Tag: State of the State

Categories
News News Blog News Feature

State of the State: A Closer Look at Education Issues

Gov. Bill Lee delivers his State of the State address Monday evening. Credit: State of Tennessee

Gov. Bill Lee renewed his call for private school vouchers for any student across Tennessee on Monday, and he also set aside $144 million in his proposed state budget to pay for the new program for up to 20,000 students in its first year.

For traditional public schools, the Republican governor asked the legislature to raise the annual base pay for teachers from $42,000 to $44,500, in keeping with his pledge last year to get the profession’s minimum salary to $50,000 by the 2027-28 school year. (Raising the base pay has a domino effect and increases the pay of more experienced teachers, too.)

Lee also wants to invest $200 million to grow state parks and natural areas while simultaneously cutting corporate taxes amid a downturn in state revenues. But he maintained that Tennessee has “a very strong economy” to pay for all the changes.

The governor outlined his list of wants Monday evening during his 2024 address before the General Assembly, which will take up Lee’s voucher proposal and the budget in the months ahead.

He opened his remarks by calling Tennessee a “model for economic prosperity” and reminding lawmakers that state revenues are still 40 percent higher than three years ago.

However, after years of being flush with cash, the state faces a $610 million budget shortfall this year, and many lawmakers are leery of approving a universal school voucher program that Lee wants to be available to any K-12 student in 2025-26. Currently, Tennessee offers vouchers to about 3,000 low-income families in three urban counties, but his Education Freedom Scholarship Act would open them up to families in all 95 counties, eventually with no family income restrictions.

“2024 is the year to make school choice a reality for every Tennessee family,” he said, drawing a standing ovation from many legislators — but not everyone in the GOP-controlled legislature — as well as frequent jeers from some spectators in the gallery.

“There are thousands of parents in this state who know their student would thrive in a different setting, but the financial barrier is simply too high,” Lee continued. “It’s time that we change that. It’s time that parents get to decide — and not the government — where their child goes to school and what they learn.”

Lee, a Williamson County businessman who graduated from public schools in Franklin, near Nashville, touted more than $1.8 billion in new investments in public education since he became governor in 2019.

“We can give parents choice and support public schools at the same time,” he said. “You’ll hear me say that over and over again. These two ideas are not in conflict.”

The governor also released his $52.6 billion state government spending plan to begin July 1. The total was down from Tennessee’s $62.5 billion budget for the current fiscal year because of flattening revenues and expiring federal funds appropriated during the pandemic.

He proposed $8 million to hire 114 more school-based behavioral health specialists amid record reports of students experiencing stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.

Other recurring funding recommendations include $30 million to pay for summer learning programs; $3.2 million to expand access to advanced placement courses for high school students; and $2.5 million to pay for a universal reading screener as part of the state’s literacy initiative, all to offset federal funding that is drying up.

Lee is asking for $15 million in one time funding to help charter schools with facility costs.

The governor also announced that his administration will bring the legislature a bill designed to help parents oversee their child’s social media activity.

“It will require social media companies to get parental consent for minors to create their own accounts in Tennessee,” Lee said.

Such legislation would widen the state’s push against social media giants.

Last fall, Tennessee joined a coalition of states suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which is accused of violating consumer protection laws and deceptively marketing its platforms to adolescents to the detriment of their mental health.

And some Tennessee school districts have joined a growing list of school systems nationwide that are suing major social media companies like TikTok and YouTube over a crisis in student mental health.

But in the wake of last year’s shooting at a private Nashville school — where three children, three staff members, and the shooter died — the governor offered no new initiatives aimed at improving school safety or decreasing gun violence, other than funding to hire 60 more state troopers.

Last year, after the March 27 tragedy, the legislature approved $140 million in grants to place an armed law enforcement officer in every Tennessee public school. But the legislature rebuffed the governor’s call for a law to help keep guns out of the hands of people deemed at risk of hurting themselves or others.

Remarks about Lee’s universal voucher plan, announced in November, drew quick responses from the leaders of the state’s two largest teacher organizations.

“The concept of universal vouchers would be costly to the state, and we urge the Tennessee General Assembly to move slowly,” said JC Bowman, executive director of the Professional Educators of Tennessee.

“In particular, we have concerns over the lack of income-eligibility requirements and accountability,” he continued. “Our state must avoid any program viewed as a tax subsidy for existing private school families or a tax bailout for struggling private schools.”

Tanya T. Coats, president of the Tennessee Education Association, said Lee’s plan shows that vouchers have never been about helping economically disadvantaged families, as the governor first characterized it in 2019.

“The goal has always been to privatize public education and use public dollars to fund private school education, which goes against our Tennessee values,” Coats said.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Categories
News News Blog News Feature

State of the State: Lee Pushes $1.6B Corporate Tax Cuts, Rebates, $141M for School Vouchers

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee enters the House chambers and greets Lt. Gov. Randy McNally for Lee’s sixth State of the State address. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Entering the second year of a second four-year term, Gov. Bill Lee is singing the same chorus he did when he started five years ago: A heavy dose of private-school vouchers is the solution for Tennessee.

In the annual State of the State speech, Lee presented a $52.6 billion spending plan the day after he committed to send Tennessee National Guardsmen to Texas to provide backup to federal personnel on patrol there. 

Lee entered office in January 2019 with a plan to offer students public money to attend private schools, as well as to bolster charter schools, which are privately held but officially considered part of public school systems. The state also has boosted K-12 spending by about $3 billion in five years, $1.8 billion from the state level.

After a contentious vote that led to an FBI investigation, in addition to a protracted lawsuit, his education savings account plan took effect two years ago.

As he starts his sixth year in office amid flattening state revenue and a looming business tax break caused by “significant legal risk,” Lee is pushing a $141 million voucher plan for up to 20,000 students to go to private schools, this time without as many requirements to qualify financially. The details for his bill haven’t quite tumbled out completely, but he continued the sales pitch Monday night in the State of the State address.

Less than half of the crowd stood and cheered as Lee introduced his proposal, and people jeered from the balconies, even as the governor said he wants to avoid the “status quo.”

“There are thousands of parents in this state who know their student would thrive in a different setting, but the financial barrier is simply too high,” Lee said during his annual address Monday. “It’s time that we change that. It’s time that parents get to decide — and not the government — where their child goes to school and what they learn … 2024 is the year to make school choice a reality for every Tennessee family.”

In his pitch, the governor also maintains the argument that the state has put an “unprecedented focus” on public schools and he noted Monday the two ideas “are not in conflict.”

The state’s revenues are 46 percent higher than they were four years ago, increasing to $19 billion from about $11 billion. The state is weaning itself off the flow of federal funding that came down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet Lee is pushing for a franchise tax rebate of $1.2 billion and $400 million reductions for the next few years after 80 companies balked at paying the property portion of the state’s franchise tax.

Even though some financial experts have said the state could fight big business efforts to reduce the tax, the Lee Administration and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office recommended the refunds and reduction because of “significant legal risk.” Officials say no lawsuit is pending.

Democrats criticized the governor’s proposals, saying Tennesseans are being told they should support a “scam” to defund public schools and give large corporations another tax break. No sales tax holiday is scheduled for the coming fiscal year that starts July 1 after the state gave a three-month break from the grocery sales tax last fall.

They point out Lee contends Tennessee is among the nation’s leaders in low taxes and several other financial categories, yet the state is seeing rural hospitals close and money diverted that could go to public schools.

“We ain’t leading nothing when we’re leaving so many people behind.”

Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis)

“We ain’t leading nothing when we’re leaving so many people behind,” said Senate Minority Caucus Chairman London Lamar of Memphis.

Lamar said the franchise tax break will cost the state $8.3 billion over a decade while the private-school voucher plan will take $800 million in its second year when it could become available to every student. She noted companies will be getting a “fat check” while hourly workers will receive no tax breaks.

Democrats point toward increases in gun violence amid softer gun laws and personal bankruptcies that forced working families to struggle while wealthy business owners receive treatment with kid gloves.

Besides his private-school voucher move, Gov. Lee is proposing legislation to stop the theft of musicians’ voices through AI, calling it the Elvis Act.

He also plans to introduce legislation dealing with the protection of young people from social media. The measure would enable parents to oversee their children’s use of the Internet by requiring new social media accounts.

In addition, Lee said he plans to make hundreds of rule changes and cut permitting regulations to streamline government but gave no details.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

Categories
News News Blog News Feature Uncategorized

Lookout: Lee Broke Little New Ground in State of the State

Bill Lee (Photo: www.tn.gov)

Gov. Bill Lee broke little new ground nor did he drop any policy changes in his fifth State of the State address Monday, choosing to highlight issues he has discussed for months and in some cases, years  —  including a transportation plan that would include “toll” roads for motorists who want to bypass congestion, a boost to the state’s rainy day fund, additional funds to address ongoing crises at the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, and funding for crisis pregnancy centers.

“And hear me when I say this: toll roads are not on the table,” said Lee of his Transportation Modernization Act. “We’re talking about choice lanes, public-private partnerships, new delivery models – solutions that have worked for states across the country, including our friends in Texas and Florida.” 

Lee introduced his transportation plan in early December and immediately caught flak from lawmakers over the choice roads portion, which will be added to existing routes and will cost drivers an extra fee to use. 

To kick off implementation of the transportation plan, about which few details have been provided, Lee announced he will inject $3 billion across the state for road projects and $300 million into Tennessee’s local highway fund. 

Lee also claimed success for a modified block grant program to support TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, saying it will reap $300 million in shared savings the first year. 

In the portion of Lee’s speech devoted to “strong families,” he said that “Pro-life is much more than defending the lives of the unborn. This is not a matter of politics. This is about human dignity. We can have a healthy debate about the policy specifics, but we can also agree that America is rooted in a commitment to human dignity.” 

He will designate $100 million to crisis pregnancy centers in the wake of the state’s abortion ban that followed the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reversed federal protections for abortion. 

In 2022, Lee gave money to crisis pregnancy centers to purchase ultrasound machines. On Monday, he said this year’s funds will be used to partner with nonprofits “that serve mothers, fathers, and families during a crisis pregnancy,” in conjunction with the Governor’s Office of Faith-based Initiatives.”

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, are sponsoring a bill in the Legislature that gives the Office of Faith-based Initiatives more power. 

SB0279 removes prohibitions that require nonprofit partners of the office to cover expenses incurred in the course of the partnership as well as removing language that the state not incur extra cost resulting from the Faith-Based Initiatives office.

Democrats were quick to respond to Lee’s speech. 

“Instead of leading our state into the 21st century by investing in people and working families, Tennessee is only maintaining the status quo,” said Sen. London Lamar of Memphis, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. “We are not leading the nation as long as we have abused children sleeping on the floors of state office buildings. We’re not leading the nation if our families don’t have access to affordable housing, health coverage or childcare.”

Memphis Sen. Raumesh Akbari, Senate Minority Leader, said, “We are glad to see an emphasis on tax cuts for small business owners, the conservation of our natural resources, and some targeted investments in maternity care, children and state workers.

“But most of the new money in this budget is long overdue. They’re putting out fires that have been growing for a decade. State government has to break its bad habit of waiting until a crisis emerges to make meaningful change,” Akbari said.

Unlike the last few years, which have featured large protests before and during the gubernatorial address, Monday’s event was only disrupted once when three women in the House of Representative gallery shouted “White nationalism is our biggest threat. Gov. Bill Lee is our biggest threat,” before being escorted out by Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers. 

Lee also announced he will extend a holiday on grocery sales tax to three months from one month and that he will designate $50 million to create a Nuclear Fast Track fund, intended to recruit companies to establish an “ecosystem” for nuclear development and manufacturing.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

Categories
Politics Politics Feature

Haslam Points With Pride in State of the State

CREDIT: Jackson Baker

NASHVILLE — Governor Bill Haslam‘s State of the State address Monday night to legislators at the state Capitol was, in essence, a brag list.

Recalling his first State of the State back in 2011, Republican Haslam remembered, “I stood before you and said, if we will make the right plans and decisions, then the state of Tennessee can compete with any state in the nation.”

Haslam made it clear he thought he had succeeded. “We’re doing really well. In the short time we’ve worked together, we have become one of the best destinations to live, work, and raise a family.”

He continued with the kernel of his case: “Tennessee has a job growth rate greater than 17 percent, far above the national average, with nearly 400,000 net new private sector jobs created.

“We’ve added more than $1.3 billion into K-12 education, with nearly $450 million more going to teacher salaries. And thanks to the hard work and dedication of our educators and parents, and the additional accountability to our system, our children are the fastest improving students in the nation, across math, reading, and science.

“And you’d think we did all of this by raising taxes the way other states have, but in Tennessee, we’ve cut taxes by $572 million annually, with policies in place to reduce taxes even more in years to come.

“Additionally, we’ve cut year-to-year spending by $578 million. Most states would have found such a task insurmountable, but we didn’t just do these things, we did them while tripling the Rainy Day Fund and decreasing our debt.”

Haslam attempted to draw hard and fast connections between his education policies and job creation. “Our unemployment rate has dropped from 5.1 percent to as low as 3 percent, the lowest rate in our state’s 222-year history.

Simultaneously, “In education, Tennessee students are posting the largest gains in the country and the highest high school graduation rates the state has ever seen. And while other states struggle to improve access to higher education, we created Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect, so that all Tennesseans have access to college, free of tuition and fees.”

Expressing a motto of “the best possible services at the lowest possible cost,” the governor said, “We’ve cut $578 million in taxes, including a nearly 30 percent cut to the tax that everyone pays, the sales tax on groceries. We’ve set a schedule to end the Hall income tax, and we have already eliminated the inheritance tax and the gift tax.”

Haslam did not fail to remind his listeners of his success last year in getting the passage of the IMPROVE Act, with its gas tax increase to fuel infrastruture improvements. “By providing a safe and reliable transportation network, we’re making sure the next generations of Tennesseans have access to the high quality jobs made possible by a robust transportation system.”

Beyond his litany of claimed accomplishments, Haslam put forth some goals for his last year and for whichever successor will be elected governor in 2018.

“This evening, I am proposing a bold new challenge. I want Tennessee to lead the nation in jobs, education, and government efficiency. I don’t just want us to compete; I want us to be the best. … But to lead the country, we must continue to push forward.”

Haslam pushed several new initiatives: e.g., a “Complete to Compete initiative, which, through appropriate levers and resources to students, will ensure that they start strong, receive support to stay on track, and make it to graduation day”; “the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018,” with an emphasis on “responsible reforms that will focus the most significant state intervention on the most serious offenses”; and the new “TN Together, a comprehensive plan to end the opioid crisis that focuses on prevention, treatment, and law enforcement.”

Haslam concluded on a note of heady self-confidence; “[T]he momentum we have created will make us the most effective state government in the country. It has been my life’s greatest honor to lead the state I love for the past seven years. Will you join me in finishing what we began? Tennessee, it is time to lead the nation. I believe we can, and I believe we will.”

While members of the General Assembly in general gave Haslam’s remarks respectful attention and occasional standing ovations, in the aftermath, many members of the Democratic political opposiion were not as enthusiastic, finding his prescription for curbing the state’s opioid epidemic vague and insufficient and criticizing the lack of anything else substantive in the State of the State about health care.