In January, Gov. Bill Lee used his State of the State Address to announce a “partnership” with Hillsdale College, which would use our state tax dollars to set up charter schools in communities across Tennessee. These new charter schools would use Hillsdale’s 1776 curriculum — a conservative-only program. When NewsChannel 5 recently revealed a discussion between Gov. Lee and Hillsdale’s president, Dr. Larry Arnn, Tennesseans were shocked and appalled. Not just by what Arnn said, but even more by what the governor did not say.
Arnn recently held a private reception and invited Gov. Lee as his surprise guest. Apparently unaware that someone might record their onstage conversation — in this day and age, I can’t imagine how — Arnn freely issued a string of disrespectful and disconcerting comments that drew swift bipartisan frustration, to say the least. Footage from the event showed Arnn repeatedly mocking the intelligence of public school teachers and calling into question their care for their students.
Arnn’s unfathomable comments included a claim that “teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.” He said, “They are taught that they are going to go and do something to those kids,” and, “And the administrators you hire are all diversity people — and that helps you, by the way, with your federal requirements that you have a certain number by color.” He added that diversity officers have degrees in education because “it’s easy — you don’t have to know anything.” All this while our governor nodded along in agreement.
According to The Washington Post, Arnn’s reference to teachers being trained in the “dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges” came from data “released years ago saying that education majors go to schools that have lower SAT scores than more selective schools,” which has little to do with determining what kind of professional a student will ultimately be. “The majority of America’s highest-ranking schools have suspended or ended the use of SAT/ACT scores for admissions,” notes the Post.
There were additional insults, but to me and many others, the most appalling portion of this discussion between Arnn and Gov. Lee wasn’t just Arnn’s degrading comments — it was the fact that the governor didn’t utter a single word to defend Tennessee teachers or administrators. When watching the video, former public schoolteacher and current state Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) said, “[Arnn] just called teachers the most ignorant people on a college campus, and they laughed.” Johnson further noted: “And the governor is sitting here while this is happening, saying nothing! This is horrific. This is horrific for Tennessee.” I wholeheartedly agree.
Even members of the governor’s own party were equally put off.
Republican state Sen. Frank Niceley correctly noted: “We’ve managed to build a state that is the envy of most in fiscal management, economic growth and taxpayer burden. The vast majority of our leaders have been educated in Tennessee public schools.” House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison commended the state’s teachers and added: “To argue that they are bottom of the barrel is wrong and ignorant. The guy from Hillsdale doesn’t speak for any Tennessean I know.” Paul Chapman, a member of the state GOP’s executive committee, is advocating against the state using Hillsdale, tweeting, “It’s time for Tennessee to end any association with Dr. Larry Arnn.”
The displeasure with the governor over his “mum’s the word” attitude is obviously being felt on both sides of the aisle. But perhaps we shouldn’t be all that surprised by the governor’s silence. This is yet another example of Lee remaining silent instead of defending Tennesseans.
In 2021, when Tennessee State Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) was allegedly unethically prescribing opioids and controlled substances, despite knowing how many Tennesseans die from opioid abuse and overdose, the governor said nothing.
After the Uvalde school shooting, the governor signed an executive order on school safety — which state Sen. Vincent Dixie deemed “an exercise in nothingness” — but stayed quiet on gun control.
Now the governor gives priority to his Hillsdale partnership over respect and consideration for Tennessee teachers or “diversity people.”
Further, the governor still declines to criticize Arnn. He is talking out of both sides of his mouth — trying to walk his political fine line while also trying to assure us that he cares about Tennesseans. He recently said he “fully supports our public schools … and the teachers as well,” then in the same breath defended Arnn. “It wasn’t about Tennessee teachers or Tennessee schools as much as it was about activism in education and this country,” said Lee. Even when directly asked if this was the type of group he wanted teaching Tennessee children, Lee only said that his “comments about teachers and about the future of public education have been very clear.”
About as clear as mud, governor. Frankly, Lee’s actions are speaking so loudly that I can’t hear a word he’s saying.
Bill Freeman
Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and Home Page Media Group in Williamson County.
