State set for surplus in excess of $2 billion
While Gov. Bill Lee “dreams” of being able to pay starting teachers $50,000 eventually and while the state’s schools languish in the bottom 10 in the nation in overall funding, the state continues to rake in extra cash.
The numbers this year show a surplus exceeding $2 billion.
Tennessee also had a surplus of more than $2 billion LAST YEAR.
In fact, we keep having extra revenue and policymakers keep NOT investing it in schools.
What should we do with the money?
House Speaker Cameron Sexton thinks we should use our surplus to replace $2 billion in federal education funding.
To be clear, doing so would not change the total dollar amount going to schools – we’d still be in the bottom 10 in the nation in school funding.
Of course, we could use the money to raise teacher pay, invest in infrastructure, and support early literacy.
The state could also afford to make school meals free for all kids.
Alas, instead of actually taking the yearly surpluses and investing more in schools, Tennessee policymakers seem content to leave us at the bottom:
When it comes to school funding, Tennessee lags far behind our neighbors in Kentucky.
Tennessee Education Association President Beth Brown points out the significance of this disparity in a recent email to educators. In it, she notes:
“It’s not about how the funds are divided, it’s about how many state dollars are put into education,” said TEA President Beth Brown. “To get to the Kentucky level of school funding, Tennessee needs $3 billion added to the state education budget.”
Our state’s schools have a range of needs and our state has a pile of cash. Seems like an easy fix – just use the cash to fund the schools.
So far, though, policymakers and Gov. Lee seem reluctant to do that.
Instead, our education policy is focused on funneling public funds to private schools and extreme charter networks.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport