What's Behind The Curtain
“I believe it is worth writing to remind ourselves of what we can’t know. To remind ourselves that certainty is dangerous. That factual knowledge of the world casts only a small light. Fiction is necessary because it seems to me that only fiction can accommodate the total strangeness that is life. To remind us that truth is actually impossible.”
― Paul Lynch
Public education policy in reality is a nuanced and complex subject. Since we are primarily dealing with children, the subject is rife with uncertainty and unpredictability. Those are two terms that as adults, we ain't so comfortable with. We'd much rather deal in certainty and control.
I think that's why we continually revisit the same subjects over and over - Charter schools and vouchers.
Those two subjects have been hashed out to the point that the bad guys and the good guys have been clearly established. It's the Christian nation on the Right and the ungodly liberals on the Left.
But like most things, it's not that simple.
For example, charter schools are painted as a means for white families to flee the public system, but, if charter schools are truly about creating racially segregated schools for white kids, fueled by the Christian nation, then they are doing a pretty piss poor job of it.
Nationally, between 55 to 60% of the students who attend charter schools are students of color.
In Tennessee, that number is 87%.
I'm willing to put some money on the table that most of those students come from families that vote Democrat.
Go back a decade, and Democrats were proponents of school choice.
Back in '97, Biden endorsed charter schools from the Senate floor.
“When you have an area of the country — and most often here we are talking about inner cities — where the public schools are abysmal or dysfunctional or not working and where most of the children have no way out, it is legitimate to ask what would happen to the public schools with increased competition from private schools,” he said. “Is it not possible that giving poor kids a way out will force the public schools to improve and result in more people coming back?”
These days, that's flipped. I guess, $64 million in political contributions can bring some clarity. That and the fact, that everybody has to stake out a polar extreme.
I think, at this juncture, reasonable minds could agree that in some instances charter schools are a viable alternative, and in other instances, they don't work any better than the local option.
These days, I'm less concerned about where a child receives their education and more about creating more opportunities for improvement. It's a prevalent view among more and more people.
Vouchers present a different story, as evidenced by this holiday weekend. That chasm is still a wide one. Just the mere mention of pending legislation fuels a rush to the armory. Light those torches, and grab the pitchforks.
Last week, Nashville's Turko heir, Phil Williams, breathlessly broke the news about Governor Lee's pending announcement to back an expansion of Tennessee's Educational Savings Account plan.
William's report claimed that according to a one-page summary that they had been provided, "Tennessee's Education Freedom Scholarships will empower parents with the freedom to choose the right education for their child — and give them a say in where their taxpayer dollars are spent."
Unfortunately, Williams decided that his description of the summary was adequate, and nobody else needed to read it.
Governor Lee is scheduled to outline the plan on Tuesday at a 2:30 press conference. Nothing screams quality news like a mid-afternoon press conference.
Reportedly, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be joining Lee in his announcement, because nothing screams successful government like a Huckabee. That's sarcasm, in case you failed to note it.
Huckabee is likely showing up because Lee can't find any locals willing to provide a public face for his ridiculous plan. Well, other than the head of the House Education Committee Mark White (R-Memphis). In his case, I'd argue that he's looking for a Bill Dunn retirement plan.
Dunn was the House member who pushed the state's current voucher plan. He left the House a few years ago and currently serves as an advisor to the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). A gig that pays him north of $100K annually, That's taxpayer money by the way.
Dunn is joined in the Governor's retirement plan by other former legislators John DeBerry and Mike Bell. Both of whom secured lucrative jobs in the Lee administration after toting some water.
I think if you talk to current Republican state lawmakers, you'll find that few want any part of this discussion. They recognize it for what it is, a lose-lose proposition.
It's an election year, and many have close relationships with their local school districts. No way, no how, do they want this public conversation. Don't think for one minute that they are unaware of recent events in Texas, and they ain't in any hurry to emulate that.
This is just one more example of Governor Lee going out of his way for Democrats, more so than any other Governor in the last 20 years. If the Democrats ever flip the state, they need to make sure they bring him to Andrew Jackson Day as an honoree.
Oh...they don't do that anymore. Whatever it's called, nobody can put a super majority at risk like Bill Lee.
Well maybe Speaker Sexton, but that's a different story for a different day.
So if it's not Republicans urging Governor Lee to action, who is it?
To answer that question, I need to start with a little history.
Back in 2008, then Florida Governor Jeb Bush felt his education priorities as governor were so transformational that they needed to be continued and embraced nationwide after he left office. It was out of this delusion that the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExCelinEd) was born.
Around 2011, the brain trust at ExcelinEd figured it would be a lot easier to spread the gospel if you had a cadre of State Education Superintendents singing the hymn. Hence Chief's for Change was born.
Unfortunately for Bush, that initial class wasn't exactly what the doctor ordered. Let's just say that collectively, they made former Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, herself a member, look like a picture of decorum. The only gospel they were any good at spreading was the one of personal enrichment and entitlement.
Come to think of it, Schwinn does seem to be cut from the same cloth in that regard.
Initially, the organization had received all its funding from Bush's foundation. In anticipation of a 2016 presidential run, Bush resigned as chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, as well as every other foundation and corporate board on which he served.
Then he got his ass kicked by Donald Trump, and it was back to the board, where he still serves along with such luminaries like former Republican House leader Eric Cantor, former NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf, former chancellor of New York City Department of Education Joel I. Klein, and Dee Bagwell Haslam - yes, that Haslam.
Take a look at the website and you'll see that in the last 5 years, they've had a number of successes.
$181 million in new funding for early literacy programs in 8 states.
4.2 million students benefitting from new or improved early literacy policies in 12 states.
8 states with strengthened school accountability.
5 states with newly enacted fiscal transparency or performance-based funding policies.
Does any of that sound familiar?
Consider this, Tennessee's last 3 state education commissioners have come from the ranks of Chiefs for Change. I guess with our latest commissioner, a decision was made to stop fooling around with the B team and go right to the parent company.
Lizzette Gonzales Reynolds was educated at Southwestern University, where she earned a degree in political science. Then went to work for a state senator and as a lobbyist before serving as deputy legislative director during George W Bush’s 1994-2000 tenure as Governor of Texas.
She was the Secretary's Regional Representative at the U.S. Department of Education, Region VI. She joined the Texas Education Agency (the state education agency) in January 2007, as the Acting Deputy Commissioner for Statewide Policy and Programs.
In 2016, she became the Vice President of Policy for Excellence in Education. Safe to say, she's familiar with ExcelinEd's agenda and has been on the Bush's Christmas card list for a long time.
ExcelinEd has never made any secret of their desire to see Universal School Choice. It's been a core tenet since inception.
if you think about it, this would help explain why Reynolds immediately took up the initiative of the state's A-F grading system, despite nobody demanding it. It's long been stated that the previous formula would have delivered too many "A" grades. Nobody is choosing if everybody is satisfied, right?
Rumor has it that the grades generated by the new state formula will be available in the coming weeks. Because nothing says relevant like school grades based on a test taken 9 months ago.
Most of what I just shared is common knowledge. Here's a couple things that may not be as well known.
Recently an ad appeared on the ExcelinEd website looking for a Regional Advocacy Director for the Southeast. The position was previously held by Jack Powers, a former TDOE employee.
In 2022, as part of his job, Powers was a registered lobbyist for ExcelinED.
Powers was not registered in 2023.
He left ExcelinEd to become the Assistant Commissioner of Legislative Affairs at the TDOE. So the state lobbyist has joined the former VP of policy at the TDOE and is getting paid by Tennessee taxpayers to push policy.
In other words, Reynolds has gifted ExcelinEd a lobbyist.
Now how much does that cost taxpayers?
According to Transparent Tennessee, the state government database that tracks government salaries, Powers makes $13750 a month, or 165K a year. Good work if you can get it.
Of course, it pales to the $21,252 a month that Reynolds draws. Take the two together and you've peeled just about a half million off of the ExcelinEd books.
Two weeks ago ExcelinEd held their annual National Summit on Education. This year it was in Atlanta.
The National Summit features inspirational, nationally renowned speakers such as Dr. Arthur Brooks, Dr. Clayton Christensen, Arne Duncan, Melinda Gates, Dr. Jonathan Haidt, Sal Khan, Hadi Partovi, Dr. Steve Perry, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, and others.
Featured speakers this year were Jeb Bush, Arthur Brooks, and the dude from the Khan Academy, Sal Khan.
Attendees were privy to sessions on school choice, third-grade reading interventions, and the danger of cell phones to students.
The TDOE's own Chief of Staff Chelsea Crawford was on a panel called: Accelerating Pathways: Building High-Quality Education-to-Workforce Pathways through Innovative Partnerships.
Reports are that over 20 of Tennessee's education policymakers were in attendance. Including members from the state charter school commission, the state board of education, the TDOE, and the General Assembly. Even a couple Democrat lawmakers took the trip.
Here's a question for Phil to ask, who paid for this field trip?
One more, is the timing between the Summit and Lee's announcement a case of causation or correlation? I guess we'll see when people start knocking out the talking points.
One more point on ExcelinEd's role in all of this. Republican lawmakers may be concerned about upcoming elections, but ExcelinEd doesn't give a fuck. When you've already got the head cheese you can secure new legislators.
My theory is that they realized that Lee was about as lame a duck as a Christmas goose, and since they had no idea who was up next, Bush and company decided that it was now or never.
Let's forget for a minute about the behind-the-scenes machinations, and take a look at what we actually know about Lee's proposal.
First off, it's being reported that the new vouchers are going to be worth $7K. Which is significantly lower than what a student would be appropriated through TISA and less than what's available under the current ESA program.
So in other words, the state is dictating the amount of money they'll contribute to a child's education contingent on where they choose to go to school. That shouldn't take too long to end up in court.
I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but it seems to me that a choice ain't a choice if it ain't equal.
That's just one reason why choice advocates better hope the bill fails. Using vouchers to spread school choice is an antiquated model that requires a separate budget dedicated to monitoring payouts and ensuring fraud ain't taking place. As the program grows, those costs are likely to grow as well.
Kinda stupid, when lawmakers have already passed a means to spread school choice in a manner that is more efficient and less costly.
Starting upon the release of the new report card, parents will be informed of how much their child generates in state funds for their education. If each child is given a number and an opportunity to enroll in any participating school, upon submission of a school's annual roll, the TDOE could distribute funds based on that attendance roll. It'd be very similar to the way things are done now and would require a whole lot less oversight and disruption.
What's the point in passing a funding formula that hypothetically follows the student, and then not having it follow the student?
Why did legislators bother to do the heavy lifting if the Governor was going to refuse to reap the embedded benefits, is anyone's guess.
Rumor has it that Lee doesn't want anyone to think he passed school funding just to grow vouchers.
News Flash: Everyone already knows.
As I've said before, pass the stupid voucher plan and you are stuck with it for at least a decade. It'd be like a never-ending cash cow for Democrat candidates. Further cementing Lee's legacy.
One last note on William's leading the charge against vouchers. A couple years ago he made a very public conversion to Catholicism. I wonder if he knows the number of Tennessee Catholic schools currently benefiting from vouchers. In Florida, the new vouchers allow parents to pay less, while Catholic schools collect more.
My main gist on all of this, and in my eyes more alarming than ESAs, is that Tennessee education policy is being written and driven by non-Tennesseans. That is a problem.
Lawmakers took the time to look closer at Federal funding at its impact on Temnnesse's students, it's about time to do the same for private money.
- - -
Graduation rates are out, and for the first time ever, Tennessee, as a state, has cracked the 90% mark. Unfortunately the same doesn't hold true for Metro Nashville Public School (MNPS). As a whole the district sits at 81.2% if you use the state metric, or 80.5% using the federal. Either way, it ain't good.
Individual schools give even more cause for pause:
Antioch HS - 70.6%
Cane Ridge - 79.8%
East Nashville Magnet - 98.4%
Glencliff - 59.6%
Hillsboro - 93.1%
Hillwood - 77.9%
Hunter's Lane - -77.1%
Overton - 72.8%
Maplewood - 58.4%
McGavock - 70.7%
Nashville School of the Arts - 98.6%
Pearl - Cohn 78.7%
Stratford - 72.3%
White's Creek - 82.6%
Charter school-wise, the numbers are a little better.
LEAD Academy - 88.7%
KIPP - 95.6%
LEAD Southeast - 91.5%
Valor Flagship - 98.5%
Intrepid - 95.9%
STEM Prep - 97.6%
RePublic - 91.8%
Remember, charter school enrollments tend to be smaller and parental involvement higher.
- - -
The MNPS Board of Education is scheduled to meet tomorrow. A perusal of the agenda shows a potential discussion on ESSER spending, or maybe it'll just be approved on the consent agenda. Tune in and find out. One interesting note, Valor Flagship's charter is up for renewal. Let's see the board try to reject that one.
- - -
Time to rattle the cup a little bit before I head out the door.
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