Tennesseans have big reasons to keep their eyes on the special session of the Tennessee General Assembly that begins today in Nashville, because there are huge issues that will greatly affect our people and many facets of our lives.
With about 10 percent of Tennesseans unemployed, state budget cuts, education, health care and other issues must be dealt with — constructively, we hope.
With less tax income in prospect, that calls for deep cuts in some proposed state spending. There is no general desire to raise taxes — so there may be a need to cut spending as much as a billion dollars.
There are big issues involving health care as federal funding and state funding will affect TennCare.
Education, from kindergarten through our four-year-colleges, will demand much attention, plus money. Tennessee’s two-year community colleges will get special consideration, while there will be challenges concerning funding Tennessee’s four-year colleges.
There will be debate about the relationship between teacher performance and student performance. Good teachers may have difficulty producing good student results if students fail to achieve, while good students making serious efforts can make even average teachers look good. There will be debate about these relationships and what to do about them.
There will be other issues, none of them simple or easily resolved. Legislators will have to face them along with difficult economic realities, without clear answers available in many cases.
These are major challenges affecting all Tennesseans. We do not envy the governor and the legislators as they seek to find the best answers in difficult situations.
And just think, many of our citizens run for political office to deal with these challenges that affect us all.