Gov. Lee’s new school funding formula, Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) is the new Common Core, brought to you courtesy of none other than Bill Gates. Let’s pull back the veil on this bill. Gov. Lee and Penny Schwinn claim TISA will direct an additional $1 billion to TN schools and that the formula is “student based.” This is all snake oil.

Let’s pull back the curtain on the Governor’s new school funding formula. He and Commissioner Penny Schwinn have proposed a new, $1 billion funding bill (“TISA”) that they claim will be “student-based.” Sounds great, right? IT’S NOT. This new rigged funding formula is the BIGGEST threat to public education that TN has seen in years. Legislators better beware because it’s a Trojan horse for school privatization that will direct a disproportionate share of unregulated funding to private pockets and

Here’s how charter schools negatively impact traditional, neighborhood schools and dismantle public education: Charter schools lobbyists push the message that charters are just another “choice” for families. But they actually reduce “choice” for families by hurting all other schools around them.

Tennessee is considering opening 100 new charter schools, removing ALL local control of charter approvals, and giving charter schools free access to public school buildings. Last week, I shared charters’ dismal performance rates. Now let’s consider 10 horror stories: 1. Memphis Academy of Health Sciences closed after 3 leaders were indicted for stealing $400k for personal use- for Vegas trips, a hot tub, NBA tickets, auto repair, etc. 750 students were displaced.

The Governor has proposed bringing 100 new Michigan charter schools to Tennessee and now wants to remove ALL local control of charter school approvals. So let’s look at how charter schools are really performing in TN, according to the state’s Report Card. Statewide, only 5 (out over 100 charter schools) had a success rate above 20% in 2019. (Success means the percentage of students who score “on track” or “mastered” on annual state tests.)

Here are some shocking facts about education funding in Tennessee: 1. TN has chronically underfunded public education. We rank 46th nationally (bottom 5 states) in education spending. We spend less than any of our neighbors, including KY, NC, GA, AL AR, and even MS. 1/ 2. According to the states’s own estimates, the BEP (TN’s education funding formula) is underfunded by $1.7 billion per year. If you hear politicians say “the BEP is fully funded,” they’re lying. 2/

I’m very disturbed about the possibility of Sharon Contreras for US Sec of Education. After reading tweets about this from @NPEaction leaders, I’d like to share our story from Nashville. @DianeRavitch @carolburris @JoeBiden @DrBiden 1/ Nashville did a superintendent search in 2016. The Nashville Public Education Foundation- very pro-privatization- got involved. We used Jim Huge and Associates as our recruiter, and the search turned out to be a total scam. 2/