Fables of the Reconstruction
“The ship is always off course. Anybody who sails knows that. Sailing is being off course and correcting. That gives a sense of what life is about.”
― Michael Meade
Tennessee's Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds just can't seem to get out of her own way.
Vivian Jones reports this morning that the Texas transplant - maybe Texas tourist is a better descriptor, seeing as she hasn't fully established residency in Tennessee - has twice within her first six months of employment with the state, signed forms certifying she had been a state employee for more than six months as she sought a tuition waiver for classes at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
If you'll remember, Reynolds has never taught in a school, nor does she possess any credentials to do so if she suddenly got a wild hair to practice what she preaches. Chew on that for a minute.
The person in charge of directing Tennessee schools isn't qualified to teach in one, yet still feels qualified to collect $255,000 a year for directing them.
Which ironically is about $25K more than her predecessor. What Governor Lee has done, is replace an incompetent model with a higher-priced priced unqualified model. Brilliant.
According to Jones, "The records show that Reynolds enrolled at UT Martin to seek a master’s degree and teaching license after Lee appointed her to lead the state Department of Education on May 1."
The rules require that state employees wait 6 months before after their hire, before they qualify for the tuition waiver program.
Reynolds first signed a tuition waiver form on Aug. 11, 2023 – about six weeks after taking her oath of office on July 1. She signed a second tuition waiver form on Nov. 20. By the time the spring 2024 semester started, Reynolds qualified for the waiver under THEC's rules.
This is like somebody offering you a six-figure job to be the head of Goodyear's Tennessee division. One of your first actions is enrolling in classes about the manufacturing of tires. You then bill the tuition to Goodyear.
Of course, the go-to excuse of "administrative error' is being put forth as a reason for the incompetence.
"This was an administrative error, which immediate action has been taken to correct," education spokesperson Brian Blackley told The Tennessean in an email. "Upon realizing the mistake, Commissioner Reynolds personally covered the cost of all classes that were ineligible for the state waiver, in accordance with language in the waiver application."
I find that a little hard to believe. It's not a difficult form, and if you sign it you own it. Maybe she needs a better administrative assistant.
Why she would even pursue this route in covering the tuition completely baffles me. I'm sure that her former employer ExcelinED would have been more than happy to have covered the cost.
They've saved about $50k a year since she shifted to the state payroll, and gained even more influence. What's a couple thousand for tuition?
ExcelinED's sister organization, Chiefs for Change, was only too happy to provide off-the-book services to former commissioner Penny Schwinn as a member in standing. One of those services was the hiring and compensating of the PR firm that built the Website promoting TISA legislation while it was still pending. Got to figure that a damn sight more expensive than a little tuition.
The Commissioner's latest misstep comes on the heels of several disastrous appearances in front of the General Assembly this session. Throughout her appearances Reynolds appeared uninformed and underprepared, regularly deferring to cabinet members to answer lawmaker inquiries,
What emerges is a surface picture of a Commissioner who is under-qualified, but a deeper dive makes an argument for one who just isn't that vested in Tennessee.
If she cared, there would be marked improvement between committee appearances.
If she cared, she would take extra care to properly dot the "T"s and cross the "I"s.
If she cared she would have brought her own administrative assistant that would facilitate her public appearances and required paperwork.
If she cared, she'd spend a whole lot less time at BNA waiting for a flight to Texas, and a whole lot more time in Tennessee schools.
It's the old saying about believing people when they show you who they are. Commissioner Reynolds is a tourist, one with little desire to become a resident. She is quite content in taking Tennessee taxpayer dollars and shipping them back to Texas.
Now she's trying to get us to pay for her education.
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Early in the week, I talked about how voucher legislation is currently on pause, waiting to be heard in the finance committees of the two bodies of the General Assembly. The pause has given opponents the supposition that there just aren't enough votes to bring Governor Lee's vision to life.
I've been skeptical of the likelihood of passage since inception, but did believe that the House bill made the legislation a little bit more possible if people could talk policy instead of philosophy. They can't, so I'm back to doubting.
The major hold-up continues to be in reconciling the two versions of the bill in the Senate and the House. Sam Stockard over at the Tennessee Lookout believes that "a testing reduction in the House bill and an open enrollment provision for public schools in the Senate bill are the sticking points."
I believe it runs a whole lot deeper. The Senate is of the opinion that if you are going to run a voucher bill, run a voucher bill. They have little interest in supporting a voucher bill laden with condiments. The House needs all those condiments to garner support and secure enough votes for passage.
Kirk Haston (R-Lobelvill), chairman of the K-12 Subcommittee, has already testified that if you start pulling out condiments, he's pulling out.
The stall leaves voucher proponents trying to exude confidence while making ridiculous statements.
Per The Tennessean, House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland), told reporters Thursday that the House and Senate "in my opinion, have never been closer together on this."
Sure, if I live in Knoxville, and you live in Memphis, and I move to Oak Ridge, we are closer than we have ever been, but we are still a long way from each other.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) said conversations remain ongoing with Senate colleagues about crucial pieces of each version of the bill — like the House proposal to overhaul K-12 testing requirements, and the Senate's proposal to allow open enrollment.
"We'll see what they're comfortable with," Sexton said.
Ok, is it a little too much to expect that with roughly two weeks left in the session, the two sides have a pretty good idea of what each is comfortable with? Perhaps the "comfort" was a discussion better suited for November, or January at the latest. Color me old-fashioned, but crafting legislation on the fly is never a desirable option.
Then there is the Governor weighing in.
“I’m confident they’ll find a way forward,” Lee said during a recent talk radio appearance on "The Matt Murphy Show." “We have multiple meetings every week around a lot of issues – this one in particular right now.”
Lee calls school choice “the conservative issue of our time,” and laments plummeting outcomes at “government-run” schools, arguing that his proposal is a “challenge to the status quo.”
“When our children are all going to government-run schools, the power is in the government's hands with regard to where our children are educated, what they learn, and how they learn it," Lee said. "This is not about getting government into private education. This is about getting the power out of the hands of the government and getting into the hands of parents.”
That statement is so idiotic, that I have a hard time even processing it.
As a business owner, surely he understands the concept of, "if you fund it, you control it". The old, if you live in my house, you'll follow my rules trope ring a bell?
If the government is paying, then the government is controlling, and by extension, you are just creating more government-controlled schools. If you can sweep up some home-schoolers as well, all the better.
I suspect that part of the delay in advancing bills has to do with letting the candidate filing period expire, lest incumbents draw challengers. That expired this week.
If that was part of the strategy, then it was a failure, because as we are about to discuss, incumbents already face some stiff competition for re-election.
I still think that this circus folds up its tent in two weeks, with vouchers becoming Lee's defining moment.
Just not in the manner he envisions.
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Since we are talking about getting the power out of the hands of the government and getting it into the hands of parents, let's talk about a new law that would require public school students to watch a video on fetal development produced by an anti-abortion group, or something comparable. Under the law, participation is mandatory even if parents have different desires.
During the same floor session, the Senate also voted to send the governor a bill that would require annual firearm safety instruction in public schools, including safe storage, avoiding injury if a student finds a gun, and informing adults if one is discovered. No live guns, ammo, or firing could be involved. No parent opt-out would be available.
Democrats took note of a lack of alignment between these laws and the rhetoric regularly delivered by their Republican counterparts.
“I’ve heard many members in this body talk about school choice, parent choice as the lay of the land and how it should be,” said Democratic Sen. Charlane Oliver. “But it seems to be only convenient when it fits a certain political ideology.”
That's a hard argument to counter. But, I'm only a parent, so what do I know.
Just remember, The Governor is a staunch supporter of parental choice.
"There’s a broad public acceptance for the ability for parents to have more choice for where their kids go to school," said Governor Lee. "Parents are the best deciders for where their kids go and what they learn."
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As I mentioned earlier, the state filing period for candidates looking to run for state office closed this week. The list of challengers is extensive, and some entrenched members have good cause for concern.
Familiar names like Gardener, Lumberg, Ragan, Haile, Hakeem, Garrett, Bulso, and Cepicky, are going to have the spend the summer working if they are looking to come back for next year's General Assembly. Kinda like those kids who have to go to summer school if they want to pass on to fourth grade. Maybe they can get some tutoring. Oops...too soon?
Representative Jody Barrett, a ubiquitous presence on social media has drawn a primary challenger. His primary target, Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) has not. She'll advance to the general election where she runs unopposed. So, even if she loses her race for the US Senate, she still has a guaranteed seat at the table.
Republicans Reedy, Haston, and Moody all are running unopposed. The latter two are entrenched in leadership positions with the House Education Committees. So don't expect too much movement next session in those in that area.
Longtime House Education Chair Mark White (R-Memphis) faces a Democrat challenger, Noah Nordstrom, who is a high school Spanish teacher, community organizer, and proud union member. Nordstrom is purportedly running for state representative because the war on public schools must end. I would argue that it's probably time for White's reign to end, but what do I know.
Interestingly, Justin Pearson, one of the Tennessee 3, has drawn a primary opponent. His primary opponent is David Page, a veteran teacher of over 25 years. He better be careful lest Pearson drops his war chest on him.
This one cracks me up. Americans for Prosperity scapegoated Todd Warner for his opposition to vouchers. They vowed to make an example of him, repeatedly saying bad things about him on Twitter. Yet they were unable to secure a primary challenger for him.
Well, they kinda did, but he couldn't get his paperwork turned in on time, so Warner will advance to the general election, where he'll face a Democrat candidate running for the very first time. Meanwhile, AFP is scrambling to find their teeth because Warner just kicked them in.
Ouch, that's got to hurt.
Still scouring the list, but the next couple of months out on the campaign trail could get very interesting.
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It's April, so we must be talking about legislation that would allow teachers to start packing heat. Seems like it happens every year around this time, then smarter heads prevail.
Carrying a gun requires a conscious decision to shoot somebody. There is no other reason to carry a gun.
Some may argue that its mere presence serves as a deterrent. I was raised that you don't show a gun or knife unless you intend to use it. Therein lies the conscious decision to shoot someone.
In this case, that someone may be one of the teacher's charges.
I don't care how well-trained you are, you ain't Sonny Crocket sliding across the hood of a car while squeezing off shots and hitting your intended target with each. Reality has a way of crashing in, and innocents have a way of getting hurt.
Remember, the unintended consequences.
No need to spend too much time on this subject, other than to offer a prayer that this year's legislation suffers a similar fate as in past years.
While I don't question the intent, I do question the outcomes.
- - -
One of the attractive condiments in the Tennessee House voucher bill is a decrease in state-mandated testing. Something you'd think everybody would be on board with, but surprisingly some are in opposition of the idea.
Reportedly, The Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is telling legislators that they are against the idea, and are urging them to reject any legislation that supports a reduction in testing.
Normally the group is in the thick of state education policy initiatives, but on voucher legislation, they've been strangely quiet. Perhaps it is the less than cordial treatment they received last year from lawmakers that has led to their reticence to weigh in this session.
In case, once again, they find themselves on the wrong side of an issue, but at this juncture, is anyone surprised?
- - -
The teaching shortage in Tennessee continues to be a real challenge. One that continues to hinder academic performance by students.
One way that districts are attempting to fill empty positions is through the use of permitted teachers. These are teachers who have undergraduate degrees but are not licensed to teach.
According to Metro Nashville's Chief of Communication Sean Braisted, the district employs 349 of these instructors.
Braisted tells DGW, "You are probably aware, but just a note that all teachers on permits have to be non-renewed or placed into support roles at the end of each school year, as the permits are only valid for one year at a time. Schools must justify the need for a teacher on a permit each school year, and those needs change from year to year."
A little clarification. The teacher's employment is terminated at the end of each school year, but the permit can actually last for up to three years. Technically a permitted teacher released in June can rehired in July if they are willing to wait, and the need is still there. A not uncommon occurrence, nor necessarily a bad one. However, it may inadvertently dampen a principal's desire to find a licensed teacher knowing that a capable candidate is in the wings.
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On Tuesday of next week, the MNPS School Board will convene. On the agenda is further discussion of proposed revisions to their public participation policy.
The new policy proposes to limit the total time of public participation to 30 minutes a meeting. It would further require that those wishing to speak, submit a written version of what they intend to say 48 hours before the meeting.
The agenda typically comes out on Friday before the Tuesday meeting. Public participation is already limited to items contained on the agenda. Under the new policy, speakers would have to peruse the agenda on Friday to make sure their topic was part of the agenda. They would then have Saturday and part of Sunday to write out their speech, which could be 2 to 3 minutes long depending on the number of speakers scheduled.
Board leadership swears this isn't about limiting speech, but the proposed changes come on the heels of a large contingent of MLK parents signing up to speak in opposition to changes in grade structure for their school.
Me, I say, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's likely a duck.
Everybody loves the idea of parent voice until it doesn't say what they want.
Ironically a new Vanderbilt poll shows the board with an approval rate of 57%.
I think that's likely a result of people just tuning out, as the board has continually made itself less and less relevant.
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As always, I need to rattle the cup a little bit before I head out the door.
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