Gov. Bill Lee met with education commissioner Penny Schwinn on Tuesday morning to discuss updates on the Tennessee school-funding engagement process. Schwinn updated the governor on the public engagement period that kicked off in October, noting that there has been a "robust set of engagement opportunities" and that the department has been "thrilled with the response so far.”
Schwinn went over the different avenues in which people have been able to express feedback, including town halls that have taken place across the state — one in Nashville — along with Twitter town halls and a dedicated email address (TNEdu.Funding@tn.gov) to which Tennesseans can submit comments and recommendations. She said the department has received “hundreds and hundreds of comments,” and will continue to accept feedback until Jan. 14.
She also noted that 18 different subcommittees, which focus on specific topics like fiscal responsibility and English learners, have started meeting and will continue to do so into January. Though these meetings aren’t open to the public, recordings of them are shared on the TDOE website afterward. The subcommittees will use public feedback to prioritize and provide recommendations to a Republican-led steering committee. That committee will provide feedback that will inform a new formula, set to replace the antiquated and widely contested Basic Education Program funding formula. The upcoming legislative session will consider this potential new formula.
Lee let Schwinn do most of the talking on Tuesday and asked a few questions throughout the meeting about the process and other details. Near the end of the meeting, he asked what people are “most concerned about in this process.” When Schwinn cited public concerns about vouchers and ESAs, Lee was quick to note that “this public school funding is not connected to choice issues. It's not connected to [education savings accounts]. They're two entirely different things.” Lee has tried, with lots of pushback, to implement a school voucher program in Tennessee that would divert public funds to individual families.
Schwinn also noted public concerns over the timing of the funding formula revamping process and “funding in general.” Many people have asked for more funding rather than only focusing on new ways to allocate existing funding in Tennessee, which spends around $3,655 less per student than the national average.
Despite the deficit, Lee ended the meeting by saying: “We are due for a strategy that is money well spent and not just more money. We have increased funding every year since I've been here, and we'll continue to do that, but we don't need to just keep putting money into a formula that is 30 years old and doesn't match the needs of our kids today. So I think it's time. I think this process is a good one. I believe we can be ready if the process continues to unfold appropriately, but the work so far is good.”
