More lawsuits expected as frustration grows over Tennessee education funding

The Hamilton County Department of Education is seen in this file photo.
The Hamilton County Department of Education is seen in this file photo.

Hamilton County and the other area districts showed tremendous courage by doing what they did and when they did it and it emboldened other school districts to follow along.

Three of Tennessee's four large urban school districts are now suing the state, claiming it's failing to provide adequate funding for public education.

The Hamilton County Department of Education and six nearby counties filed suit in March 2015 arguing the state isn't providing sufficient funding for schools, and months later, Shelby County Schools also filed a lawsuit stating the lack of funding especially hurts the district's large share of poor students.

Last week, Metro Nashville Public Schools board voted to also file suit against the state over its lack of funding for students learning English.

"Hamilton County and the other area districts showed tremendous courage by doing what they did and when they did it and it emboldened other school districts to follow along," said Will Pinkston, a member of the Metro Nashville Public Schools board.

Pinkston predicts Metro Nashville's decision to sue will spur even more litigation from school districts across the state, and he said the only logical outcome is for all the funding lawsuits to be rolled together under a single court and a single judge.

"This is the middle of something pretty big," he said Monday.

The lawsuits brought against the state each broadly claim schools are not receiving the funding entitled to them under the state's funding formula - known as the Basic Education Program, or BEP - and each lawsuit also describes specific ways the lack of funding impacts the districts individually.

For three decades, Tennessee has been in a legal struggle over state support of public education, and small school systems won three cases against the state in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, saying funding wasn't equitable among districts.

photo Education Commissioner Candice McQueen speaks to media representatives while at the Chattanooga Times Free Press in this file photo.
photo Staff photo by Angela Foster / Jonathan Welch listens during a meeting of the Hamilton County Board of Education

BEP provides billions of dollars to local systems, which add to the pot based on their ability to pay. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam increased BEP funding for education by about $220 million in this upcoming year's fiscal budget, but he halted implementation of BEP 2.0, a change in the funding formula that former Gov. Phil Bredesen added to help the large urban systems.

Pinkston has been involved in BEP 2.0 for about 20 years. He previously worked with Bredesen, and he called Haslam's failure to implement BEP 2.0 this year "the greatest insult to public education in modern history."

"Is there a little new money going into education? Yes," Pinkston said. "Does it come close to recognizing the need there is? No."

In a news conference last week with reporters in Nashville, Haslam said he was disappointed Metro Nashville Public Schools decided to sue.

Haslam highlighted the $14 million new money going toward English language learners this upcoming year, adding that metro Nashville schools will receive the largest share of that money.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said that, since 2011, Haslam and the General Assembly have been working together to provide more than $730 million in new funding for K-12 education.

"This increased [English language learners] funding benefits [metro Nashville schools] more than any other school district in the state," McQueen said in a statement. "[Nashville's] use of taxpayer dollars to sue the state only serves to remove funds from classrooms and the very students the district is attempting to help."

Earlier this year, a Nashville judge ruled against the state's motion to dismiss the Hamilton County Department of Education's lawsuit over inadequate funding, but denied class-action status.

Hamilton County's school board was joined in the suit by Bradley, Polk, McMinn, Grundy, Marion and Coffee, all saying the state is providing insufficient financial support and must increase funding before the pie can be divided equitably.

If the districts win in court, Tennessee government could be required to spend at least a half-billion dollars more each year to make things right.

Hamilton County Board of Education attorney Scott Bennett did not return multiple requests for comment.

Jonathan Welch, chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Education, said Nashville's decision to file suit is another indication that the problems asserted in Hamilton County's lawsuit are seen in other parts of the state.

"Multiple areas of the state share the same difficulties, which is the difference between the funding that is allocated and the amount that we are required to provide our students," Welch said. "Ideally the general assembly will help this come to a resolution outside the courtroom."

Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at 423-757-6592 or kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @kendi_and.

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