Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives share handshakes after being sworn in on Jan. 10, 2023. (Photo: John Partipillo)
Tennessee’s House Republican supermajority wants to close several speaking opportunities in its rules, which in the past allowed Democrats to slow down the legislative process and, ultimately, garner attention that led to a fundraising bonanza.
Republicans propose eliminating lawmakers from arguing a point of order on the floor, bringing back rules to silence lawmakers deemed “off-topic” or out of order and allowing the House Speaker to determine the order of who can speak during a bill debate, the latter of which Republicans could use to cut off discussions by calling for votes on bills before Democrats have a chance to speak.
House leaders introduced the silencing rules for the August 2023 special legislative session. They’re an attempt by Republican lawmakers to find a way to stop Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, from disrupting proceedings without expelling them or running afoul of the state Constitution, which requires the two men to be able to vote in person on the House floor.
During the special session, Republican lawmakers used the out-of-order rules to silence Jones for a day. The new rules give a lawmaker two strikes before the member could be banned from speaking for two legislative days.
The new proposal also allows lawmakers to restrict debate to a set amount of time. For example, Republican and Democratic leaders could agree a bill can only be debated for 60 minutes, giving each party 30 minutes to talk and caucus leaders determining who speaks. Previously, each lawmaker was allowed to speak for five minutes on each bill, meaning theoretically, Democrats could have strung out debates on legislation for nearly two hours. Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, speaking in April 2023. (Photo: John Partipilo)
The rule packages are part of an ever-increasing push and pull between Republicans trying to make it easier to pass their legislative agenda and Democrats attempting to use filibustering techniques to make it more difficult.
At the start of the 2023 legislative session, Republicans approved a rule limiting each member to five minutes of speaking time on each bill and took those rules further in an August special session to limit what lawmakers can use their time to talk about, specifying they have to remain on the topic of the bill.
Democrats, led by Jones and Pearson, have been particularly effective at using their speaking opportunities, whether on bills or through point of order, to drag out floor sessions.
Throughout the 2023 legislative session, Republican lawmakers became more and more frustrated with the pair, culminating in their expulsions from the chamber in March after the two took control of the House speaking podium during a brief recess to protest a lack of action to address gun violence following the Covenant School shooting.
The expulsions catapulted the two men into the national spotlight and allowed them to raise nearly $2 million. The attention and money showed the effectiveness and rewards of gumming up the legislative process.
As part of the August special session rules, Republicans also tried to ban signs on the House floor and committee rooms, but a Davidson County judge struck down the rule as violating the First Amendment.
The 2024 rules don’t contain any provisions banning signs from members of the public but prevent House members from carrying signs. A rules panel, however, declined to specifically approve provisions allowing small signs to be held up in committee meetings even though several members of the public held signs during Monday’s meeting.
The House will debate the rules package when it starts its 2024 legislative session Tuesday. Read it here:
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.
Five years after a bruising legislative battle opened the door to private school vouchers in parts of Tennessee, lawmakers are preparing to take up a controversial bill to create a similar program statewide.
Gov. Bill Lee’s universal voucher proposal, which eventually would make all K-12 students eligible to use public funding to attend a private or home school, is expected to dominate debate after the 113th General Assembly reconvenes on Tuesday.
But other issues affecting students and educators are sure to emerge in a state where education reform has been front and center since 2010, when Tennessee won $500 million in the federal Race to the Top competition to jumpstart changes.
With the GOP supermajority setting the agenda again this year, here’s a look at some big issues to watch as the opening gavel falls.
School vouchers: Lee’s expansion plan renews long-running debate
In November, the governor said he’ll introduce a new Education Freedom Scholarship Act to offer $7,075 in taxpayer money for each of up to 20,000 students statewide next school year to attend a private or home school, with eligibility restrictions for half of them. In 2025, eligibility would open up to all students, regardless of their family’s income.
The proposal would mark a massive expansion of Tennessee’s voucher program, which is now limited to three urban counties and still under-enrolled. But more than a month after Lee’s announcement, few details have been released.
“I have yet to understand where the financing is coming from,” said Sen. Page Walley, a Republican whose district includes eight rural counties in West Tennessee.
“If we jump to statewide vouchers, I don’t see how we fund it without robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he added.
Other big questions:
Would students accepting the new voucher scholarships have to take the same state tests as public school students in order to measure outcomes?
Would private schools accepting vouchers have to be state-approved or accredited, and would their teachers have to be licensed as public school educators are?
Would the state place stipulations on tuition costs at participating private schools, so they don’t raise their rates as many did in Arizona after the rollout of a universal voucher program?
Speaking with reporters last week, Lee promised accountability measures but declined to give specifics. He expects Republican leaders to file the bill on his behalf in the next few weeks, after his administration gets more feedback from lawmakers and stakeholders.
“Getting that input’s important for us to finalize the language that we think is the most agreeable to the most folks,” he said.
Rep. John Ray Clemmons of Nashville, who chairs the House Democratic caucus, called that approach “backwards.”
“They’re trying to craft something to get enough votes, instead of looking at the data and research on whether vouchers are good public policy,” Clemmons said.
Meanwhile, the pro-voucher Beacon Center released a poll last week finding broad support from Tennesseans for expanding such programs statewide. However, the group did not use the word “voucher,” which tends to poll worse, in its question to Tennesseans.
School safety: Renewed discussion, but no gun laws (it’s an election year)
Tennesseans were unnerved when an armed intruder shot and killed three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville on March 27, in the middle of last year’s legislative session. And the growing impact of gun violence on kids across the state is undeniable.
But Republican lawmakers’ response last year was to further harden schools rather than entertain any proposals to restrict gun access — not even for people who are deemed at risk of hurting themselves or others, as the Nashville shooter had been.
Some of them have organized news conferences and rallies at the Capitol this week for students, educators, and others to voice their concerns. Meanwhile, a group of parents from The Covenant School in Nashville, where the tragedy took place, say they’ll continue to advocate for changes to “ensure responsible firearm ownership, safe schools, and accessible adequate mental health care for all individuals across Tennessee.”
They include several measures to let certain citizens or school employees carry handguns in schools, and a bill to require all public and private schools to create alarm policies that differentiate emergencies for fire, weather, or an active shooter.
A new bill, from Republican Sen. Mark Pody of Lebanon and Rep. Susan Lynn of Mount Juliet, would let schools purchase lanyards equipped with emergency alert buttons for school staff to wear around their necks.
But don’t expect the legislature to look seriously at bills to restrict gun access in an election year, according to several key Republicans.
“I do not believe there’s an appetite or pathway to success for any legislation that might be introduced that is going to infringe on constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, of Franklin.
With the latest State of the Child report ranking Tennessee near the bottom nationally for access to mental health resources, Johnson sees more room for discussion on that topic.
“I think a big conversation in the coming session will be how we strengthen our mental health safety net,” Johnson said, “as well as general access to mental health treatment in Tennessee.”
Third-grade reading law: Lawmakers may revisit retention provision — again
Now under the same law, the state may have to retain thousands of fourth graders who test poorly this spring.
“I think we have to look into it,” said Rep. Mark White of Memphis, who chairs a House education committee. “We’ve probably got a lot of fourth graders who have already done summer school and tutoring but still won’t pass that test. It’s never a bad thing to have off-ramps and waivers.”
He added: “I want us to continue looking closer at Kindergarten, first, and second grades so we’re not waiting until the third and fourth grades to address these challenges.”
But Sen. Jon Lundberg, who chairs his chamber’s education panel, is less inclined to make more changes in the 2021 law.
“We’ve set the standard for proficiency and for showing adequate growth, and I don’t want to move those,” he said.
Federal education funding: Talk about rejecting it looks like just talk, for now
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican from Crossville, surprised many in his own party last year when he floated the idea of Tennessee rejecting more than a billion dollars in federal funding for students, which he said could be offset with state tax revenues.
Legislative leaders polled by Chalkbeat last week said they haven’t heard of any legislation coming out of the hearings.
“It doesn’t hurt to know where our funding is coming from and how it’s being spent,” said White, the House’s education leader, said of the task force’s discussions, “but I don’t see that conversation going anywhere in the short term.”
Teacher shortages: Vacancies could lead to creative thinking
With Sexton declaring that Tennessee has enough state revenues to cover more than $1 billion in federal funding, plenty of public school advocates asked why the state wouldn’t use that excess instead to accelerate the governor’s plan to raise the minimum salary for teachers to $50,000 by 2027. (This year, the base is $42,000.)
Districts struggled to fill nearly 4,000 vacancies statewide last school year, especially in the middle grades, English as a second language, world languages, and special education, according to one report. And shortages of school bus drivers are a nationwide problem.
Lee told reporters that, while state revenues have flattened in recent months, Tennessee’s economy remains strong.
“We should probably look at our investments in public school funding and investments in teacher pay every year,” he said when asked about the prospect of accelerating pay increases.
Currently, the state covers less than half of health insurance premiums for its teachers, while state employees get 100 percent of their premiums covered. Moving teachers to the state employee plan could be a boost to both teachers and the local districts that employ them.
Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET) has also called on the legislature to develop policies to address child care access and affordability for teachers, more than 80 percent of whom are female.
“If you want to keep good teachers,” said PET executive director JC Bowman, “ease their burdens so they can focus on their work in school to educate and nurture our future generation.”
To follow this year’s legislative business, visit the General Assembly’s website for calendars, committees, legislation, and livestreams.
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.
Gun violence is still top of mind for a number of organizations as lawmakers from across the state convene in Nashville Tuesday for the next regular session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
In March, a shooter killed three children and three adults at Nashville’s Covenant School. Among the victims was a friend of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. Thousands began to show up at the Tennessee State Capitol Building to demand action gun violence from lawmakers.
Lee later proposed a series of laws to keep guns out of the hands of those who could be a threat to themselves or others. None of his Republican colleagues picked up the bills. Instead, they quickly passed the state budget and fled back to their home districts.
However, Lee brought them all back to Nashville in August for a special session. The meeting was to yield some sort of meaningful regulations to curb gun violence here. None came, really. Though one bill did cut the tax for gun locks and safes. Republicans, it seemed, had sidestepped the issue with no political damage done to their Second-Amendment stances.
However, at least two groups are not yet ready to let the gun-violence-debate fade as the GOP would like.
Rise and Shine Tennessee, a nonprofit group created during last year’s rallies against gun violence last year, will bring children aged 5-10 to Nashville to tell their stories to the media. The children will speak Tuesday morning as legislators prepare for the first day of the new session.
”It’s time to hear from the youth themselves about their desires and needs,” reads a statement from the group. “These youth are not pawns in a political game, but individuals impacted the most by inaction on gun safety.”
The group will return to Nashville Thursday with a group of high school students who have met with lawmakers, attended rallies, and sat in meetings of the legislature.
Another group will convene at Legislative Plaza Tuesday to “address gun violence and safety while upholding gun rights.” The TN11 group is comprised of 11 Tennesseans “from all sides of the ideological and political aisle,” including a firearms instructor, a former state trooper, a teacher, and a Memphis college student and activist.
”Gun violence is like a yarn ball — and not the kind that comes all rolled up and pretty — but the kind that is just everywhere,” reads a statement from the TN11 website from Memphis’ Jaila Hampton. “It’s so complex. There’s no overnight solution, and every day that we’re doing nothing, somebody is losing their life.”
This group used the online Citizens Solutions platform to help solve the divisive gun violence issue. Over the past few months, the group’s list of eight proposals on the matter were whittled down to five from more than 30,000 Tennesseans from all 95 counties. The group will present those proposals to lawmakers Tuesday.
The proposals include:
• Temporary removal of firearms based on risk of violence
• Tools to support responsible gun ownership
• Expansion of the roles of School Resource Officers
• Community investment to reduce trauma
• Gun issue literacy resources for schools, communities, and media
Another group likely to continue to speak out against gun violence here is Moms Demand Action Tennessee (MDAT). Members of that group were ever present during the special session in August with some among those kicked out of a committee room by a GOP chairman.
On Facebook Friday, MDAT posted a new ranking from the national Everytown for Gun Safety organization. Tennessee ranked 29th in the nation for gun law strength. The group said Tennessee had some of the weakest gun laws in the country with some of the highest rates of gun violence.
New year 2024 concept, beginning of success. Text 2024 written on asphalt road and male runner preparing for the new year. Concept of challenge or career path and change.
What do you mean it’s almost January? If you’re anything like us, the encroaching new year has really seemed to have come out of left field. The churning news cycle means that we’ve had our heads down covering the arts, a mayoral race, the Tennessee legislature, and everything in between. But despite a packed 2023, there are plenty more stories on the horizon. With 2024 just around the corner, our writers take a look at what we can expect in Memphis news next year.
Breaking News
Paul Young
Paul Young taking the mayor’s seat will be the Memphis news story to watch in 2024.
Memphis hasn’t had a new mayor for eight years; hasn’t done things differently for eight years — for good or bad. So, Memphians can expect new ideas, fresh faces, and new approaches to the city’s same-old problems (but maybe some new opportunities, too).
Paul Young (Photo: Paul Young for Memphis)
Some could argue too much emphasis is put on the mayor’s office, much like the president’s office. But that office is where the city’s business is done daily, from police and fire to trash collection and paving. Yes, these ideas are later shaped by the Memphis City Council and, yes, the mayor is expected to carry out rules formed entirely by the council. But all of that is executed (executive branch, get it?) by the mayor and his team.
Young has already named a few key staffers. Tannera Gibson will be his city attorney and Penelope Huston will be head of communications, according to The Daily Memphian. Young told the Memphian, too, that he’ll keep the controversial Cerelyn Davis as chief of the Memphis Police Department.
Memphis in May
This next year could be make or break for the Memphis in May International Festival (MIM).
It ended 2023 with a whimper. The nonprofit organization posted a record loss of $3.4 million and record-low attendance for Beale Street Music Festival. Also, its longtime leader Jim Holt announced his retirement.
MIM leaders put Music Fest on hiatus for 2024. It also moved the Championship Barbecue Cooking Competition to Liberty Park.
Meanwhile Forward Momentum and the Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) announced a new three-day music festival at Tom Lee Park (called River Beat) and a new barbecue contest, both in May.
It’s unknown if these new events could supplant MIM. Speculation, though, has the future of the nonprofit in question. It’ll be worth watching.
Tennessee General Assembly
State lawmakers are hard to predict.
Last year, for example, one GOP member spent countless hours persuading his colleagues to add firing squads to the list of options for the state’s death row inmates. Another wanted to add “hanging by a tree” to that list.
However, one can easily predict Republicans will seek to make life harder for the LGBTQ community. One bill paused last year, for example, would allow county clerks to deny marriage rites to anyone they choose (wink, wink).
The little-known but hard-working Tennessee Medical Marijuana Commission may approach lawmakers next year with a plan to get a state system off the ground. Dead medical cannabis bills have become too many to count over the years. But the hope is that the group’s expertise after years of study may help tip the scales.
Easy bets are also on bills that mention “abortion” or “trans.” — Toby Sells
Politics
Oddly enough, the city’s incoming chief executive, Paul Young, remains something of an unknown despite his extensive exposure (and his consistently adept campaigning) during the long and trying mayoral race that concluded in October. Nor will the aggressive ballyhoo of his preliminary activities — parade, concert, and inaugural ball, no less! — have shed much light on his intentions in office, though his inaugural address will be highly anticipated in that regard.
Major changes may be in the offing, though so far the shape of them is not obvious. Young’s announced reappointment of police director C.J. Davis at year’s end may be an indication that, in the personnel sense, anyhow, there may well be a continuum of sorts with the administration of outgoing Mayor Strickland.
C.J. Davis (Photo: Memphis Police Department)
The newly elected council, meanwhile, is expected to be measurably more progressive-minded on various issues as a result of the election than was its predecessor.
A city task force already launched — GVIP (Group Violence Intervention Program), which involves an active interchange of sorts between governmental players and gang members (“intervenors,” as they are designated) in an effort to curb violence on the streets. It will be picking up steam as the year begins.
And follow-up readings will still be required in 2024 on an initiative sponsored by outgoing Councilman Martavius Jones and passed by the council conferring lifelong healthcare benefits on council members elected since 2015, upon their having completed two terms.
(News of that move prompted an astounded Facebook post from former Councilman Shea Flinn, who served back when first responders’ benefits had to be cut and a controversial pension for city employees with 12 years’ or more service was rescinded. Said Flinn: “Do I have this correct? Because I don’t want to be gassing up a flamethrower for nothing!”)
The Shelby County Commission, having worked in tandem with Mayor Lee Harris in the past year to secure serious funding for a new Regional One Health hospital, continues to be ambitious, hoping to acquire subpoena power from the state for the county’s recently created Civilian Law Enforcement Review Committee and to proceed with the construction of a long-contemplated Mental Health, Safety, and Justice Center.
The commission is also seeking guidance from the DA’s office on the long-festering matter of removing County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office.
At the state level, almost all attention during the early legislative session will be fixed on Republican Governor Bill Lee’s decision to push for statewide application of the school-voucher program that barely squeaked through the General Assembly in 2019 as a “pilot” program for Shelby and Davidson counties. (Hamilton County was later added.) The program was finally allowed by the state Supreme Court after being nixed at lower levels on constitutional grounds. Democrats are universally opposed to its expansion, as, for the record, are the school boards in Shelby County’s seven school districts. Prospects for passage may depend on how many GOP legislators (a seriously divided group in 2019) are inclined this time to let the governor have his way.
Also on tap will be a series of bills aimed at stiffening crime/control procedures, some of which may also try to roll back recent changes in Shelby County’s bail/bond practices.
Oh, and there will be both a presidential primary vote and an election for General Sessions Court clerk in March. — Jackson Baker
Music
No sooner does yuletide appear than it’s gone again in a wink, as we turn to face a new notch on life’s yardstick. Yet even before 2024 dawns, Memphis has great music brewing on this year’s penultimate day, December 30th, from the solo seasoned jug band repertoire of David Evans (Lamplighter Lounge) to the revved-up R&B-surf-crime jazz-rock of Impala (Bar DKDC) to Louder Than Bombs’ take on The Smiths (B-Side).
Ironically, DJ Devin Steele’s Kickback show at the Hi-Tone is keeping live music on the menu with a six-piece band alongside the wheels of Steele. Down on Beale Street, bass giant Leroy “Flic” Hodges and band will be at B.B. King’s, and the Blues City Café will feature solid blues from Earl “The Pearl” Banks and Blind Mississippi Morris.
Susan Marshall (Photo: Jamie Harmon)
While New Year’s Eve seems particularly DJ-heavy this December 31st, there are still some places to ring in the new year with a live band. Perhaps the most remarkable will be when three of the city’s most moving women in music — Susan Marshall, Cyrena Wages, and Marcella Simien ringing in midnight — converge at the freshly re-energized Mollie Fontaine Lounge. A more up-close, swinging time will be found at the Beauty Shop’s meal extravaganza set to the music of Joyce Cobb. Orion Hill’s Mardi Gras Masquerade will feature Cooper Union (with Brennan Villines and Alexis Grace), and Blind Mississippi Morris will hold court again at Blues City as a gigantic disco ball rises up a 50-foot tower outside on Beale. For that Midtown live vibe, Lafayette’s Music Room’s elaborate festivities will feature the band Aquanet.
For many Memphians, the new year will begin with a look backward as a smorgasbord of bands — from Nancy Apple to Michael Graber to Oakwalker and beyond — gather at B-Side to honor the late Townes van Zandt on January 1st. The revival of the 1970 musical Company, opening at the Orpheum the next day, also honors an earlier era’s muse, but its five Tony Awards suggest that even today it “strikes like a lightning bolt” (Variety). And the historical appreciations continue: On January 14th, Crosstown Arts’ MLK Freedom Celebration will feature the Mahogany Chamber Music Series, curated by Dr. Artina McCain and spotlighting Black and other underrepresented composers and performers; and on January 20th GPAC will host jazz trumpeter, vocalist, and composer Jumaane Smith’s Louis! Louis! Louis!, blending his own compositions with those of Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, and Louis Jordan — three giants of the last century.
Who knows, maybe reflecting on all this past greatness will teach 2024 a thing or two? — Alex Greene
Coming Attractions in 2024
2023’s dual WGA and SAG strikes disrupted production, so 2024 should be an unpredictable year at the multiplex. Studios are currently engaged in a high-stakes game of chicken with the release calendar, so don’t take any of these dates as gospel. In January, an all-star apostle team led by LaKeith Stanfield and David Oyelowo tries to horn in on the messiah game in The Book of Clarence.
February has the endlessly promoted spy caper Argylle, a Charlie Kaufman-penned animated film Orion and the Dark, the intriguing-looking Lisa Frankenstein, and Bob Marley: One Love left over from 2023, as well as Ethan Coen’s lesbian road comedy Drive-Away Dolls.
March is stacked with Denis Villeneuve’s return to Arrakis, Dune: Part Two; Jack Black voicing Kung Fu Panda 4; Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire; and Focus Features’ satire The American Society of Magical Negroes.
Monsters will collide in Godzilla x Kong.
April starts with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Alex Garland’s social sci-fi epic Civil War.
May features Ryan Gosling as The Fall Guy and Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse in Back to Black. On April 24th, we have a three-flick pile-up with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, The Garfield Movie (animated, thank God), and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. ALL HAIL IMPERATOR FURIOSA!
Anya Taylor-Joy in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
June brings us Inside Out 2, which adds Maya Hawke as Anxiety to the Pixar classic’s cast of emotions. There’s another Bad Boys film on the schedule that nobody has bothered to title yet. Meanwhile, Kevin Costner goes too hard with punctuation with Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter One. (Chapter Two drops in August.)
In July, there’s the horror of Despicable Me 4 and Twisters, a sequel to the ’90s tornado thriller that lacked the guts to call itself Twister$. Ryan Reynolds returns as the Merc with a Mouth in Deadpool 3, the first Marvel offering of the year.
In August, Eli Roth adapts the hit game Borderlands, which, if you think about it, could actually work. James McAvoy stars in the Blumhouse screamer Speak No Evil. Don’t Breathe director Fede Álvarez directs Priscilla’s Cailee Spaeny in Alien: Romulus.
September is looking spare, but Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, and Winona Ryder are getting the band back together for Beetlejuice 2, so that could be fun.
October looks a tad more promising with Joker: Folie à Deux, a psychosexual (emphasis on the “psycho”) thriller with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. There’s also the cheerful Smile 2, evil clown porn Terrifier 3, and a Blumhouse production of Wolf Man.
November sees a remake of The Amateur, Barry Levinson’s mob thriller Alto Knights, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 with Denzel Washington, and Wicked: Part One, led by Tony Award-winner Cynthia Erivo.
Then, the year goes out strong with Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, an anime Tolkien adaptation from Kenji Kamiyama.
This time next year, we’ll be gushing over Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King, Robert Eggers’ boundary-pushing Nosferatu remake, and an ultra-secret Jordan Peele joint. — Chris McCoy
Memphis Sports
Here’s a one-item wish list for Memphis sports in 2024: Ja Morant videos that are exclusively basketball highlights. The city’s preeminent athlete stole headlines this year with off-the-court drama that ultimately cost him the first 25 games of the Grizzlies’ 2023-24 season. Morant’s absence was more than the roster could take, particularly with center Steven Adams sidelined for the season with a knee injury. More than 10 games under .500 in mid-December, the Grizzlies must hope the star’s return can simply get them back to break-even basketball. If that happens — and with the rim-rattling displays that have made Ja a superstar — the new year will have brought new life to the Bluff City’s flagship sports franchise.
And how about a first regular-season American Athletic Conference championship for Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers? The AAC is a watered-down version of the league we knew a year ago (no more Houston, no more Cincinnati), with Florida Atlantic now the Tigers’ primary obstacle for a league crown. A controversial loss to FAU in the opening round of the NCAA tournament last March created an instant rivalry, one that will take the floor at FedExForum on February 25th. David Jones is an early candidate for AAC Player of the Year and sidekick Jahvon Quinerly gives Hardaway the best collection of new-blood talent since “transfer portal” became a thing.
Seth Henigan (Photo: Wes Hale)
With Seth Henigan returning to quarterback the Tigers for a fourth season, Memphis football should also compete for an AAC title and an 11th consecutive bowl campaign. AutoZone Park will hum with Redbirds baseball and 901 FC soccer throughout the warm-weather months, and the PGA Tour will make Memphis home when the FedEx St. Jude Championship tees off on August 15th.
But let’s hope 2024, somehow, becomes the Year of Ja in this town. The heart of Memphis sports echoes the sound of a basketball dribble. And one player speeds that heartbeat like no other. — Frank Murtaugh
Oscar Jimenez will suit up for 901 FC next season. (Photo: Courtesy USL/Louisville City FC)
Meanwhile, 901 FC can look forward to welcoming some unfamiliar opponents to the confines of AutoZone Park next season. A restructured United Soccer League means Memphis will bid adieu to the Eastern Conference and kick off its 2024 season as part of the Western Conference. That means that 22 of 901 FC’s 34-match schedule will be against Western Conference opponents, starting with a March 9th home season opener against Las Vegas Lights FC. There’s a new COO in Jay Mims, while we can expect plenty of new players to suit up before Stephen Glass leads the team out for its first game.
One thing that soccer fans will not be looking forward to, however, is a new stadium, with plans for a soccer-specific Liberty Park arena scuppered after $350 million in state dollars earmarked for sporting renovations did not include any provisions for 901 FC. — Samuel X. Cicci
State Capitol (Credit: Tennessee State Government)
Outgoing Republican Representative Sam Whitson is mulling a reversal of state law requiring the governor to gain approval from the legislature before expanding Medicaid.
Whitson, a Franklin lawmaker who recently announced he will not seek re-election in 2024, said Tuesday he’s been considering such a measure for two years with Tennessee forgoing billions in federal funding that could enable the working poor to obtain insurance coverage. He has not filed a bill yet.
The amount Tennessee is losing ballooned from about $1 billion in 2014 to $2.1 billion this year, according to healthinsurance.org.
“We should give the governor the opportunity to explore options,” Whitson told the Tennessee Lookout. “I’m not saying we need to do Medicaid expansion. I just think that was a restrictive bill done for purely political reasons to enhance Kelsey’s and Durham’s political future.”
Former Sen. Brian Kelsey, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance fraud but is fighting to reverse the plea, and former Rep. Jeremy Durham, who was expelled from the House in 2016 for 22 cases of sexual misconduct, passed the resolution in 2014 requiring legislative approval of a plan that former Gov. Bill Haslam was negotiating with the federal government.
Haslam’s Insure Tennessee proposal would have expanded TennCare coverage to some 250,000 uninsured and underinsured Tennesseans, giving them the opportunity to obtain health insurance through private providers, in some cases through a small premium.
Even though the legislature directed Haslam to come up with a plan, a Senate health committee rejected it on a 7-4 vote, stopping it from reaching the House or Senate floor.
Whitson, a member of the House Health Committee, said he is talking to colleagues to see if changing the state law has “traction.”
“We leave a lot of money on the table with that. I’m a big supporter of helping the working poor, people who work and try to make a living and are caught in that gap,” Whitson said.
Tennessee is believed to have more than 300,000 uninsured and underinsured people in a gap between TennCare and Affordable Care Act coverage.
Gov. Bill Lee has refused to take up the matter, consistently saying since his first election five years ago he believes the Affordable Care Act, through which 40 states expanded Medicaid, is “fundamentally flawed.” Since then, Tennessee has lost billions annually to other states.
Democratic Rep. Caleb Hemmer of Nashville, a House Health Committee member who penned an op-ed on the matter, pointed out 70 percent of Tennesseans said in a recent Vanderbilt poll they back Medicaid expansion. He favors a change in the law that restricts the governor’s ability to negotiate with the feds and set policy for Medicaid expansion.
“It’s a pathway,” Hemmer said of Whitson’s idea. “I’m a little concerned our governor wouldn’t do it even if we did pass the law, based on his prior comments.”
Studies show the state could widen coverage to 150,000 to 300,000 and save money, in addition to reducing medical bankruptcies, expanding mental health resources and preventing rural hospital closings, according to Hemmer.
We leave a lot of money on the table with that. I’m a big supporter of helping the working poor, people who work and try to make a living and are caught in that gap.
– Rep. Sam Whitson, R-Franklin
He pointed out the Affordable Care Act passed “a generation ago” and “the world has moved on” to other topics. In addition, Tennessee has a federal Medicaid waiver that gives the state flexibility to use TennCare savings to provide more services.
Lawmakers such as Republican Rep. Kelly Keisling of Byrdstown, who represents one of the state’s most rural districts, back Medicaid expansion but can’t find enough support within the Republican Caucus to push it to passage.
Gaining enough votes would be difficult, mainly because Obamacare and the resulting Medicaid expansion became a national political hotpoint a decade ago. Rejection of Haslam’s plan led to yearly protests at the Capitol, but Republican lawmakers haven’t budged since then.
House Health Committee Chairman Bryan Terry said in a short statement Tuesday “any Medicaid changes will have an impact on our budget; thus, should go through the legislative process.”
Haslam’s proposal was expected to cost the state $200 million, about 10 percent of the overall expense, which was to be paid by the Tennessee Hospital Association.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville and Democratic Rep. Larry Miller of Memphis sponsored a bill during the 2023 session removing the requirement for the legislature to approve a governor’s decision on Medicaid expansion. It didn’t move through the House or Senate committee systems.
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.
A leader of the panel exploring whether Tennessee can reject federal education funding says he doesn’t expect the state to do so, even if it can find a way.
Sen. Jon Lundberg, who co-chairs the special legislative committee looking into the idea, said that based on what the panel has learned during two weeks of hearings that ended last week, it would be premature to make big changes in the funding streams for Tennessee students.
The Bristol Republican also expects the panel’s work to continue “well into 2024″ as members seek information from the U.S. Department of Education about rules and regulations tied to acceptance of federal funding.
“My expectation is that we’re not going to say no to federal funds. We’re not going to kick more than a billion dollars back to the U.S. government,” Lundberg told Chalkbeat on last week.
“But I do think that, as a legislative body, we are going to be more judicious in reviewing federal rules and proposals that are passed on to the state education department and state Board of Education,” he said.
Advocate for education equity: ‘We’re taking this seriously’
This month’s hearings by the GOP-led legislative group mark the furthest any state has gone toward forgoing U.S. education dollars, which typically make up about a tenth of a state’s spending on K-12 education.
The 10-member committee, created by speakers of the House and Senate, has a January 9th deadline to submit its findings and recommendations to the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, who touted the idea in February, has said the state wants more autonomy over how its students are taught. He said the state would fill the federal funding gap with state money and continue programs that are currently federally funded.
Most of the federal money received in Tennessee — estimated at about $1.3 billion annually by state education department officials this week — provides additional support to low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. Other federally funded programs target certain needs ranging from rural education to technology to charter schools.
The opt-out talk has angered many Tennesseans who pay federal taxes and whose children benefit from federally funded programs or receive civil rights protections through federal oversight. Advocates of historically underserved students are prepared to mobilize if the committee’s work generates legislation to reject any part of federal funding.
For now, they’re monitoring the panel’s work.
“We’re taking this seriously, because this would be such a consequential step for the state to take,” said Gini Pupo-Walker, who leads The Education Trust in Tennessee. “We’re trying to ensure lawmakers are getting accurate information during the discussions.” (Related: What it would mean for kids)
Tennessee-based advocacy groups such as The Education Trust and the Tennessee Disability Coalition, as well as those representing parents and educators, were not invited or allowed to testify during the hearings — a decision that Lundberg said was designed to keep the committee on mission. Instead, the testimony came mostly from state and nonpartisan researchers, officials with the Tennessee education department, four local school district leaders, and a federal policy expert with the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“Our charge was not to look at how to cut funding, but how to change that funding stream from federal to state dollars,” Lundberg said.
Panel leaders expect to gather more input
As of Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education had not received questions from the Tennessee panel but stands ready to provide “technical assistance” as needed, a spokesperson said.
The federal department, which was listed on the agenda for one meeting last week, did not send representatives to testify because the agency never received an invitation, the spokesperson said.
But he expects the panel will have numerous questions for federal officials, and that the back-and-forth process could take months.
Eventually, the committee may also seek legal opinions from the state attorney general’s office. Because no state has rejected federal education money before, Tennessee officials expect numerous challenges in court if the state takes a step in that direction.
“I notified the speakers that we potentially won’t complete our work by the January 9th deadline,” Lundberg said. “We have to get this right, not just quick.”
Rep. Debra Moody, the Covington Republican who co-chairs the panel, said in a statement that her intention is to “continue gathering pertinent information so the working group can release a complete and competent report.”
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said he’s pleased the panel is taking its fact-finding mission seriously.
“I have no issue with an extension, if needed, and I look forward to reading the group’s final report when it is completed,” McNally said through a spokesman.
As part of their fact-finding mission, there’s no discussion of committee members touring the state to see the kinds of services provided under federally funded programs to determine whether the state has sustainable finances and operational capacity to continue them.
For instance, federal money helps support homeless students, career and technical education labs, and after-school programs that provide tutoring, enrichment, and meals to students from low-income families.
Pupo-Walker, from The Education Trust, said any comprehensive investigation should include that type of research.
“I think it would be a disservice,” she said, “not to see firsthand how those federal dollars play out in the lives of children and families and schools and their communities.”
You can see a state analysis of county-by-county budget information that includes public education, at the General Assembly’s website. The nonpartisan Sycamore Institute has also produced two recentreports about federal education funding in Tennessee.
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Marta at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Tennessee officials are devising the state’s first-ever climate action plan thanks to federal funds through the Inflation Reduction Act.
So far, 33 states have created and released climate plans, according to Climate Central, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to reporting on the changing climate. Tennessee’s big-four cities — Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga — all have individual plans.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) is now working with groups across the state for a greenhouse gas emission reduction plan, called the Tennessee Volunteer Emission Reduction Strategy (TVERS).
The “volunteer” part of the name is more than a reference to the Volunteer State, one of Tennessee’s nicknames. The planning approach so far does not seem to favor any mandates to curb climate change.
”Through TVERS, TDEC is focusing on voluntary or incentive-based activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants,” reads a website for the plan. “While other states have imposed mandates to reduce emissions, we hope to reach established goals through voluntary measures that may differ throughout the state.”
TDEC won $3 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in July to develop the statewide climate action plan. Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville each received $1 million to develop further plans.
The state owes the EPA a draft of a greenhouse gas inventory by the beginning of next month, according to state documents. Tennessee has never published (and has maybe never conducted) an inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions.
When Memphis officials measured the city’s greenhouse gases for its climate action plan in 2016, they found emissions here came from three major sectors: energy, transportation, and waste.
Energy emissions were 46 percent of the total. The figure includes emissions from energy used in residential, commercial/institutional, and industrial buildings. Transportation emissions (42 percent) included passenger, freight, on-road and off-road vehicles. Waste emissions (12 percent) included solid waste disposal in landfills and wastewater treatment processes.
The total greenhouse gas output that year here was about 17.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. An EPA calculator says that amount of emissions is equal to more than 44 million miles driven by gas-powered cars, more than 94,000 railcars worth of coal burned, and more than 2 trillion smartphones charged. The Memphis climate plan said “emissions are fairly comparable to, and even lower than, several other peer cities, including Nashville, Atlanta, Louisville, and St. Louis.”
Credit: City of Memphis
After turning in a cursory greenhouse gas emissions inventory, the state will then owe the EPA a draft climate action plan by March. Then, officials will have to turn over a comprehensive climate action plan.
The process mandates states to provide greenhouse gas emission reduction measures. These could include “transitioning to low-or zero-emission vehicles, reducing carbon intensity of fuels, and expanding transportation options (biking, walking, public transit).” For buildings, these could include “increasing energy efficiency through incentive programs, weatherization retrofits, building codes and standards, and increasing electrification.”
Climate change has been a particularly thorny political issue in Tennessee with the state’s GOP-dominated legislature. This year, the General Assembly legally defined natural gas as “clean energy,” fought building codes that would reduce electricity consumption, and blocked a weather infrastructure project that would have given real-time data in every county.
In 2019, Gov. Bill Lee said he was was undecided as to whether climate change was real or not. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has battled companies on climate change issues throughout his tenure. But at least one Tennessee state government official was frank about climate issues during a presentation on the TVERS plan last month.
“Reducing emissions will result in cleaner air and improve public health,” said Jennifer Tribble, director of TDEC’s Office of Policy and Planning. “Greenhouse gas emissions are also contributing to the warming of our climate and an increase in number and severity of extreme weather events, such as drought, forest fires and hurricanes. These effects have important consequences on human health, such as exposure to extreme heat. Reducing these emissions will improve our resilience to these impacts in the long-term.”
Students at Whitehaven High School in Memphis attended an assembly with the authors of “His Name Is George Floyd,” but restrictions associated with Tennessee law prevented them from hearing excerpts of the book. (Courtesy of Memphis Shelby County Schools)
Students at Memphis’ Whitehaven High School got a chance last month to hear from journalists Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, authors of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book on George Floyd — his life, his brutal killing by police in 2020, and its aftermath.
But the students didn’t get to hear any excerpts from His Name Is George Floyd, and they weren’t allowed to take home copies of the book from school. The authors had to give their presentation without going too deep into the book’s main theme of systemic racism.
Who determined the restrictions and why is unclear. The organizers of the event, a local partnership called Memphis Reads, said their instructions to the authors were based on guidance from the school district on complying with Tennessee law that requires that books used in school be “age appropriate.”
Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials disputed their account, but repeatedly declined to answer questions about what they told the organizers or how they interpreted the law. In an email to the authors after the event, district communications chief Cathryn Stout said MSCS did not run the book through its review process before the visit.
In the end, the authors told Chalkbeat, the students who gathered at Whitehaven that day were shortchanged by restricted access to the book and a censored experience.
“Neither Tolu nor I know who to cast blame on,” Samuels said. “I’m not sure we could, or we should.”
But the ambiguous restrictions in this and other Tennessee laws have caused concern at the local level about compliance, Samuels said, resulting in “messy, potentially explosive debates between entities that usually get along.”
Floyd was killed during an arrest in May 2020, when a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee onto Floyd’s neck for several minutes. An onlooker’s video recording of the event went public, triggering a huge outcry and calls for and policing reform. The officer was ultimately convicted of second-degree murder.
Samuels and Olonnuripa’s book, written while both were reporters at the Washington Post, looks not just at the incident but also at how pervasive racism in education, criminal justice, housing, and health care systems shaped Floyd’s life. “We learned about the man himself … and much more than how he died,” Samuels said during a forum at Rhodes College.
They also wrote about what happened afterward: a season of demonstrations, dialogue, and unrest during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by what they call a “burgeoning backlash” to the racial justice movement, resulting in state laws across the country that stifled classroom discussions on race.
MSCS officials and the Memphis Reads organizers did not specifically cite this law as a factor in what ultimately happened at Whitehaven, but the law nonetheless hangs over educators’ decisions about what topics are appropriate for classroom discussion. Two Memphis teachers are among five in Tennessee challenging the law in federal court.
Tennessee’s Age Appropriate Materials Act, meanwhile, requires schools to publish a list of what’s in their library collections online and develop policies to review and remove books that aren’t appropriate — a term that the law leaves undefined.
MSCS has leeway to interpret this law, but longstanding tensions between the majority-Black, Democratic-led city and the mostly white, GOP-dominated state government mean the district can ill afford to risk a fight with the state over the nuances of race and books.
Christian Brothers University runs the Memphis Reads program in partnership with other community groups. In communication with Chalkbeat, CBU cited the Age Appropriate Materials law as the reason it understood that books and materials couldn’t be distributed at the Whitehaven event and said that the guidance came from the Memphis school district.
CBU and other Memphis Reads partners “were under the instruction of MSCS leadership when completing the formatting and regulations concerning the Age-Appropriate Materials Act,” Justin Brooks, the CBU community engagement director who heads Memphis Reads, wrote in an email to Chalkbeat.
MSCS officials wouldn’t confirm that to Chalkbeat, or explain whether Tennessee’s law regulating classroom conversations about race influenced any restrictions.
In the email to the authors after the event, shared later with Chalkbeat, Stout wrote that time constraints prevented the district from going through its own process to approve the book. Stout wrote that the district regretted that their “experience was anything less than welcoming.”
“Given the new, more detailed process, it will take some time to coordinate, but please know that ‘His Name Is George Floyd’ is now under consideration to be added to the Whitehaven High School library collection,” Stout wrote to the authors, “and we look forward to having conversations with other school communities as requests arise.”
Separately, Stout shared with Chalkbeat a copy of a description from library book distributor Baker & Taylor that categorizes the book as “adult” and among the American Library Association’s “Notable Books for Adults.”
Stout also wrote in a public social media comment explaining the district’s position that the American Library Association labeled His Name is George Floyd as “adult literature (18 and older).”
ALA spokesperson Raymond Garcia told Chalkbeat that the group “does not rate books” for age appropriateness.
Booklist, a book review magazine published by the ALA — and listed among resources for librarians in an MSCS manual — uses its “adult” label not to be restrictive but to signal that a book would be of interest primarily to adults, Garcia said.
If the label was a factor in the decision not to allow Memphis Reads to distribute the books at Whitehaven, then that’s an “inaccurate understanding” of the purpose of such book labels, said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association.
“We can think of any kinds of works of literature that would have been originally rated as of interest to an adult reader that are absolutely fine for young people to read, and it’s not too controversial,” Caldwell-Stone told Chalkbeat, citing “To Kill a Mockingbird” as an example.
Nonetheless, the ambiguity in Tennessee’s standard of “appropriateness” creates gray areas and heightens the stakes for local districts concerned about avoiding a violation, Caldwell-Stone said.
If a person or district cannot risk breaking the law, “then you’re going to be very thoughtful about what books you offer,” she said, “and thereby limit the opportunities to learn and engage with all kinds of ideas, even controversial or difficult ideas.”
A spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Education says MSCS did not reach out to the state for guidance, and MSCS didn’t respond to a question from Chalkbeat about that issue.
Thanks to a donation from the publisher, Viking Books, students who want a free copy of the book will be able to get one from Respect the Haven, a community development group in Whitehaven that’s part of Memphis Reads.
Whitehaven High School serves some 1,500 students and is known among Memphis for its school pride and focus on students’ post-secondary scholarship achievements. Almost all of its students are Black, and about half of them are from low-income families.
“This event basically got censored out of fear of violating some law,” said Jason Sharif, head of Respect the Haven. “With us being a predominantly Black city, a predominantly Black school district, you cannot keep books like this or stories like this from being told to Black students.”
By the time Samuels and Olorunnipa arrived at Whitehaven High School for the event on Oct. 26, they knew some of the restrictions they would have to operate under. The two reporters were prepared to tell students about the journalistic work that went into writing the book, but to avoid going into depth about many of the issues it raised.
Brooks, from Memphis Reads, had told them they wouldn’t be able to read directly from the book, or talk about the book’s discussion of how systemic racism created many barriers for Floyd, long before his arrest and killing. MSCS was involved in setting these restrictions, Brooks said. The district did not comment on its role.
Instead of an open question-and-answer period, five students were pre-selected to ask Samuels and Olorunnipa prepared questions, which was different from the open conversations at the two other panels that Memphis Reads organized. This was in line with MSCS protocol for events, Brooks said.
Brooks said it was CBU’s call to keep the event closed to media, out of concern for student safety. A Chalkbeat reporter attended two similar events at the college level.
Stout said Brooks and Sharif had created a narrative about the event that is “inconsistent” with the district’s point of view and its own initiatives. She highlighted a Memphis school integration curriculum and a social emotional learning curriculum involving the death of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who was fatally injured by Memphis police after a traffic stop in early 2023.
MSCS told Chalkbeat that it was glad Whitehaven students had the opportunity to hear the journalists speak, as did CBU in its own communication.
And Samuels and Olorunnipa, who had early doubts about being part of an event with restrictions on their speech, said they were grateful for the opportunity, too. They were approached at the end of the event by a Whitehaven high schooler with a notebook full of questions who said he wanted to be a journalist. The authors relished the chance to expand what the student imagined for his future.
“Even through this period of backlash, we think it’s important to continue to push forward and continue to make a pathway for people who are caught up in the back and forth,” Olorunnipa said during another forum.
“A lot of these kids have nothing to do with the politics,” Olorunnipa added. “They are just trying to make it. They’re just trying to live their best lives. And sometimes they become pawns in our political fights.”
Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
The days of skyrocketing tax revenues are likely over, multiple budget experts told Tennessee’s panel in charge of predicting revenue growth.
The financial experts predict the state and national economy will grow, but at a slower pace over the next two years. This, combined with the state’s business tax cuts enacted earlier this year, will slow the state’s revenue, making them harder to predict.
For the past five years, Tennessee’s revenue has grown from $17.4 billion to $24.7 billion. This has allowed the state to spend more money on projects and keep up with the growing wages for employees.
The revenue projections made by the state funding board are crucial as programs boosted by federal coronavirus relief funds expire, leaving the state with the option of whether to cut them or fund them from its own revenue. The projections will also factor into whether the state can afford to fund any new programs or whether it can cut taxes.
If the panel goes with a negative growth rate, the state would have to cut its current spending, dip into its reserve funds, or increase revenue with new taxes.
The funding panel heard presentations from economic experts at East Tennessee State University, the state Department of Revenue, the Federal Reserve, the Tennessee General Assembly’s Fiscal Review Committee and the University of Tennessee.
The various officials detailed Tennessee’s economic outlook, giving out projections for future tax revenue over the next two years. The funding board will use these predictions as it sets the revenue projections for state officials to use when developing next year’s budget.
Tennessee’s budget hearings start Tuesday, and the governor will submit his proposed budget to state lawmakers before his State of the State address in late January or early February of 2024.
Several of the experts pointed out that part of the reason Tennessee’s revenue isn’t growing as fast is because of a significant business tax cut already leading to a slowdown in franchise and excise tax collections. From July 1 to Sept. 30, 2023, these taxes missed projections by around $61.4 million.
Most of the state’s revenue gain over the past five years has been driven by the ability to collect taxes on internet sales and an enormous growth in franchise and excise tax collections. Budget data shows that nearly two-thirds of the increase in state revenues came from these two areas.
He predicted tax revenue would grow by less than 1 percent in each of the next two years. Officials from the revenue department made a similar prediction, estimating virtually no revenue growth over the next two years.
Representatives with the Tennessee General Assembly’s Fiscal Review Committee and those from East Tennessee State University were more optimistic, predicting positive growth. Fiscal review officials projected 1.1 percent revenue growth next year and 3.4 percent the year after, while ETSU economists went with 4.8 percent and 4.2 percent.
Over the past few years, the state’s funding panel has used expert predictions to set revenue growth below their estimates, creating a surplus in revenue.
During this period, state officials used the surplus to increase its funding for schools by $1 billion, give $884 million in incentives to Ford and contribute $850 million towards professional sports stadiums in Nashville and Memphis.
The state funding board — whose members are Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson, Secretary of State Tre Hargett, state treasurer David Lillard and Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower — will meet again on November 29th to finalize the projected growth rate.
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.
A leader of the group of lawmakers exploring whether Tennessee can feasibly reject nearly $1.9 billion in federal education funding says that the panel’s work will begin in early November, and that its findings — not politics — will guide its recommendations.
“There is no predetermined outcome for this working group, or for what the information we gather is going to show,” Sen. Jon Lundberg, a co-chair of the panel, said Wednesday.
“We want to look at what federal education money we get, where it goes, what we’re required to do to get those funds, and ultimately what’s the return on the investment,” the Bristol Republican told Chalkbeat. “I think this will give us a good overview.”
Lundberg, who also chairs the Senate Education Committee, was responding to criticism from Democrats that Republicans are seeking to undermine public education, cater to charter and private school interests, and advance the political aspirations of House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Crossville Republican and likely candidate for governor in 2026.
Most of the federal money the state receives supports low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. Tennessee school districts that are most reliant on U.S. dollars tend to be rural, and have more low-income and disabled students, less capacity for local revenue, and lower test scores in English language arts, according to a recent report from the Sycamore Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
Lundberg expects to release the panel’s meeting schedule later this week. But at this point, its members have more questions than answers, including what such a shift in funding would mean for kids. If the January 9th deadline doesn’t allow for a comprehensive review, he and co-chair Debra Moody, who also chairs a House education committee, plan to ask for more time.
“This is too big an ask to not be thorough,” he said.
If the committee finds ways for the state to feasibly wean itself from federal education money that Tennesseans help generate through their taxes, Lundberg expects legislation to come out of its work. But he acknowledged that state revenue collections have lagged in recent months, potentially making it harder to cut the cord.
“Revenues are a valid concern, but that’s not our charge at this point,” he said. “We just want to do a deep dive on where we stand.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bo Watson warned lawmakers in August that Tennessee likely will need to begin curbing state spending. But on Wednesday, he endorsed the panel’s task.
“I think it’s premature to say whether there will be budget constraints,” said the Hixson Republican. “Evaluating our programs and our funding is always a healthy exercise.”
Even if officials decide the state can afford to pass on federal funds, JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, questions whether it could effectively manage resources designed to support underserved communities and ensure equal access to education.
He cites the Achievement School District as one example of poor oversight for a state-run program intended to serve students attending low-performing schools. The turnaround district took over dozens of neighborhood schools beginning in 2012, mostly in Memphis, and turned many of them over to charter operators. But it has had few successes to show for its decade of work.
Lundberg said that example shouldn’t stop the state from investigating the possibility.
“Do I trust the state more than the federal government? Absolutely,” Lundberg said. “I think that government that operates closest to the people is the best government.”
Advocates for historically underserved student populations say federal oversight is needed to ensure that the state and local districts adequately provide for every student and school.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats pointed out that the federal government provided nearly $30 million last year to public schools in Cumberland County, which Sexton represents. That’s 44 percent of the East Tennessee district’s budget. Three school districts in Anderson County, where McNally lives, received $31 million in U.S. funds, which covered 32 percent of their budgets.
You can look up exactly how much federal education funding is on the line for every Tennessee county.
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.
