January 31, 2025
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee Derailing Public Education
Opinion Piece by Region 8 Webmaster John Davis

Many years ago, I was a volunteer at a railroad museum. One Saturday we ran an excursion train to a rural, small-town community with a large Amish population. While the train stopped for the passengers to have lunch, a group of the local Amish community arrived to look over the outside of the train. We allowed the Amish families to board the train to see the inside. Their sense of wonder was inspiring, as they were in awe of technology that was many years old, but new to them. At that moment I realized, we owe it to our children to show them possibilities of the world, regardless of what world they are from. The train to their future must stop where they are and deliver them where they are going.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about that experience, especially considering Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s forcing school vouchers on the state. Public Education is the cornerstone on which our society was founded. Our founding fathers knew for a government based on democracy; the people who would be voting would need critical thinking skills. In 1830, Massachusetts legislator Horace Mann began the push to establish a public school system that would be free. One of Mann’s famous quotes was “Be ashamed to die until you have won, one victory for humanity.” His public school system was his victory and continues today.

Under Lee’s Voucher Plan, parents sending their children to private school will be awarded $7,000 which will impact state public school funding. There are many counties in Tennessee where systems receive less than $7,000 a state per year for funding, so this giveaway to the wealthy will hit them hard.

While some parents may think $7,000 would allow them to send their child to a private school. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The average tuition cost for a private high school in Nashville is over $18,000 a year. That doesn’t include books, transportation, and other fees. Few working-class families in Tennessee could afford the additional $11,000 a year to send one child to a private school. If you have two children that doubles and so on.

The new law will allow around 10,000 private school students to be eligible for this “bonus,” limited to families that make 300% of the line for free and reduced lunches income level. In other words, a family of four makes $175,000 a year. Another 10,000 will have no income cap, with all caps being removed after the first year.

The State estimates the new law will take $450,000,000 from the state public education funding and divert it to private schools. Studies show at least two-thirds of the students who will receive this benefit are already in private schools. With the median income in Tennessee being somewhere around $60,000 a year, the vast majority of Tennessee families will be unable to participate. Furthermore, when you remove $450,000,000 from a state Public Education budget that already ranks 45 in the nation, YOUR children will pay the price for rich kids to attend private schools.

Another hidden gem is much of the funding for this program will come from the state lottery money. That money is currently used for the Hope Scholarship which provides $4,000 a year in college tuition to students who meet certain grade point requirements and attend a non-profit state school. By using the money set aside for the Hope Scholarship, your children’s school will pay and their college tuition assistance could be placed in jeopardy.

Of the 95 Tennessee counties, only 44 have a private school that meets the criteria for Lee’s vouchers, leaving 51 counties without an option. Of the 300 private schools that will be eligible for the plan, 48% are located in Shelby, Davidson, and Hamilton Counties which already have voucher programs. So why would he force vouchers on the rest of the state when half of the private schools are in counties that already have a voucher system? To make sure the REST of you are paying for rich kids to attend a private school.

Bill Lee is a lame-duck governor who wants to take care of his rich buddies on his way out the door. He cares nothing about the average student in Tennessee or their families. This law is a statement from him that rich people come first. Kids in your community deserve a chance to realize their dreams and ambitions, with education being the key to that.

Lee tries to cover his actions saying this provides “school choice.” But that doesn’t mean YOU choose where to go but the private school chooses WHO they accept.

Horace Mann’s vision for a free education system that benefits everyone is under attack. From the cost of college soaring to stumbling blocks being placed by politicians like Bill Lee. At some point, we need to hold our elected officials accountable and stop this barrage of attacks by the rich. The words of organized labor’s theme song hold the key, to Solidarity Forever:

In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,

Greater than the might of armies, multiplied a thousand-fold.

We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old

For the union makes us strong.

Education MUST meet students where they are at and give them the tools to build. The only way this happens is to fund our public schools, support our schools and teachers, and impress upon our children the importance of education. The train to the future is being defunded and derailed by politicians like Bill Lee.