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Holding back tears, Teresa Short described her struggles trying to help her son, a preschooler who needs special education services, catch up after COVID-19 caused school disruptions.
Their school district, Fayette County Schools in West Tennessee, was only able to offer summer academic programming to children in K-12, she said. The reason, she was told, was limited funding.
“So I had to go and find private schools that I could try to get him in, paying out of my pocket to try to get him an education and get him caught up to where he needs to be,” Short said.
Given the chance to weigh in on how Tennessee should approach its first school funding formula overhaul in 30 years, Short advocated for providing more money to schools overall and making sure more of it is steered toward students in special education.