THIS WEEK'S TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT
EDUCATION POLITICS AND POLICY IN THE VOLUNTEER STATE
An Open Door to Grift and Corruption
by Andy Spears / 1d
Members of the Tennessee Public Education Coalition spoke out in opposition to Gov. Bill Lee’s education agenda which includes sending public money to private schools by way of school vouchers and charters. In an OpEd, the group said: We have a clear choice in Tennessee. We can choose to adequately fund our public schools, pay our teachers a fair wage, and support our neighborhood schools — or we
MAR 08
Bill’s Besties
by Andy Spears / 3d
NewsChannel5’s Phil Williams has been following the money to find out who is behind efforts to privatize Tennessee’s public schools. It’s no suprise that Lee’s longtime friend Betsy DeVos is among the key backers of privatization. Bill and Betsy: A Tennessee School Voucher Story As Williams notes, among the big spenders on school privatization efforts when it comes to lobbying the General Assembl
MAR 07
Of Vouchers and School Takeovers
by Andy Spears / 4d
Nashville education blogger TC Weber has a couple of pieces out that break down Gov. Lee’s proposed school funding reform. The bottom line: Be afraid, be very afraid. I mean, if you like using public money to fund private schools OR if you’re a fan of the state taking over districts, this funding scheme is for you. Here are a couple hits from TC’s analysis: While we are on the subject of the fund
MAR 05
Frequent Flyer?
by Andy Spears / 6d
Gov. Bill Lee has come under fire for a controversial plan to invite Hillsdale College in Michigan to run 50 or more charter schools in Tennessee. Exceptionally Bad Now, WKRN in Nashville reports that taxpayers funded a trip by Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn to a conference at Hillsdale. With the governor’s new education spending plan, that could mean public dollars going to Hillsdale, a pr
MAR 03
Who Knew?
by Andy Spears / 8d
Tennessee Textbook Commissioner and potential House of Representatives candidate Laurie-Cardoza Moore testified before House subcommittee yesterday that she believed the commission on which she serves should have expanded authority to be able to regulate books that appear on school library shelves. Here’s video of her remarks and a montage of clips about her background: HEADS UP TN — lost in the
MAR 01
Privatizers of a Feather
by Andy Spears / 10d
Flock together. And there it is. All the groups trying to dismantle K-12 public education in TN are finally locking arms publicly with the Koch Bros. They’re not even trying to hide it anymore. This dispels the myth of so-called “good” charter schools. They’re all part of the same sordid cabal. pic.twitter.com/e71ITaAX5Q — Will Pinkston (@WillPinkston) March 1, 2022 More on SCORE: Bill Frist and