The Tennessee Education responded to Gov. Bill Lee’s budget amendment today calling the announcement and Lee’s overall education investment “woefully short” of what the state needs to fund schools.
Lee unveiled the budget amendment with no appreciable increase in K-12 spending, merely a rehash of previous announcements regarding holding districts harmless in the BEP formula and an investment in mental health that had been planned in 2020.
Lee’s statement says:
This amendment reflects the Governor’s priorities and includes record investments in broadband, economic development, safety and law enforcement, increasing reserves, and education.
The amendment itself actually does not include record investments in education and it’s interesting that on the list of supposed priorities here, education is mentioned last.
Here’s the TEA response:
“With the state bringing in record surplus month after month, there is no excuse to not make significant increases to public education funding. The governor’s budget CONTINUE READING: Woefully Short – Tennessee Education Report