Tennessee Education Official Meets with Local Educators over Funding Plan
by Chris Tramel
The Tennessee Department of Education made a visit to DeKalb West School last week, with a representative meeting with local school officials as the state proposes a new school funding plan. The proposed plan has both rural and urban school leaders worried they will not get their fair share of funding.
On Tuesday, January 11, Meghan McLeroy, Chief Statewide Support Officer at the Tennessee Department of Education made a visit to DWS where she toured several classes and talked with local school officials.
The proposal, "Funding for Student Success," would include funding for all services and supports for K-12 public schools, which are currently funded by the Basic Education Plan or BEP.
School districts would receive additional funding for specific student subgroups that are sometimes more expensive to educate. The subgroups include students who are living in poverty, English language learners, students with disabilities, and students who qualify for dyslexia plans. Under the proposed plan, the state would also allocate additional funding for tutoring programs, career and technical education programs and to districts considered "fast-growing."
Charter schools would also receive additional funding through the weight system for facilities and capital costs.
Critics of the plan argue that the funding proposal favors rural districts over urban areas. Some claim that only 30 percent of state funding goes to urban schools, with the rest funded from local tax dollars.
Of course rural districts argue the opposite, saying that higher paying urban districts have local resources and programs available to them that small counties and communities cannot offer.
McLeroy said she wants to learn what educators and administrators at the local level think about the plan.
“I have been going around to 20 to 30 districts across the state, especially our small and rural districts, talking with superintendents, principals, and central office staff about what we are trying to build out in terms of a new funding system. We’re trying to get out and into these communities, and hear from folks on the ground to learn what they need in terms of funding from the state to prioritize for their students,” McLeroy said.
Director of Schools Patrick Cripps said he had a lot of questions about the plan. “We’re looking for more information. We have gone to one meeting about the funding, which will be a change from the BEP formula the way it looks. We want to gather more information on how it’s going to help support the programs we have in our community. Not only that, but how to keep growing as a district and how the state intends to fund that.”
“You can see the shortage of teachers,” Cripps continued. “That’s a statewide problem. How are we going to keep compensating those educators and draw new people into the education world? More importantly, how are we going to support our students and meet their education needs? We need to be able to meet those needs on an individual basis.”
For the fiscal 2021-2022 year, the Tennessee is set to spend at least $5.6 billion in state dollars on K-12 education, though that figure doesn't include federal and local funding. The amount the state spends is among the bottom in the nation.
