THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION NEWS
All eyes might be on Nashville Tuesday – at least for those in the school house.
Gov. Bill Lee’s controversial school voucher bill will be heard in both the House, before the entire assembly, and before the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee today.
Some local education advocates have spoken out against the bills in recent weeks.
According to estimates from the Tennessee County Services Association, Hamilton County stands to lose between $2.74 million and $16.39 million annually if the legislation passes.
Hamilton County school board member Jenny Hill, of District 6, spoke in front of the House Education Committee last month, wrote an opinion piece and has brought up her concerns about the bills at several board meetings.
Hill is concerned about what the education savings account plan could cost Hamilton County in the next five years.
The bill, originally directed only to students in districts with multiple “priority” schools – the state’s lowest-performing – has undergone changes at several turns.
Last week, representatives from the Hamilton County Education Association gathered for a news conference before the school board’s meeting Thursday and were joined by District 6 county commissioner David Sharpe.
Protesters gathered called the legislation “the death of public education” and any hit to public funding education “a hard pill to swallow.”
Keep reading for this and more education news.