 63,000 educators.

The uptick is possible under a new state budget taking effect July 1. Gov. Bill Lee and the legislature invested $120 million more toward educator salaries and benefits, a 4% funding increase from a year ago.

The improvement comes as Tennessee lags Southern and national averages for both starting pay and overall salaries. The state is also bracing for a wave of retirements and struggling to secure teachers for hard-to-staff areas such as special education and classes for students learning to speak English.

A recent analysis by the Southern Regional Education Board shows Tennessee’s average educator salary in 2018-19 trailed half of the region’s states, including in border states like Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Early in his administration, Lee vowed to make Tennessee the best state in America to be a teacher, but pandemic-related budget uncertainties and cuts delayed increases planned for the 2020-21 school year.

“We are back on track with teacher increases now,” Charlie Bufalino, the education department’s policy liaison to the legislature, told the state board.

The $2,000 bump in base pay doesn’t mean all teachers will see a noticeable pop in their paychecks, though.

Most school systems use local funds to supplement the state’s minimum salary. Still, the Department of Education estimates the change will cause about half of Tennessee 147 districts to raise at least one level of their local salary schedule, which sets teacher pay based on years of experience and education level.

The new minimum salary for new teachers is 5.6% more than for the current school year, drawing praise from the state’s largest teacher organization.

“We applaud the State Board of Education for exceeding the increase to the salary schedule passed by the legislature,” said President Beth Brown of the Tennessee Education Association. “This will result in a much-needed increase for the state’s lowest paid teachers.”

Districts have flexibility over how to use state funds toward teacher compensation, so it’s uncertain how much of Tennessee’s 4% increase will trickle down to teachers who are paid more than the state minimum.

Because of disagreements on the adequacy of state funding, districts have hired about 10,000 teachers beyond what the state’s formula provides. Any increase could get spread across those salaries too. Districts also could opt to use next year’s increase to hire more staff or improve benefits.

Since restructuring its minimum salary schedule in 2013, Tennessee has increased its base pay most every year. Between 2016 and 2019, the state added about $370 million toward teacher compensation overall.

A report from the Southern Regional Education Board found that many states raised teacher pay substantially in recent years, but salaries barely recovered from cuts and stagnation during the great recession a decade ago. The report urges states to develop comprehensive long-term plans.

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said the governor intends to continue raising teacher pay so districts can be more competitive, especially since many are located along Tennessee’s eight border states.

“Candidly,” Schwinn said, “we’ve got some big challenge areas.”

More than 50% of new Memphis teachers quit. Here’s what the district is doing to reverse the trend.

2021-05-26T21:37:12+00:00

A week into the fall semester of 2020, Rocio Agundis, a second grade teacher at Willow Oaks Elementary School, decided to call it quits.

The pandemic brought on challenges for Agundis, including a hectic adjustment to virtual learning, low attendance rates, technology issues, and missed instructional time. Dealing with these issues served as a breaking point for Agundis, who had been contemplating leaving the teaching profession since her first year in 2017.

Agundis is part of a growing group of young professionals who have left teaching. According to data from the University of Pennsylvania, 44% of new teachers leave the profession within five years. In many urban districts like Shelby County Schools, the turnover rate is even higher at more than 50%, according to a district report.

Local school leaders are hoping that higher pay, more classroom support, and aggressive recruiting will help bring in new hires who will stay.

“We are really excited about the work that we’ve done to really enhance our environment and increase our teacher retention,” said Yolanda Martin, chief of human resources. “Even in the midst of COVID, where people had opposing data, we’re fortunate.”

The hopeful sign “in the midst of COVID” was that the combined number of veteran and new hires staying with the district this year was higher than in previous years, district officials said. At the start of the 2021 school year, the district had 63 teacher vacancies, down from 125 vacancies at the same point the previous year, according to district records.

Martin credited this to initiatives like SCS Cares, a portal that outlines wellness initiatives provided by local agencies, the district, and its insurance provider.

The district is also hoping that better pay will attract and keep teachers. If the 2021-22 budget is approved in June, the starting salary for teachers will increase 7% to $45,965 and the maximum salary will increase nearly 16% to $84,445.

Agundis, who taught from fall 2017 to fall 2020, said that her salary was around $42,000. She added that she would spend as much as $1,200 of her own money each year on supplies and resources, which sometimes included clothes for her students.

“I felt like I was raising them,” said Agundis. “I was also their counselor and nurse, and then maybe I got time to teach.”

Agundis said she dealt with overfilled classrooms, heavy workload, and ever-changing curriculum. She often stayed up late and worked weekends to catch up on grading and planning for her large class. Agundis said she sometimes had more students than she had desks.

“I wanted to try to do five years,” she said.

“You kind of knew what you were getting yourself into. But thinking back, [college and the teacher residency program] do not prepare you. My friend group, who were all teachers — only two are still teachers out of six,” added Agundis, who now works in student affairs at a local university.

To recruit new teachers, the district is ramping up social media engagement and hosting several events, like a recent preview day where principals interviewed more than 200 applicants and extended 40 on-the-spot hiring recommendations.

When used in isolation, such recruitment strategies can increase instability in the profession by creating a “revolving door” that keeps “a supply of bodies going through that revolving door,” said education scholar Samantha Viano, who led a study on the factors that influence teacher turnover.

To get to the root of attrition and keep teachers in the school system, certain issues must be addressed, like salary, enforcement of discipline, consistent administrative support, school safety, small class sizes, and high-quality professional development, added Viano, a professor at George Mason University.

With the recent introduction of a new 10-year strategic plan called Reimagining 901, the district is hoping to tackle some of these issues by creating a new teacher preparation center at Melrose High School, adding more teaching assistants in kindergarten through second grade classrooms, and decreasing discipline problems through social and emotional learning programs.

“A lot of these processes happen at the school level,” Viano said. “If a principal is doing a great job in their school at having a consistent discipline system, supporting their teachers, and keeping the environment safe, this will incentivize teachers to stay there.”

Here’s how Tennessee plans to spend $491 million of federal stimulus funds on education

2021-05-21T20:55:36+00:00

Tennessee’s education department will spend the bulk of its $491 million share of one-time federal funding on new literacy, summer camp, and tutoring initiatives as the state seeks to accelerate student learning after a year of pandemic-related disruptions.

The department also will prioritize classroom resources, teacher training, and programs to prepare more candidates for the teaching profession.

The state released its spending plan this week for its portion of the nearly $4.2 billion that Tennessee is getting for K-12 education through four COVID-19 relief and economic stimulus packages passed by Congress.

School districts will receive the vast majority of the $4.2 billion. They have until June 1 to decide how to spend the largest and most recent round of funding provided under the Biden administration.

The massive infusion of cash — which amounts to two-thirds of what the state spends in a single year on its students — presents a historic opportunity to transform public education in a state that ranks near the nation’s bottom for per-pupil spending.

But all of the money must be spent or allocated by the fall of 2024, which means administrators likely won’t want to put it toward recurring expenses such as raising teacher salaries or hiring full-time specialists to support schools.

Gov. Bill Lee has called the amount of funding “historic” and urges local education officials to “keep student achievement at the center of all decision-making.”

The state education department’s plan for using its $491 million share is due to the U.S. Department of Education on June 7.

The department plans to spend $170.5 million — a third of its allocation — on programs that aim to help students catch up and accelerate learning. Those include learning camps starting this summer and after-school tutoring programs set to launch in the fall.

Another $120.7 million will bolster literacy work in a state where only a third of students test as proficient readers. The money will pay for new resources for classrooms and families and new training for teachers to ground their instruction in phonics.

This month, about 12,000 teachers in prekindergarten through the fourth grade began a two-week training program through an $8 million, two-year contract with New York-based TNTP Inc., a nonprofit group that provides teacher training programs.

Other planned investments include:

$56.5 million for professional development and additional resources to help teachers prepare for their courses.
$35 million to support Tennessee school districts’ adoption of new math textbooks in 2022-23.
$32.6 million for grants going to 21 districts to reimagine high school in ways that better equip students for college and careers, plus a new program to expand access to advanced coursework so high schoolers can earn college credit. The Tennessee-based Niswonger Foundation will recruit teachers and students into Tennessee’s new Advanced Placement Access for All Program, train teachers, and help develop new curriculum.
$32 million for online resources for teaching and learning and improvements for school districts.
$21 million to grow Tennessee’s educator ranks, including grow-your-own initiatives in which districts and teacher training programs partner to provide innovative, no-cost ways to enter the teaching profession.
$17.8 million to support student mental health through grants to school systems or new investments to help schools support students who have experienced trauma in their lives.

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said her department’s spending priorities are based in part on feedback from district leaders and education advocates from across Tennessee.

She plans to spend about $20 million to hire staff and establish systems to monitor how the federal money is being spent, both at the state and local levels. This spring, the legislature authorized the department to hire 22 staff members for that work.

Schwinn has encouraged district leaders to use at least 1% of their federal relief and stimulus funds to establish similar monitoring protocols at the local level.

The state also has an ongoing list of grant opportunities and free resources for students, families, teachers, schools, and districts.

Some grants are competitive, such as one to provide new equipment for schools with state designations specializing in teaching science, technology, engineering, and math. Other resources — like free reading materials for children in kindergarten through the second grade — are available for any Tennessee family who orders them.

You can learn more about the state department’s plan here.

Fight for $15: Shelby County Schools has yet to give a living wage to all employees

2021-05-19T15:10:33+00:00

As advocates nationwide are pushing for a $15 minimum wage, Shelby County and Memphis City governments have already raised the minimum to $15 an hour for all employees. But Shelby County Schools is continuing to pay some part-time employees as low as $10.19 per hour, deterring people from working with the district and contributing to employee turnover.

All full-time SCS employees make at least $15 an hour due to a 2018 initiative from former Supt. Dorsey Hopson, but that adjustment did not include part-time employees.

In May of 2019, current Supt. Joris Ray reaffirmed the district’s “commitment to pay part-time workers a living wage.” Two years later, the district still hasn’t lived up to that commitment, said Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford, Jr. He said approximately 3,100 part-time employees still don’t earn a living wage, a number that has remained relatively unchanged since the County Commission passed a resolution asking the district to study the issue.

When Chalkbeat asked how many part-time employees earn less than $15 an hour, Memphis district officials did not provide updated figures.

Ford said that some non-certified staff, such as full-time nutrition service staff, make more than some employees who have degrees and certifications, including substitute teachers.

“On average, [these employees] are making 30 cents an hour less than cafeteria workers,” he said. “So the person with degrees and certifications could easily decide, well, I might as well be a nutritional services support employee, because I’m going to make 30 cents an hour more and not be in the classroom.”

In April, during the district’s preliminary budget presentation to the Shelby County Commission, Ford asked SCS chief financial officer Toni Williams if there has been any movement toward raising part-time hourly pay to a living wage. Williams assured him that the finance and human resources teams at SCS were working on it.

In its fiscal year 2022 proposed budget, the district allocated funds to bump up 587 part-time employees to a living wage, but stopped short of extending the $15 wage minimum to all employees. District officials will go back before the commission today for a budget hearing.

In 2018, when Ford was on the City Council, he brought forward a resolution that would establish a $15.50 minimum wage for all city employees. It passed. That same year, Mayor Lee Harris announced that all county employees, even temp workers, would receive a $15 minimum wage. Ford said he has been in talks with Williams for nearly a year and a half about instituting $15 minimum wage for all SCS employees, but the district would need to increase its salary budget to $25 million from the $16 million that was proposed during the budget presentation.

“Shelby County government found the money within their budget in order to make that happen,” Ford said during a recent interview. “City government, with the help of the City Council, we were able to find the money in our budget to make it happen. I’m not asking Shelby County Schools to do anything different than Shelby County government and Memphis City government have already done.”

County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, who is also chair of the education committee, added that implementing a $15 minimum wage for all employees would have a broad impact on the community at large.

“There’s so much that an increase taking us out of poverty wages will do, such as allowing people to secure transportation, invest in their children’s education, and take care of medical bills,” Sawyer said. “SCS is the largest employer in Shelby County, the positive ripple effect will be huge.”

Non-certified SCS personnel such as nutrition service employees start at $11.57 per hour, and certified staff such as substitute teachers start between $12 and $13 per hour.

Nearby, Metro Nashville Public Schools pays all of its employees at least $15 per hour.

Former substitute teacher Holly, whose last name has been omitted for the sake of confidentiality, worked for the district for two years while she was in grad school. According to Holly, when she started substituting in 2015, she made $95 to $98 per day, depending on the assignment, or about $12 to $13 per hour for a seven-and-a-half hour day. She said the wage she made was just enough to make ends meet until she graduated and began a career doing hospital research.

“Shelby County Schools is a school system that has a huge need for substitutes,” Holly said. “The district should realize that if they want good people to come in, and because they are stewards of children, even if it’s just for a day, compensate accordingly.”

Jolie Madihalli, president of the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association, said the substitute teacher positions are meant for people like Holly, who are just starting their careers, and retirees wanting to supplement their income.

Regardless of the status of the employee, however, she said that all employees of SCS, including non-certified and part-time support staff, should earn at least $15 minimum wage.

“It’s important for all workers in Shelby County Schools to receive a minimum wage of $15 an hour,” Madihalli said. “Because ultimately, it will have an impact on our community and the socioeconomic status of our students, which we already know affects our students and how they learn.”

Flush with cash, Tennessee makes modest recurring education investments in newly approved budget

2021-04-30T00:58:17+00:00

Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday approved a $42.6 billion budget that allocates state funding toward a 4% pay raise for teachers, shores up the pension plan for educators, and creates a $250 million endowment to bolster student mental health services.

The spending plan also sets aside $141 million for learning recovery programs like summer camps and after-school tutoring to help lagging students catch up from the pandemic. And, because next year’s funding for education is based on this year’s enrollment, it includes extra money to ensure schools aren’t penalized for students who didn’t show up during the pandemic.

The final document — described as “fiscally conservative” by Republicans and a “missed opportunity” by Democrats — passed along party lines under a GOP supermajority. It now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who promised teachers in January that he would increase funding toward their salaries.

While adding tens of millions more to Tennessee’s $5 billion-plus budget for K-12 education, the investments aren’t likely to significantly change Tennessee’s national ranking for student funding. Tennessee is 46th based on the latest data from the National Education Association.

Flush with cash in state coffers because of better-than-expected revenues, GOP leaders brushed aside last-minute pleas from Democrats to dedicate more recurring money to public schools through Tennessee’s education funding formula. Instead, they prioritized investments in one-time spending for infrastructure and capital improvement and maintenance projects, most of which aren’t related to K-12 education.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson called the plan a “good budget that makes smart investments in key areas of our economy.”

Republicans voted down proposals to scuttle the governor’s novel trust fund idea, which will dedicate annual investment income toward student mental health needs. Democrats tried to put that $250 million investment instead toward hiring more school-based counselors, psychologists, social workers, and nurses, which in Tennessee are far below nationally recommended numbers. School leaders have said more specialists are needed to curb soaring rates of student anxiety and depression during the pandemic.

But Republicans stuck with the trust fund, which they said will provide a dedicated stream of resources for student mental health, though it won’t quickly pay for more specialists.

During an emotional speech on the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro explained his vote against the budget for the first time since he took office in 2014.

“At a time when we have the largest recurring balance since I’ve been here, I don’t think that we’re meeting the obligations that we have to public schools in the state like we could,” said the Nashville Democrat, who listed other concerns, too.

Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat from Memphis, said the final spending plan means Tennessee will continue to lag behind most other Southern states in student funding.

“I know that our primary constitutional duty is to pass a state budget, and there are so many good things in here that I think are great,” she said. “My concern is what’s not in here. With this amount of revenue, and also the possibility of other federal funds, we really could have done some transformative things.”

Tennessee also is getting more than $4 billion in federal funds for K-12 education, but that one-time money must be spent by September of 2024 for relief and recovery from COVID-19.

The state budget includes $29 million in recurring funding for school vouchers. The program, which would provide taxpayer money to eligible families toward private school tuition, was halted last year when a judge ruled the voucher law unconstitutional. The case, which the state has since appealed, is awaiting arguments before the Tennessee Supreme Court, and the governor hopes to resurrect the program this fall.

During negotiations with Lee’s administration, GOP leaders halved the governor’s proposed $200 million investment to close internet service gaps. They also cut grants for local governments and a planned food sales tax holiday.

With the savings, they made a one-time deposit of $250 million in the state’s pension fund for teachers and other government employees in order to meet retirement obligations.

They made a $100 investment in the state’s rainy day fund to bring the total for reserves to well over $1 billion. And they didn’t tap into about $238 million in recurring money that could have been allocated for other needs.

“Not only are we back to being structurally balanced, we’ve got excess that will be waiting on us next year,” said Johnson, the Senate majority leader from Franklin.

Beth Brown, president of Tennessee’s largest teacher organization, called the budget priorities disappointing, especially because there’s widespread consensus among educators that students need more specialists to help them recover emotionally and academically from the pandemic.

“The money is there to make a significant increase to K-12 funding, but Gov. Lee and the General Assembly have instead chosen to continue stuffing mattresses full of cash,” said Brown on behalf of the Tennessee Education Association.

Shelby County mayor and superintendent have a $31.6 million difference of opinion on facilities funding

2021-04-22T21:55:08+00:00

There’s about a $31.6 million gap between the amount that Shelby County Schools has requested for building new schools and renovating campuses and the amount that Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has allocated for such projects in his proposed budget. Harris gave Shelby County Commissioners a preview of his budget for fiscal year 2022 on Wednesday.

The $1.4 billion balanced budget includes $427 million for schools and about $23.4 million for construction costs for Shelby County Schools, the largest district in the county. Following Harris’ presentation, which he called “The Road to Recovery,” Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray presented his own school construction proposal, dubbed “Reimagining 901,” which seeks to upgrade facilities for Shelby County Schools.

Ray’s plan proposes about 60 changes to campuses across Memphis and Shelby County, including building five new schools, closing 13 to 15 schools, and merging or renovating several others. To pull off the ambitious plan and build the new facilities, such as more outdoor learning spaces and new STEM classrooms, Ray and the school board need the County Commission to allot $55 million annually towards school construction and renovations for the next 10 years.

Commissioner reactions to the superintendent’s presentation and the $55 million request were mixed.

“You know, I heard through the presentation, “We have challenges throughout,” and for the ask, we have challenges too,” said Commission Chairperson Eddie Jones.

“Realistically, if I were to look at it from a CIP standing, $55 million to SCS would equate to about 70 [percent] of our CIP spend annually, which is $75 million,” added Jones.

The county’s CIP, or capital improvement plan, covers the area’s infrastructure upgrades, which includes improvements to roads and county-owned buildings. Shelby County Schools construction makes up about 31 percent of the CIP in the mayor’s proposed budget. The commissioners will amend and approve the county budget by June 30, and more committee and one-on-one discussions will unfold between now and then.

To meet the superintendent’s request, the county would have to cut some of its own projects or increase its CIP spending, said Commissioner Edmund Ford, Jr. The latter could mean adding debt or raising taxes. The mayor’s budget included no tax increases and no new debt.

“I just had to give you the realistic context because we can ask for whatever, but if it’s not realistic and there’s no real communication, all we’re saying is ‘Hey, we just printed off some stuff on some nice paper and it’s a wish,’” said Ford.

Commissioner Brandon Morrison said she is hopeful that there is the “political will” to make the 10-year, $550 million commitment. Commissioner Tami Sawyer joined Morrison in calling for more accountability measures or a progress tracker to ensure that the money, if given, provides the facilities, such as more space for tutoring and reading programs, necessary to improve student achievement.

The superintendent has made increasing literacy rates a focus in his recent speeches and hopes to raise the on-time graduation rate to 90 percent by 2030. Currently, about 76 percent of the district’s middle school students read below grade level and about 22 percent of students don’t graduate from high school on time, according to SCS data.

“I continue to be disheartened by where we are right now, but that doesn’t mean I lack hope that we can get to these mileposts,” said Sawyer. “When we think about what we’re facing in our broader Memphis community, as you know, regarding crime and acts of violence and mental health issues and things like that, this all loops together. And I’ve said this before, and many Commissioners have agreed with me, I’d rather fund schools than fund jails.”

Raising money for extra staff helped this Memphis school increase math scores during the pandemic

2021-04-21T19:01:06+00:00

When reviewing midyear test results for Believe Memphis Academy’s students, school leaders saw something rare in the era of virtual learning: Students on average scored 10% higher in math compared to last year. Nationally, students are scoring lower in math this year after historic disruptions to education because of the pandemic.

The small charter school in North Memphis enrolls about 330 students and opened under Shelby County Schools in 2018. Shelby County Schools did note unusual increases in test scores among students in kindergarten, first, and second grade districtwide, and assumed parents of virtual learners at home were helping their children on the online tests.

But the charter school’s students are in fourth through seventh grade, and skewed data has not been common for that age group during virtual learning. School leaders did not find any discrepancies that could explain the increase in math skills.

Believe Memphis Academy shares a building in North Memphis with Perea Elementary School and enrolls about 330 students.

They have instead attributed the improvement to having more staff to support students and teachers in virtual learning, including six people dedicated to resolving technology issues and connecting families to resources. That way, teachers can solely focus on instruction.

“Not all is lost because of the pandemic. There’s still bright spots happening,” said Danny Song, head of the school. “Our children are still as resilient as they’ve ever been. As a school, we’re leaning into the things we know that, frankly, our children needed and deserved pre-pandemic.”

Believe Memphis has raised about $1 million, or about a third of its budget, from private donations, grants, and business sponsorships to pay for these extra positions. And even before federal relief money was available for schools, Jason Baker, the school’s director of development and marketing, secured $75,000 in individual and corporate donations to purchase more than 200 laptops for students last spring.

“There’s just a very intimate and very direct connection between the money that we’re raising and being able to have stories like this to tell,” Baker said.

Believe Memphis leaders say more money is desperately needed, and, if spent wisely, can lead to future academic gains.

Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray presented a similar argument in his proposal Friday to hire hundreds of teacher assistants to reduce the adult-to-student ratio in kindergarten through second grade classrooms from 1:25 to 1:13. He plans to use federal relief money — Shelby County Schools will receive $503 million — because the district has long asserted, even in court, that Tennessee does not provide enough money to educate students adequately. The assistants would help with restroom breaks, lunch duties, discipline issues, and reading tutoring.

“We want our teachers to just do what? Teach,” Ray told a crowd of about 150 guests during his annual State of the District address Friday morning. “I know the plight of our teachers. This 1-to-13 ratio is a game-changer.”

Dominique Greer, second from left, speaks during a meeting for members of the Badger Postal Service program at Believe Memphis Academy. The Badger Postal Service program delivers meals and school supplies to the students of Believe Memphis Academy.

At Believe Memphis, the extra staff helped teachers have more time to teach. Teachers have also been meeting more often to dig into testing data for each student and tailoring strategies to help them individually, which allows them to stay connected in an otherwise lonely time.

Because of the extra staff, Addie Willis, the school’s literacy intervention coordinator, said what used to take up to 25 minutes to get students on a video call and settled now takes five minutes.

Addie Willis, a literacy intervention coordinator at Believe Memphis Academy, works with students over Zoom.

“It’s been great for the amount of content we can get through in that period of time,” she said.

To give real-time feedback on classwork and assignments, the school uses software that allows teachers like Willis to see exactly what students see on their laptop screens without waiting for students to grant screen-sharing access.

That saved her time during a recent class when a student misunderstood where the class was in the lesson. The student was on the third page in a presentation instead of the third math problem as instructed. Willis was able to toggle to his screen quickly and notice the mistake, as if she were in the same room with him and could look over his shoulder.

Each homeroom has someone dedicated to checking on students who don’t log in to video calls for class or who may be distracted or frustrated during class. Some students just need a reminder to log on, while others may be having trouble with internet connections or software. Still others may be having a family emergency and school staff may help connect them to resources, such as mental health counseling, meal delivery, or utilities assistance.

Tarus Williamson said her son, Nathaniel Bradshaw, a seventh grader at Believe Memphis, hasn’t missed a beat during virtual learning. When Nathaniel isn’t paying attention to his online classes, it’s common for Williamson to get a text or a call from a staff member to help redirect him.

Shantell Palmer grabs meal kit boxes as members of the Badger Postal Service program at Believe Memphis Academy prepare to head out to deliver the goods to students.

Williamson lives with her adult daughter who works while Williamson watches Nathaniel and her grandson, who attends second grade at another school. Since the pandemic started, Williamson said the Believe Memphis staff have been proactive in reaching out to her to see what she needs.

Back injuries have forced her to rely on a walker, and she doesn’t have a car, so Believe Memphis staff deliver Nathaniel’s weekly supply of school breakfast and lunch every Tuesday. When the school closed last spring, a staff member signed her up for the internet over the phone rather than just sending a link to free Wi-Fi services.

“That nurturing type of feel is required for these babies,” Williamson said. “They’re touching the children virtually.”

Members of the Badger Postal Service program at Believe Memphis Academy celebrate at the end a meeting.

Governor renews proposal for $250 million mental health trust fund for Tennessee students

2021-03-29T21:29:25+00:00

Gov. Bill Lee on Monday reintroduced plans to establish a $250 million trust fund to develop and support mental health services for K-12 students across Tennessee.

The fund, which Lee first proposed last year but slashed after the pandemic slowed the economy, would serve as an endowment to tend to an array of student challenges that have increased during the pandemic like anxiety, depression, and suicide.

Calling mental health a “complicated issue,” the governor announced his proposal at a press conference where he was flanked by legislative leaders including Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton.

“We’re here to shine a light on something that’s incredibly important and often under-discussed,” said Lee, disclosing that one of his own daughters tried to take her life at age 15 as a result of depression.

The announcement comes as Tennessee is receiving billions of dollars in federal relief funds to address pandemic-related needs that include student mental health. That money must be spent by September 2024, which means districts likely won’t want to use it for salaries of long-term employees.

Tennessee does not fund the recommended number of school-based counselors, psychologists, social workers, and nurses. Lawmakers from both parties have filed several bills seeking to improve the state’s provider-to-student ratios, but Lee has not said whether he will support those.

The trust fund would take a longer-term approach to providing clinical services in schools. It also would help pay for suicide and bullying awareness and prevention programs and to train educators on trauma-informed practices.

“Although COVID has been hardest on our state’s young people … today there is hope,” said Marie Williams, who will oversee the work as commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the mental health of Americans of all ages, but especially of teenagers and young adults as their access to support in schools, religious communities, and community programs was interrupted or sometimes cut off completely.

Leaders of the Tennessee General Assembly praised the $250 million addition to the governor’s proposed spending plan, which also includes $120 million more toward teacher pay and $110 million to support new phonics-based reading initiatives.

“We’re delighted to put it back in the budget,” Lt. Gov. McNally said of the Senate.

Sexton, who leads the House, said the state is better positioned to launch the fund now that the economy has rebounded.

“We should never let mental illness be a stigma that characterizes someone for something’s that bad. It’s just a health condition that we need to help,” he said.

How Tennessee school leaders spend billions in federal relief funds will carry huge stakes, both practically and politically

2021-03-24T01:25:47+00:00

For years, one faction of Tennessee’s education community has argued that more money is the answer to improving schools, while another has championed giving families more choices through programs like charter schools and vouchers.

Now the first faction is about to get its wish, and the second is watching closely to see how it goes. The stakes are high, both practically and politically.

Tennessee is receiving $4 billion-plus in federal funds for K-12 education through three pandemic recovery packages. That’s more than two-thirds of what the state spends in a single year on its students.

How the one-time money is spent over the next four years — and whether student achievement goes up as a result — will not only affect a generation of students disrupted by the pandemic. Some are setting this up to be a referendum on the perennial debate over whether more funding is key to improving schools.

“If students are still performing at the same level after we spend all this money, then money’s not the issue. It’s leadership,” said House Education Chairman Mark White, referring to Tennessee superintendents and school board members who have broad discretion over where to invest the massive amount of cash.

The Memphis Republican is among the GOP supermajority that, rallied by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, has embraced school choice policies as the route to jump-start academic gains that mostly have stalled in Tennessee since 2013.

Democrats, meanwhile, say Tennessee chronically under-resources its public schools via a broken funding system. Joined by several educator groups and backed up by reports and research, they’ve called for major investments to reduce class sizes, boost teacher salaries, and hire more specialists like school-based nurses, counselors, social workers, and academic interventionists.

Currently, Tennessee spends about $6 billion a year on education and ranks 46th in the nation in per-pupil spending, according to research compiled by the National Education Association.

Under a decade of GOP leadership, the state has, in fact, upped K-12 funding by more than $1.5 billion. But critics say the increases haven’t kept pace with inflation, forcing local governments to take up the slack and prompting a legal challenge from school systems in Memphis and Nashville over the adequacy of state funding.

National research consistently shows that spending more money on education yields better outcomes for students, including higher test scores, higher graduation rates, and often higher wages as adults.

White, the GOP leader from Memphis, believes the stimulus funding will serve as a test in Tennessee. Lawmakers plan to watch closely to see if students improve.

Rep. Mark White of Memphis chairs a key education committee in Tennessee’s legislature.

“If the needle has not been moved in two years, don’t come here griping because you’re not using your money wisely,” he said, citing student test scores as the primary measure of success.

Claire Smrekar, associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University, said it will take at least three to five years to fairly judge the impact of the federal money. Learning gaps, she noted, aren’t the only challenges the pandemic has imposed on students.

“This isn’t the stock market, and children are not machines,” Smrekar said. “Our students are going to need care, including cultivating their health and mental health. This is a process that will require intentionality, thoughtfulness, and a lot of collaboration.”

Either way, Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn wants every school leader to understand it’s a make-or-break time for educators.

“I’m looking at 900 different ways to explain this moment to school districts so they understand both the opportunity and gravity of this funding,” Schwinn said.

It’s unclear whether and how much students have fallen behind over the last year. State assessments will be given between April 12 and June 10 to determine where students stand.

But it’s increasingly clear that Lee’s administration expects the additional funding to generate test scores that both recover and raise the bar by spring 2025, especially for the state’s youngest students.

“We’re not going to tell district leaders how to spend the money. But how they choose to spend it and what happens will absolutely have an impact on every conversation we have about school funding moving forward,” Schwinn said. “This is a moment in time to show us.”

Districts will get about $2.2 billion of nearly $2.5 billion coming to Tennessee schools from President Joe Biden’s recent American Rescue Plan. Federal law requires that a fifth of the money pay for programs and resources designed to catch up students from pandemic-related learning lags. The rest is to address other pandemic-related needs that could include technology, student mental health services, and school building improvements to reduce risk of virus transmission, among other things.

Many district leaders are still figuring out how to spend the second pot of money, which totals $1.1 billion in Tennessee, much less the much larger third pot. But the clock is already ticking. By law, they must spend or obligate the funds by September 2024.

Beyond launching required learning recovery programs, Montgomery County Superintendent Millard House has his eye on long-neglected buildings in his school system along the Tennessee-Kentucky border. “This is an opportunity to address deferred maintenance and air-quality issues that have been skipped over for years,” he said.

The one-time money can’t be used on recurring expenses like raising teacher salaries or lowering classroom sizes, so school leaders must be especially strategic, said Dale Lynch, executive director of the state’s superintendents organization.

“I think it’s important to remember that this is money sent to us for relief and recovery. It’s to help our children, our school systems, recover from COVID-19,” Lynch said.

School systems must report expenses to the state education department to get reimbursed with the federal funds.

To elevate accountability on the third round of money, Schwinn wants local leaders to submit monthly reports to her department beginning July 1 — and to publicly post spending plan summaries to help parents, students, and educators understand where the money is going.

“We’re also strongly, strongly recommending that districts spend 1% of their funding on staffing to monitor the spending. This is not the kind of work that can be placed on existing staff,” Schwinn said.

Smrekar, with Vanderbilt University, believes the historic infusion of cash should transcend politics to improve and innovate public education. It doesn’t have to be a referendum, she said.

“This is not a contest. It’s a clarion call to come together,” Smrekar said. “The decisions that are made today and implemented tomorrow will become part of the historical legacy of this pandemic.”

Here’s what your Tennessee district will get from Biden’s unprecedented federal investment in schools

2021-03-19T20:13:13+00:00

Tennessee school districts are poised to receive a historic infusion of cash from the latest and largest federal pandemic relief package, with high-poverty districts benefiting the most.

School systems will receive more than $2.2 billion of Tennessee’s nearly $2.5 billion share for K-12 schools from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, according to a list of allocations released Friday by the state education department.

The state will get the remainder of the money to create and support learning-related resources and programs.

As with last year’s two federal stimulus plans, which totaled $1.5 billion for Tennessee schools, the new plan will give more money to districts with more students from low-income families.

Shelby County Schools in Memphis will receive more than $503 million, the largest allocation in the state. Metropolitan Nashville Public Public Schools is due more than $277 million. Districts in Knoxville and Chattanooga are to receive $114 million and $91 million, respectfully.

Federal law requires spending a fifth of the money for programs and resources designed to catch up students from possible pandemic-related learning lags. The rest is to address other pandemic-related needs, but district leaders will have broad discretion on what to prioritize. The spending list could include technology, student mental health services, and school building improvements to reduce risk of virus transmission, among other things.

“I think people understand both the excitement and the gravity of this opportunity,” Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn told Chalkbeat last month as Congress prepared to approve the latest plan. “We’ve never had anything like this amount of relief funding in such a short period of time. It is our moment in time to really invest wisely.”

Federal law says all of the money is available through the end of September 2023. However, districts may get an extra year to spend or allocate the funds, which would make the actual deadline September 2024.

Below, look up how much your district is expected to receive.

District	ESSER 3.0 Allocation
ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT	$55,198,034.84
ALAMO CITY SCHOOLS	$906,335.98
ALCOA CITY SCHOOLs	$2,146,024.57
ANDERSON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$11,704,957.98
ARLINGTON CITY SCHOOLS	$6,592,510.24
ATHENS CITY SCHOOLS	$5,323,860.58
BARTLETT CITY SCHOOLS	$17,630,335.11
BEDFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS	$15,927,411.96
BELLS CITY SCHOOLS	$781,010.64
BENTON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$5,955,621.85
BLEDSOE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$5,028,191.89
BLOUNT COUNTY SCHOOLS	$16,921,351.81
BRADFORD SPECIAL SCHOOLS	$686,523.08
BRADLEY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$15,709,700.96
BRISTOL CITY SCHOOLS	$8,331,450.81
CAMPBELL COUNTY SCHOOLS	$15,824,276.61
CANNON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$3,595,827.33
CARTER COUNTY SCHOOLS	$15,034,317.91
CHEATHAM COUNTY SCHOOLS	$6,216,226.47
CHESTER COUNTY SCHOOLS	$4,871,721.01
CLAIBORNE COUNTY SCHOOLs	$11,595,629.56
CLAY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$3,266,978.76
CLEVELAND CITY SCHOOLS	$12,177,478.39
CLINTON CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS	$1,514,886.35
COCKE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$15,192,004.87
COFFEE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$8,370,808.75
COLLIERVILLE CITY SCHOOLS	$16,014,595.45
CROCKETT COUNTY SCHOOLS	$3,233,190.84
CUMBERLAND COUNTY SCHOOLS	$15,137,618.41
METROPOLITAN NASHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS	$276,736,466.07
DAYTON CITY SCHOOLS	$2,490,367.08
DECATUR COUNTY SCHOOLS	$3,578,824.52
DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT	$6,694,579.64
DICKSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT	$13,378,146.86
DYER COUNTY SCHOOLS	$6,205,461.78
DYERSBURG CITY SCHOOLS	$8,982,226.71
ELIZABETHTON CITY SCHOOLS	$5,659,315.09
ETOWAH CITY SCHOOLS	$949,116.99
FAYETTE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$8,989,215.50
Local Educational Agency	ESSER 3.0 Allocation
FAYETTEVILLE CITY SCHOOLS	$2,723,226.72
FENTRESS COUNTY SCHOOLS	$6,738,404.09
FRANKLIN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$9,769,107.64
FRANKLIN SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$2,974,297.76
GERMANTOWN CITY SCHOOLS	$11,307,497.65
GIBSON SPECIAL DISTRICT	$3,539,429.05
GILES COUNTY SCHOOLS	$7,695,740.98
GRAINGER COUNTY SCHOOLS	$7,397,159.67
GREENE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$14,723,890.93
GREENEVILLE CITY SCHOOLS	$4,578,492.02
GRUNDY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$5,307,676.01
HAMBLEN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$20,173,061.82
HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$91,025,240.10
HANCOCK COUNTY SCHOOLS	$4,238,450.88
HARDEMAN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$9,460,324.64
HARDIN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$9,169,587.89
HAWKINS COUNTY SCHOOLS	$16,401,088.41
HAYWOOD COUNTY SCHOOLS	$7,397,302.30
HENDERSON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$6,736,662.52
HENRY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$7,863,862.34
HICKMAN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$7,854,126.08
HOLLOW ROCK-BRUCETON SCHOOL DISTRICT	$1,788,500.19
HOUSTON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$2,702,785.82
HUMBOLDT CITY SCHOOLS	$4,435,285.59
HUMPHREYS COUNTY SCHOOLS	$5,044,203.80
HUNTINGDON SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$3,048,351.93
JACKSON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$3,920,689.80
JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$14,091,303.91
JOHNSON CITY SCHOOLS	$13,881,917.90
JOHNSON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$5,994,514.37
KINGSPORT CITY SCHOOLS	$17,075,503.09
KNOX COUNTY SCHOOLS	$114,112,117.74
LAKE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$3,322,311.08
LAKELAND CITY SCHOOLS	$2,854,317.24
LAUDERDALE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$13,389,602.17
LAWRENCE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$15,665,884.01
LEBANON SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$4,876,525.34
LENOIR CITY SCHOOLS	$2,919,288.24
LEWIS COUNTY SCHOOLS	$4,215,960.63
Local Educational Agency	ESSER 3.0 Allocation
LEXINGTON CITY SCHOOL	$1,920,851.84
LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$5,849,761.55
LOUDON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$6,785,148.68
MACON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$8,858,980.75
MADISON CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL	$37,688,295.80
MANCHESTER CITY SCHOOLS	$3,025,891.71
MARION COUNTY SCHOOLS	$8,085,679.54
MARSHALL COUNTY SCHOOLS	$8,164,943.41
MARYVILLE CITY SCHOOLS	$4,097,098.62
MAURY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$18,181,045.91
MCKENZIE SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$2,500,583.78
MCMINN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$11,226,447.18
MCNAIRY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$9,360,830.06
MEIGS COUNTY SCHOOLS	$4,022,323.80
MILAN CITY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$3,516,983.84
MILLINGTON CITY SCHOOLS	$7,131,788.25
MONROE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$11,015,950.17
MONTGOMERY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$58,471,762.18
MOORE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$964,716.03
MORGAN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$6,526,608.41
MURFREESBORO CITY SCHOOLS	$12,671,280.46
NEWPORT CITY SCHOOLS	$4,537,925.50
OAK RIDGE CITY SCHOOLS	$7,008,669.91
OBION COUNTY SCHOOLS	$5,838,276.21
ONEIDA SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$2,373,088.99
OVERTON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$6,214,574.99
PARIS CITY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$4,395,905.14
PERRY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$3,320,066.56
PICKETT COUNTY SCHOOLS	$1,358,272.85
POLK COUNTY SCHOOLS	$4,737,913.05
PUTNAM COUNTY SCHOOLS	$20,676,389.97
RHEA COUNTY SCHOOLS	$9,729,742.20
RICHARD CITY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$578,680.99
ROANE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$13,259,577.61
ROBERTSON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$14,762,182.91
ROGERSVILLE CITY SCHOOLS	$1,871,172.12
RUTHERFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS	$43,774,580.29
SCOTT COUNTY SCHOOLS	$7,987,378.54
SEQUATCHIE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$4,979,360.42
Local Educational Agency	ESSER 3.0 Allocation
SEVIER COUNTY SCHOOLS	$27,523,341.79
SHELBY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$503,145,852.64
SMITH COUNTY SCHOOLS	$4,919,156.22
SOUTH CARROLL SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$865,882.05
TENNESSEE PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL COMMISSION	$3,844,150.89
STEWART COUNTY SCHOOLS	$3,648,494.74
SULLIVAN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$20,610,150.34
SUMNER COUNTY SCHOOLS	$31,463,481.60
SWEETWATER CITY SCHOOLS	$3,034,329.31
TENNESSEE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND	$1,196,524.73
TENNESSEE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF	$1,781,091.02
TIPTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT	$17,841,500.22
TRENTON SPECIAL SCHOOLS	$2,882,182.33
TROUSDALE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$2,156,721.70
TULLAHOMA CITY SCHOOLS	$7,077,371.76
UNICOI SCHOOLS	$4,691,566.32
UNION CITY SCHOOLS	$5,047,859.59
UNION COUNTY SCHOOLS	$7,923,593.62
VAN BUREN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$2,059,494.16
WARREN COUNTY SCHOOLS	$18,725,991.53
WASHINGTON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$11,963,190.47
WAYNE COUNTY SCHOOLS	$4,803,019.16
WEAKLEY COUNTY SCHOOLS	$8,694,049.76
WEST CARROLL SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT	$2,331,749.28
WEST TENNESSEE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF	$344,665.30
WHITE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT	$8,746,589.56
WILLIAMSON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$5,222,354.19
WILSON COUNTY SCHOOLS	$12,554,039.91
YORK INSTITUTE	$1,338,852.87
Total Flowthrough to Districts	$2,238,874,272.90

How much Tennessee school districts will get in latest pandemic relief

Source: Tennessee Department of Education

Sam Park contributed to this story.

Proposal would change Tennessee law to let for-profit companies run charter schools

2021-03-18T02:50:08+00:00

Tennessee charter school law, which currently allows only nonprofit organizations to run the independently operated public schools, would open the door to for-profit companies under a bill approved Wednesday by a key legislative committee.

The Senate Education Committee voted 6-3 for a proposal backed by National Heritage Academies, a Michigan-based company and one of the nation’s largest private education providers.

Most of the major education advocacy groups in Tennessee — including the Tennessee Charter School Center and organizations representing the state’s school boards and superintendents — oppose the legislation.

“We’re not supportive of taxpayer dollars being used to earn a profit when they should be used to support students and teachers,” said Elizabeth Fiveash, chief policy officer for the charter center.

The vote tees up another battle over a proposal that critics say would privatize public education and proponents argue would expand education choices for families. In 2019, after a bitter fight, the legislature passed a school voucher law that has since been overturned by the courts and is under appeal

“I am for expanding parental choice anywhere I can do it,” said Sen. Mike Bell, a Riceville Republican who is co-sponsoring the charter bill with Rep. David Hawk, a Republican from Greeneville.

“It’s just a different organization and a different way to manage an operation that would operate a charter school,” Bell told the Senate Education Committee. “It allows them to raise capital that’s not available to not-for-profit charter schools. It allows them to take their money and reinvest it back.”

Gov. Bill Lee has sought to open more high-quality charters that show academic gains, but on Wednesday his office declined to give a position on the measure. “At this time, we’re tracking the bill as it moves through the legislature,” said spokeswoman Casey Black.

Charters are publicly funded schools that operate independent of the local district and under flexibility aimed at innovation. About 12% of the nation’s 7,400 U.S. charter schools have for-profit operators, and the rest are nonprofits. All charter schools are free to attend, though some may charge fees for certain activities.

When Tennessee passed its 2002 law allowing charters, lawmakers stipulated that the schools must be run by nonprofit operators. Several attempts to allow for-profits have since failed, most recently in 2014 when then-House Speaker Beth Harwell killed a similar measure in a scheduling committee after it cleared the legislature’s education panels. At the time, she said privatizing charters would harm Tennessee’s relatively young charter sector.

Tennessee now has 115 charter schools, with the majority authorized by districts in Memphis and Nashville. A 2019 change to state law shifted their appellate oversight from the Tennessee State Board of Education to a new state commission beginning this year.

“I think we’ve made much progress in the 20 years since charter schools were authorized,” said Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Memphis Democrat who voted against Bell’s bill. “There does not seem to be a problem with having charter management organizations as nonprofit managers to manage our charter schools. So my question to you is why now? Why are we introducing an element that is profit-motivated into our schools?”

Sen. Mike Bell

Bell argued that Tennessee’s charter law needs to be updated to allow more choices and that his bill ensures participation by only high-quality for-profits. “We put the guardrails in here to say, if we do this, we’re going to make sure that they have a track record of high performance,” he said.

National Heritage Academies operates 96 charter schools for 60,000-plus students in nine states and has a mixed academic record. The company, which was founded by a prominent Republican family in Michigan, has hired The Ingram Group, an influential consulting business in Nashville, to lobby for the bill.

“The for-profits have tried to come into Tennessee for a long time, and I think the General Assembly will be open to a discussion on that,” House Education Committee Chairman Mark White told Chalkbeat. “Whether it goes anywhere, I don’t know. But a nonprofit and a for-profit can be a lot alike, depending on how it’s managed.”

The bill is scheduled to be heard next week in a House education subcommittee.

Correction: March 17, 2021: A previous version of this story said the bill was opposed by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education. A spokeswoman said the group is studying the measure and has not taken a position.

Tennessee will get another $2.5 billion in federal stimulus funding for schools. Tell us how your district should spend its share.

2021-03-15T21:19:17+00:00

Tennessee schools are about to be on the receiving end of a historic windfall of federal cash — nearly $2.5 billion, to be exact.

We’d like to know how you think school leaders should spend it.

Last week’s passage of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan adds billions more to the $1.5 billion the state already has received for education from the first two stimulus plans approved during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn calls the total a “stunning amount of money,” with high-poverty districts getting the largest shares.

District leaders will have a lot of flexibility on how to spend the latest federal investment, but must dedicate a fifth of it to learning recovery programs like summer school, after-school tutoring, and extending the school day. The rest can go for other pandemic-related needs.

We want to hear from students, parents, and educators about the greatest needs you see as Tennessee seeks to recover from the pandemic. Please take our brief survey and let us know if we can follow up with you.

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Judge’s surprise recusal could delay Tennessee’s long court battle over school funding — again

2021-03-02T16:05:52+00:00

A judge has recused herself from presiding over a highly anticipated court case to decide whether Tennessee adequately funds its schools.

Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle did not offer a reason for her recusal in a two-page order issued on Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court. But the order came several days after Rep. Tim Rudd, a Republican from Murfreesboro, filed a resolution seeking to remove Lyle from the bench over her ruling last year to expand absentee voting during the coronavirus pandemic. Rudd, who chairs the House subcommittee on elections and campaign finance, said the ruling amounted to judicial overreach.

Lyle’s recusal, which will require reassigning the school funding case to another judge, could affect the timeline for trying the nearly 6-year-old legal challenge that Shelby County Schools and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools brought against the state. She had blocked off a month beginning this Nov. 15 to hear the matter in her Nashville courtroom.

The state attorney general’s office had no comment about the development, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. But Charles Grant, an attorney representing the school systems, expressed surprise.

“Until we know who the new judge is and whether the judge can accommodate a four-week trial, we won’t know whether this can proceed as planned,” Grant said.

The outcome of the school funding trial could have major implications for K-12 education in Tennessee and, if successful, force the state to invest more money in its public school students.

Tennessee’s two largest districts argue the state doesn’t allocate enough funding to provide an adequate education, especially in urban school systems that serve more students who live in poverty, have special needs, or are learning English. But the state is defending its funding formula and contends that such decisions should be left up to elected officials.

The lingering case was expected to go to trial in 2019, but the timeline slowed when the presiding judge, Claudia Bonnyman, retired in January of that year. Since taking over, Lyle has refereed numerous hearings and motions, most recently amid logistical challenges the pandemic created.

Lyle was appointed to the bench in 1996 by Republican Gov. Don Sundquist.

Based in the state capital, Davidson County Chancery Court is a hub for cases related to state government, including disputes about funding, taxes, and legislation.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to show the state attorney general’s office has no comment.

Mental health centers, teacher assistants, building ventilation: Memphis leaders suggest ideas for spending COVID relief money

2021-02-28T01:21:49+00:00

Shelby County School officials unveiled a two-year $170 million plan to board members, offering a first look at how Tennessee’s largest district wants to spend its second round of federal relief money after a year of pandemic disruption to students.

At the board’s planning meeting Saturday, district officials suggested expanding its mental health services, hiring additional teacher assistants for young readers, and improving building ventilation.

Toni Williams, the district’s finance chief, said she wanted to bring some ideas to school board members before finishing the district’s application for the federal relief money. So, the proposal will change.

Tutonial “Toni” Williams, the district’s chief of finance

“God has been great. We have a whole pot of money we can look at,” she said. The district spent most of the first round of federal relief money approved last spring on laptops, internet hotspots, and protective equipment for students and teachers. Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said the state could also receive $2.6 billion if Congress approves a third round of relief money.

For the second round of federal funds, most of the board’s ideas were similar to district officials’ suggestions. But members wanted more money spent on building maintenance, athletic fields, and a $1,000 bonus for all school staff this year.

Board members were eager to go beyond what the district proposed for expanding mental health services. It would create two new mental health centers that would be open for student and family therapy through 7 p.m., with five employees each. The district’s existing mental health center employs licensed psychologists and social workers for student therapy and can be deployed to schools when there is a crisis.

“We’re going to have students coming back… most of them who have experienced trauma dealing with death, after death, after death,” said board member Stephanie Love. “And nevermind what they’re going through at home and the community.”

The proposal to add 250 teacher assistants in kindergarten and first grade classrooms is a carryover from the district’s ask to county commissioners, the local funding source for schools, in an effort to boost reading skills and reduce the number of students each employee supports.

Superintendent Joris Ray said he hopes county commissioners will help pay for those teacher assistants once the federal money runs out. Until then, district officials will have to inform the newly hired teacher assistants that they may only be employed two years.

“The work can’t wait,” he said.

The building improvements include replacing four schools’ heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and installing ventilation technology known as needlepoint bipolar ionization in all schools. Manufacturers claim the technology can stop novel coronavirus particles from re-entering air that circulates in a room. National engineering experts have called for more independent research on the technology before recommending it for use in schools.

The district’s presentation did not list a cost because officials are still seeking estimates, but Ray told Gov. Bill Lee last fall he expected it to cost about $26 million.

The district will receive $224 million in federal relief money, but some funding went to charter schools and summer camps. Below are the rest of the district’s proposals:

Expand teacher training for using laptops and other technology in the classroom to prepare for when all students return to buildings.
Hire more virtual teachers with special certification when the district has trouble filling vacancies.
Launch ACT test preparation for high school students in the summer and recruit college students to tutor during the school year.
Hire 36 specialists to help students in the lowest performing schools catch up in literacy and math.
Create a summer camp for English language learners.
Hire and train more staff for “reset rooms” where students can go to receive some behavior intervention instead of in-school suspension.
Buy a screening tool to help staff understand students’ emotional needs; train staff to spot signs of trauma.
Sanitize sports equipment, including helmets, to meet national standards during the pandemic.

Tennessee could get up to $2.6 billion more for K-12 education with third federal stimulus package for COVID

2021-02-23T23:26:17+00:00

Tennessee could receive up to $2.6 billion more to spend on K-12 education if Congress approves a third coronavirus stimulus package, Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said Tuesday.

That funding, which is part of President Joe Biden’s massive American Rescue proposal to deal with the pandemic, would add to the $1.5 billion the state already has received for education from the first two stimulus plans.

The total of about $4 billion in a single year would mark an unprecedented federal investment in Tennessee education. It would dwarf the $500 million in federal money received beginning in 2010 to overhaul the state’s education system over five years.

“It’s a stunning amount of money,” Schwinn told Chalkbeat of the combined stimulus packages. “In some ways, it’s overwhelming, but it’s also a great opportunity if we invest it wisely.”

Although the latest stimulus package is still working its way through Congress, Schwinn expects the amount for education funding to remain intact. She estimates Tennessee’s share at between $2.3 billion and $2.6 billion, which should arrive by April.

“I’m encouraging districts to make their plans now for 3.0 now,” she said. “We really want districts to have cohesive plans so they make sense for communities and kids.”

School systems have yet to spend most of the money from the first two stimulus packages, which were distributed based on their number of students from low-income families.

Last summer, Tennessee received about $260 million from the first package and $59 million through another federal education fund that the governor has discretion over.

The second package, which was approved by Congress in December, brought $1.1 billion to Tennessee. About $990 million of that goes to local school systems, and districts must submit their spending plans to the state by March 15. The governor’s discretionary education fund, meanwhile, got another $100 million boost from the second round of money.

In presentations Tuesday before the Senate and House finance panels, Schwinn outlined plans for spending the 10% of stimulus funds allocated to the state education department. Most of that $110 million portion from the second package will go toward students’ long-term needs, while the first round primarily helped with the immediate costs of reopening schools safely during the pandemic.

About $47 million will help pay for a new tutoring program approved by lawmakers last month to catch students up because of learning disruptions since last March. Another $20 million will go toward programs and grants to add more teachers, since about a third of them are eligible for retirement. And $20 million is needed, Schwinn said, to make Tennessee’s digital systems, including for the state’s comprehensive new literacy initiative, easier for districts, educators, and families to use.

Another $10.5 million will bolster work that began from the first stimulus package to provide more literacy resources, expand rural access to advanced courses, and continue the state’s partnership with PBS television stations to serve families without internet service.

As for the latest stimulus money going to school systems, Schwinn said Congress was clear that it should be spent on stemming learning loss and making school facilities safer for students. Ultimately, though, districts have discretion on spending the money, as long as it’s aligned with the intent of the legislation to provide relief from the pandemic.

All funding from the first two packages must be spent by Sept. 30, 2023.

“That is a tight timeline to spend this amount of funding,” Schwinn told the Senate panel, noting districts have to seek reimbursement from the state for their spending. “There is not a mechanism right now where we would be able to ask for a further extension, so it is a hard and fast deadline under which we are operating.”

Schwinn said up to $72 million out of the latest $100 million allocation to the governor’s discretionary fund must be offered to Tennessee’s 525 eligible private schools. The state is working through that process now, and any money that’s not sought by private schools will be reallocated to public schools.

“What we have seen is that the majority of our private schools are choosing not to participate,” Schwinn said, “either because the reporting requirements are too high, they’re participating in the paycheck recovery program, or they don’t want to submit the information to federal entities.”

The next round of federal money proposed for the governor’s discretionary fund is to go to higher education.

Tennessee Democrats seek to address ‘broken’ education funding formula through flurry of bills

2021-02-18T23:33:27+00:00

Calling the state’s system for funding public education “broken,” Tennessee Democrats on Thursday urged the legislature to fix it and make a major investment that would hire more school-based nurses, counselors, and social workers.

They also proposed boosting funding toward teacher salaries, reducing class sizes in high-need elementary schools, developing grants for special education, and increasing the number of specialists to work with struggling students.

“We are in a crisis situation,” said Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, who chairs the Senate Democratic caucus. “It’s depriving our students of the resources that they need to be successful, and it’s driving teacher shortages.”

Democrats made their case 10 days after Republican Gov. Bill Lee unveiled his $41.8 billion proposed budget that includes almost $342 million more for K-12 education than this year. Lee wants more money for teacher pay, literacy programs, charter school facilities, and other needs.

Laine Arnold, Lee’s spokeswoman, said later Thursday the governor stands by his legislative priorities. They include initiatives passed during a special session last month to launch summer school and tutoring programs to help students who fall behind because of the pandemic. Federal stimulus money will help pay for some of those.

But Democrats say Tennessee needs to invest at least $1 billion more from state coffers, including for wraparound services to support students from low-income families, just to move out of the bottom 10 states based on per-student funding. Despite almost a decade of new investments, Tennessee ranks 46th in the nation, according to research compiled by the National Education Association.

The two perspectives offer a sneak preview of arguments expected in October when a major legal challenge to the state’s education funding system is set to go to trial. In a nearly 6-year-old lawsuit, school districts in Memphis and Nashville contend Tennessee doesn’t allocate enough money for K-12 education, especially for its urban students. The state defends the system and contends that decisions about state funding for students should be left up to elected officials.

National research consistently shows that spending more money on education yields better outcomes for students, including higher test scores, higher graduation rates, and sometimes even higher wages as adults.

Democrats couldn’t provide an estimated price tag for their legislative package and said those numbers were still being researched. They are significantly outnumbered in Tennessee’s legislature and acknowledged they need bipartisan support to pass their proposals, a few of which mirror legislation sponsored in the past by Republican lawmakers. They also believe the majority of Tennesseans support more money for education.

“Every year, you will hear politicians from this state say that education is the most important investment we make, but we just frankly don’t live up to it,” said Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro of Nashville.

His bill seeks to revise the state’s funding formula to ensure Tennessee gives students an adequate education instead of leaving local governments to take up the slack.

“There is just not enough money in the formula,” said Yarbro, saying there’s insufficient funds to hire enough teachers or pay for their full salaries. “It’s time that we start being honest with ourselves about that and take it on as the priority that we all say it is.”

A GOP spokeswoman responded that the Republican Party is proud of its record on education in Tennessee since taking control of the legislature in 2010.

“For generations under Democratic Party control, Tennessee was ranked near or at the bottom in education performance — by almost every metric,” said Darlene Schlicher, press secretary for the Senate Republican Caucus. “Republicans have fully funded [the state’s funding formula] and spent education dollars for the benefit of teachers and students rather than administrators and union officials. As a result, Tennessee became one of the most improved states in the nation in education.”

Lawmakers are to resume business on Monday. Legislative meetings were canceled this week because of hazardous weather-related travel conditions.

Broadband, teacher pay, literacy are priorities in Tennessee governor’s proposed budget

2021-02-09T02:13:30+00:00

Declaring he wants to solve Tennessee’s broadband dilemma once and for all, Gov. Bill Lee proposed spending $200 million to close internet service gaps, an investment that he says will benefit students as well as the economy.

The plan is part of a $41.8 billion proposed budget the Republican governor unveiled Monday during his annual State of the State Address at the Capitol in Nashville. The proposal for the fiscal year starting July 1 includes almost $342 million more for K-12 education than allocated in the current year’s budget.

“A significant, one-time investment, combined with significant private investment, will get broadband to just about every community in Tennessee, and tonight, that’s exactly what I’m proposing,” Lee said during a joint session of the Tennessee General Assembly.

The governor also wants more money for educator pay, literacy programs, and charter school facilities using better-than-expected revenues during the coronavirus pandemic.

And he’s requesting $29 million to start a school voucher program this fall should the Tennessee Supreme Court side with his administration and restore a 2019 voucher law overturned last spring. The high court agreed last week to take on the case.

Teacher pay and literacy were the biggest-ticket new items for education. The governor proposed a 4% increase toward educator compensation at a cost of $120 million, plus an additional $110 million to support new phonics-based reading initiatives his education chief, Penny Schwinn, announced last month. Lee also is seeking $24 million to help charter school operators with their building costs.

Lee’s spending plan would maintain funding for public schools through its complex formula known as the Basic Education Program — and set aside another $20 million to help offset this year’s statewide enrollment decline during the pandemic. But it’s uncertain if that amount would cover what is needed, since next year’s funding is largely based on this year’s enrollment. Last fall, enrollment was down by 33,000, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.

Democrats and Tennessee’s largest teacher organization had urged Lee to go bigger toward public education this year. After reviewing his proposals, they were disappointed he asked for more new money for capital improvements — $931 million in all — than for education. The governor also wants to add $50 million to get the state’s rainy day fund to a record $1.5 billion.

“Tennessee ranks 46th in the nation for student funding, and Tennessee teachers earn less today than they did a decade ago after inflation,” said Hendrell Remus, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Caucus. He called Lee’s proposed teacher increase “an insult to educators.”

The president of the Tennessee Education Association praised Lee’s broadband proposal, but not his overall education budget.

“Long before the pandemic hit our state, our public schools were already suffering under a plague of chronic underfunding,” said Beth Brown, noting an urgent need for more school counselors, social workers, nurses, librarians and support staff. “It is irresponsible and harmful to Tennessee children for Gov. Lee to continue this pattern of insufficient state investment in our schools, especially at a time when Tennessee has the largest revenue surpluses in state history.”

Aides described the governor’s spending plan as “cautiously optimistic” as the pandemic continues. Last year, the emerging virus prompted Lee to roll back many of his education proposals, including a $250 million trust fund to support and grow mental health services for students in Tennessee’s highest-risk schools. This year, Lee is proposing $6.5 million in recurring funding toward student mental health.

The legislature will decide whether he gets his wish list. Lawmakers reconvened their regular session this week following a four-day special session on education last month. They’ll vote on a final budget before adjourning this spring.

Teacher pay bump passes as Tennessee lawmakers wrap up special session on education

2021-01-22T20:19:27+00:00

Tennessee educators could get a small pay increase for the rest of the school year, even as state lawmakers who voted Friday for the boost acknowledged that many teachers won’t notice a difference in their paychecks.

Concurring with a Senate vote on Thursday, the House unanimously approved $42 million more toward instructional salaries from Jan. 1 through June 30, including $12 million to cover what local governments would normally have to match.

The pay hike equates to a 2% funding increase toward the salaries of teachers and other certified educators like school administrators, counselors, librarians, and social workers.

The move wrapped up the legislature’s four-day special session on education, called by Gov. Bill Lee to address learning disruptions for students during the coronavirus pandemic, plus perennial challenges with teacher pay and literacy. On Thursday, lawmakers voted to strengthen Tennessee’s third-grade retention requirements; create new summer and after-school learning programs; require schools to provide phonics-based reading instruction; and hold teachers, schools, and districts harmless from the results of state tests scheduled for this spring.

“What was accomplished here is remarkable,” the Republican governor said after the GOP-controlled legislature completed its work. The changes, he said, will make Tennessee the nation’s “most aggressive state” to get students back on track.

But Democrats criticized the “rush” to enact sweeping policy changes that will affect students and schools for years. They singled out the governor’s plan to require schools to hold back third graders beginning in 2022-23 if they aren’t considered proficient at reading and don’t take advantage of new programs to improve.

“It is absolutely reckless to change our retention policy in a four-day special session,” said Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro of Nashville. “It’s not something the legislature should rubber stamp without hearing from our educators and the people who are going to be affected.”

Lawmakers did not take up a controversial bill designed to push school districts in Memphis and Nashville to provide in-person learning options during the pandemic. The proposal, introduced earlier this week by GOP leaders, could take away state funding from school systems that stay all virtual.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth said he hopes the bill will pass during the regular session ahead. “It is critical that we get schools back open so that there is an in-person option,” said the Portland Republican.

Earlier Friday, Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray posted a video message begging lawmakers to reject the bill. “As you’re making decisions on behalf of students in Shelby County, please don’t hurt my children,” said Ray, who insists that remote learning is the right plan for Memphis, where virus spread has been high.

The 2% funding boost toward salaries will more realistically translate into a 1% pay bump by the time the increased allocation moves through the state’s education funding formula known as the Basic Education Program, or BEP.

Because Tennessee districts hire about 10,000 teachers beyond what the formula funds, the increase would get spread across those salaries too, or not at all, if school systems opt to invest in more staff or benefits.

Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, who chairs the House Finance Committee, said getting state dollars into the pockets of teachers is complex, though the intent is to boost teacher pay.

“We can never tell a teacher that they’re going to get a percentage raise,” said the Signal Mountain Republican. “All that we can tell them is that we have allocated funds for X% raise based on the BEP formula. Their local district in their budget will determine how those dollars are actually spent.”

Democrats characterized the increase as paltry and even insulting to teachers who are working longer hours and adapting to changing teaching models during the pandemic. Rep. Gloria Johnson, a retired teacher from Knoxville, compared the increase to a penny tip for a restaurant server.

Others said the challenge spotlights inadequacies in both the state’s funding formula and its level of funding. While it’s invested $1.5 billion more in education over the last decade, Tennessee still ranks near the bottom in spending per pupil. A 5-year-old lawsuit brought by the state’s two largest school districts challenges the adequacy of the state’s education investment and is scheduled to go to trial in October.

The governor has said he plans soon to propose a 4% increase toward teacher pay in next year’s state budget, which would take effect on July 1.

The raise for the rest of this year, while retroactive to Jan. 1, could take some time to process. “Those funds will go to the districts,” Hazlewood said. “I would anticipate that they will not pay the teachers until they get the state dollars.”

Tennessee teachers would get immediate 2% pay hike, then another 2% in July under governor’s proposal

2021-01-15T23:15:28+00:00

Tennessee teachers would get a 2% pay raise from Jan. 1 through June, then another 2% boost July 1 under a proposal by Gov. Bill Lee, a spokeswoman said Friday.

Legislation filed by legislative leaders and backed by the governor would allocate more than $42 million for additional compensation for educators in the current fiscal year that ends on June 30. That amount would cover both state and local contributions to immediate salary increases for teachers and other certified education staff.

If the retroactive raise is approved, the governor plans to ask the legislature for another 2% hike for next year, said spokeswoman Laine Arnold. Lee is expected to present his proposed budget to the legislature in February for the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Teacher pay is one of the key issues that lawmakers are expected to take up beginning Jan. 19 during a special legislative session on education.

On Thursday, the governor released his first proposals for lawmakers to consider next week. He promised more money for teacher salaries but did not specify how much.

A 4% total increase would match what he proposed a year ago but rolled back after the pandemic emerged and the state’s economy sputtered.

House education chairman Mark White said Friday that while he supports a 4% raise, he wants every teacher in Tennessee to benefit — something that isn’t guaranteed because of the way the state funds schools. Under the state’s funding formula, school systems that meet certain average salary thresholds can put state instructional money toward benefits or hiring additional teachers or staff instead of raises.

It’s uncertain whether lawmakers could take away that local flexibility.

Tennessee has steadily invested in teacher pay, including about $370 million since 2016, but continues to lag both regionally and nationally. A recent analysis by the Southern Regional Education Board shows Tennessee’s average educator salary in 2018-19 trailed half of the region’s states, including in border states like Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Educator groups say the pandemic has only spotlighted the pay issue, with teachers working longer hours with little training or support and risking exposure to the virus when instructing students in person.

Teacher pay, school funding, mental health: Large districts look ahead to Tennessee legislative session

2021-01-06T00:25:43+00:00

The leaders of Tennessee’s four largest school districts asked lawmakers Tuesday to keep funding intact for education, raise teacher pay, and invest more in student mental health as the coronavirus pandemic tests school communities in unprecedented ways.

They also talked about the need to accelerate vaccinations against the virus and praised Gov. Bill Lee’s administration for bumping up teachers and school staff on the state’s priority list for shots.

In addition, Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray lauded the state for its newly released plan to invest $100 million of one-time federal funding in early literacy programs.

“Literacy is life,” said Ray, noting that just one in four students in his Memphis district are reading on grade level. “If our students can’t read by the time they’re in third grade, we are in big trouble.”

Ray and his counterparts in Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga appeared virtually for an hourlong panel discussion with members of the House Democratic Caucus ahead of this year’s legislative session. The General Assembly is scheduled to organize next week and reconvene on Jan. 19 for a special session called by the governor to focus on education issues.

Tuesday’s discussion marked the first time during the COVID-19 crisis that all four urban superintendents were asked to weigh in collectively and publicly with lawmakers about their challenges and needs, albeit with members of the legislature’s minority party. Although they oversee more than a fourth of the state’s nearly 1 million public school students, none of the urban leaders were among the six superintendents invited to testify in September when the GOP-led House Education Committee met to discuss learning loss during the pandemic.

“It’s been a year like no other,” said Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools in Chattanooga. “I’d love to paint it rosy, but it’s been difficult.”

Superintendents described how their school systems have tailored learning models to their local populations and community spread of the virus. Schools in Knoxville and Chattanooga have provided more in-person instruction, followed by those in Nashville. The state’s largest district in Memphis, where spread of the virus is highest, continues to operate virtually.

“Our schools are completely connected to our communities,” said Adrienne Battle, director of Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. “Our goal here, and I know across the state, is to bring students back for in-person instruction as soon as possible when it is safe to do so.”

A masked student looks at a hallway billboard in Nashville’s Westmeade Elementary School as Tennessee’s second largest district worked to navigate the coronavirus pandemic in the fall of 2020.

Reflecting national trends, the vast majority of Tennessee’s 147 school districts have experienced dips in enrollment this academic year. Most of Tennessee’s declines stem from families who shifted to homeschooling or private schools or held back students due to start kindergarten, according to Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn.

Superintendents are concerned that the enrollment drop could put hundreds of millions of dollars at risk in next year’s state budget for education, since enrollment from the current school year sets per-pupil funding levels for the next one. Early statewide data shows about 33,000 fewer students started public school in the fall, which normally would decrease Tennessee’s allocation for public education by at least $320 million.

“If we can just make sure that we continue to be funded based on the [enrollment] from last year – in other words, hold us harmless – that would be extremely helpful,” said Superintendent Bob Thomas. He gave a long list of new pandemic-related expenses for Knox County Schools and added that virtual learning options “are here to stay,” even when the pandemic ends, requiring more funding.

Thomas and Ray also asked for more money for teacher pay, as all four superintendents described educators adapting to the pandemic to teach virtually, in person, and sometimes both.

“Teachers and leaders and support staff have been absolutely remarkable and heroic in regards to what we’ve asked them to do,” added Johnson, who recently recovered from his own bout with COVID-19.

School funding and teacher pay are among five key education issues to be taken up during the special session. Legislative leaders have indicated they’re likely to keep funding intact as more students are expected to return to public schools next year. And the governor has said he’d like to boost teacher salaries too if possible, after rolling back a planned 4% hike last year as the economy sputtered.

But new investments in student mental health are less certain. That need did not make Gov. Lee’s list of education priorities to be discussed during the special session, even as superintendents have asked for more counselors, social workers, and other mental health professionals due to the pandemic’s heavy emotional toll.

“We’re trying to do as much as we can to make this as normal as we possibly can in a very abnormal situation for our students and our teachers,” said Knox County’s Thomas.

Last year, before the pandemic emerged, the governor proposed creating a $250 million trust fund to support and grow mental health services for students in Tennessee’s highest-risk schools. But that proposal was quickly scuttled after the pandemic hit.

Other issues slated to go before lawmakers during their special session are literacy, learning loss, and policies designed to hold students, teachers, and schools accountable for their performance.

Tennessee governor calls for special legislative session focused on education

2020-12-29T22:20:06+00:00

Gov. Bill Lee called Tuesday for a special legislative session next month to focus on escalating challenges with Tennessee education during the pandemic.

The Republican governor wants the newly elected 112th General Assembly to convene on Jan. 19 to look specifically at education before taking up other business during its regular session.

On the agenda will be questions about state testing accountability next spring as the pandemic continues, as well as funding for teacher pay and schools for the following academic year. Lee also wants lawmakers to approve initiatives to address learning loss and a comprehensive literacy package to improve students’ reading proficiency.

“We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense disruption for Tennessee’s students, educators, and districts, and the challenges they face must be addressed urgently,” Lee said in a statement. “Even before the virus hit, and despite years of improvement, too many of our state’s students were still unable to read on grade level. I’m calling on the legislature to join us in addressing these serious issues so we can equip our hardworking educators and districts with the resources and supports they need to set our students on the path to success.”

Leaders of both chambers of the General Assembly said they support the special session.

“Tennessee has made tremendous improvements in education over the last decade. The virus has begun to put all of that at risk,” said Lt. Gov. Randy McNally. “It is of paramount importance that we take steps to reverse the learning loss that has taken place and prevent any further erosion of our progress.”

House Speaker Cameron Sexton said a statewide response is necessary to blunt the pandemic’s impact on education.

“Our goal is to make sure students are learning in the classroom, teachers have the resources they need, and our students have additional assistance in their educational journeys to improve their chances of success,” Sexton said.

Details about each issue will be released by Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn “in the near future,” according to a news release from the governor’s office. That includes a plan to launch a literacy program dubbed “Reading 360,” which will leverage a federal grant to support a phonics-based approach to reading instruction in the early grades.

In early 2020, the legislature appeared to be on track to approve a major literacy package. However, the spreading coronavirus and a related economic slowdown sidelined the $36.5 million proposal in June.

The same GOP-controlled legislature maintained funding for K-12 schools for this academic year, but also rolled back a promised pay raise for teachers and rejected Democrats’ calls for emergency education funding.

The leader of the Senate Democratic caucus said Tuesday that any new education investments should address systemic funding issues that go beyond this year’s learning losses.

“The coronavirus did not create inequities in education and it is not the cause of our teacher retention crisis, but it did make these problems worse,” said Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis.

“No matter what zip code you’re in, every child deserves a great, well-funded public school, and our teachers deserve a safe working environment that respects and rewards their contributions,” she said.

Tennessee’s last special session was in August after the governor called legislators back to Nashville for a week. They passed protections to businesses from lawsuits arising from the coronavirus and new penalties for protesters camped on state property to demand racial justice.

Memphis schools already have one tool to deal with learning loss. What’s missing is funding.

2020-12-23T17:01:00+00:00

The pandemic has driven the national education conversation to focus on getting kids back in schools and attempting to repair the widening gaps in students’ educations. As a former third grade teacher in Memphis, I’ve been thinking about how schools are going to handle this enormous task of addressing the academic challenges created by the pandemic.

One thing I know from my teaching experience is that Tennessee schools already have a tool at their disposal: a program called Response to Intervention and Instruction. The program is state-mandated, so every school uses it. But it’s also severely underfunded relative to the enormous need. So despite teaching in a variety of schools and neighborhoods, I have never once seen a successful, thriving RTI² program.

If done well, though, it could be exactly what students need. Here’s how it should work.

Say I have a class of 30 students. During the first few weeks of the school year, they’re all tested in reading and math. According to these results, my students are separated into three groups. Ideally, 24 of my students should be in tier one, learning with “grade-level instruction.” Another four or five students should be in tier two, receiving “strategic intervention” in small groups, no larger than eight students. Only one or two of my students should be in tier three, receiving “intensive intervention” in groups of three students or less.

The reality is that, in many Memphis schools, this triangle is flipped. Most students are one or more grade levels behind and need intensive intervention, while a small percentage of students fall into the tier one category.

In order to get the results that an RTI² program has the potential to achieve, schools have to be able to hire the staff needed to help students the way they need in small groups.

But schools don’t have the funding to do that, or sometimes even to purchase research-backed curriculum. It is functionally impossible for our public schools to provide the services all of the students in tier two and tier three need without significant additional funds.

So what happens? Schools do what they can, and most students don’t get the level of help they need. The share of students truly receiving intensive intervention remains at 3-5%, even though the real need is many multiples of that.

I saw this firsthand. Often, because a majority of students weren’t on grade level, my “small” groups of students most in need of intensive help ended up being anywhere from seven to 10 students.

I often gathered my group of 10 third graders on the carpet and attempted to deliver a lesson written for three to five kids. That meant students had fewer opportunities to respond to questions, and were not as actively engaged.

During this pandemic, gaps in learning for students in all three tiers are undoubtedly widening. The full depth of the pandemic’s impact on student learning is still unknown, but early data indicates that students have already lost learning.

I’m terrified that this learning loss will be heavily concentrated in our forgotten schools that already operate with too few resources, and the students who are already struggling will continue to slip through the cracks. One need only to look at historical data from cities and time periods where extreme interruptions of learning have occurred to start to fully realize the long-term impact COVID-19 will have on our students’ educational lives.

With fully funded RTI² programs, schools could have a real chance at repairing the pandemic’s damage, especially for younger, at-risk students.

Shelby County Schools and local charter school organizations should start preparing now for inevitable learning loss by finding funding for these programs. This funding could come from the state or from the federal government. Notably, it could also come directly from the city of Memphis, which currently contributes almost no money to K-12 education.

What’s clear is that students, after more than seven months removed from the classroom, will have even greater needs when they fully return to school buildings. Our students deserve instruction that meets them where they are and sets them up for success. They deserve real academic support.

Haley Mathews is a former elementary educator who continues to serve Memphis students through her work at ALLMemphis, an organization dedicated to increasing literacy rates and educational equity in our community.