Again, all students have a right to a free, safe, equitable public education .   Students cannot learn if they are afraid, and they certainly cannot learn if they are kept home from school out of fear of deportation.    It is important for our students that are immigrants , but also important that ALL students know that they are safe at school and that their school district will stand up for them. 

Why should I pay entitlements to private schools that don't have to accept all students and aren't held accountable to the same standards as public schools?   There is no widespread demand for vouchers from Tennesseans. All signs point to ballooning costs. Public schools aren't failing our students. Strong public schools are the cornerstone of our communities - employing amazing teachers, supporting families, and educating every child that walks in their doors regardless of race, class, ability, or background. While Gov. Lee has claimed throughout his career to stand for families and fiscal responsibility, he and his billionaire backers are instead pushing a policy that would channel tax dollars away from the 90% of students who attend Tennessee public schools and into the hands of a few exclusive private schools.  After an overwhelming rejection last year by teachers, parent groups, 72+ school boards, the superintendents association, and communities all across the state, Gov. Lee has yet again filed a bill to create a universal private voucher program in Tennessee. By 2027, this program would divert over $800 million per year into private schools. While Lee and his followers sell their voucher bill as “parental choice”, the evidence from states like Arizona who have passed similar legislation show that the overwhelming majority of voucher recipients are wealthy families who can already afford to send their children to exclusive private schools. In other words, Gov. Lee’s voucher program is just a new entitlement program for upper-middle class families.  As Lee pushes his private school entitlement program, many public school classrooms are bursting at the seams, school facilities are crumbling, the growing list of responsibilities placed on our teachers is causing many to leave the profession they love, and our state legislature’s obsession with “teaching to the test” is harming our student’s ability to learn. These challenges have emerged not by magic but through continued disinvestment. They are not challenges that can be addressed in a single year, BUT we can make a choice to change course and actually invest in the success of our public schools. Instead of sending $800 million a year to exclusive private schools, we could choose to direct that $800 million per year into rebuilding dilapidated public school buildings, hiring more teacher aides, helping address our hemorrhaging supply of K-12 educators, funding relief (not loans) to school districts hardest hit by Hurricane Helene, expanding access to pre-k, reforming our approach to standardized testing, supporting the development of vocational training facilities and so much more.  It’s no surprise that everyday Tennesseans are not the ones asking for Lee’s entitlement program for the wealthy. Instead, it’s out-of-state billionaire groups like Americans for Prosperity leading the charge by pouring millions upon millions of dollars into campaigns in our small towns and threatening our local elected leaders if they dare to side with their constituents. Next time you get a mailer hyping the voucher scam, check the fine print at the bottom and see who’s paying for it. With a few clicks on google, you’ll almost certainly find that the money is not coming from Tennesseeans. But the good news is, everyday Tennesseans and so many of our elected leaders refuse to be bought. From rural county commissioners, to urban school board reps and suburban parent groups, we rejected the voucher scam in a landslide last year.  Tennessee can claim some of the best educators in the nation, an incredible body of students, and a deep community pride in local public schools that serve every young person who walks in the door. Let's remind our state representatives that Tennessee is #PublicSchoolStrong and that we need them to have the courage to stand with their constituents instead of caving to Lee and his billionaire buddies. And then, let’s get serious about investing in our public schools so that every child can have access to a high-quality education in the communities where they live and play. 

The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) board and the Clarksville City Council have already passed similar resolutions. It is now imperative for Montgomery County to join this crucial effort.

• There is no widespread demand for vouchers from Tennesseans. Vouchers have been opposed by over 70 school boards and other local funding bodies across the state, the state superintendents association, and countless parents and educators across Tennessee. In places where there has not been widespread opposition, there has also not been widespread demand. Ask if they've talked to their school boards, teachers and superintendents about the bill. What have they heard? • Why should I pay entitlements to private schools that don't have to accept all students and aren't held accountable to the same standards as public schools?  We are not against private schools but we don't think taxpayers should be running an entitlement program for for-profit schools that are not held to any clear standards and can pick and choose who they let in. The vast majority of beneficiaries would benefit families that can already afford to put their children in private schools.  • All signs point to ballooning costs. Knox County could lose out on $8.6M in the first year alone. The first year, the program would create a $144 million hole in Tennessee's budget in order to provide 20,000 private school subsidies the first year. If all 105,500 current private school students received the voucher, the subsidy to private schools would exceed $780 million. Universal Voucher plans in Arizona, Florida, and New Hampshire have gone tens of millions of dollars over budget and are draining much needed funding from their local schools and communities. Most of the voucher scam funding in other states is going to kids who already went to private school, making this voucher scam a giveaway for for-profit schools funded by our tax dollars. This leaves our public schools less resources to educate the same number of students.  • Public schools aren't failing our students. The State government refusing to fully and equitably resource our public schools are. 90% of parents send their kids to public schools nationwide and the majority of parents are pleased with their schools. Tennessee teachers and school staff are doing incredible work to educate our kids every day, but they are struggling with long hours, overwork, and low pay. Our schools are in desperate need of improved infrastructure, more support staff, increased teacher pay, mental health resources, and much more. Instead of spending millions to privatize our schools, imagine what we could do if we invested in every public school fully and equitably. Every child deserves an honest, equitable, safe, and fully-funded public education in the communities where they live and play.

Every child - regardless of ability or background - deserves to thrive in a high quality public school. High quality public education begins with funding our schools well, supporting our teachers, and making sure the correct supports are in place so everyone’s needs are being met. Currently, McMinn County Schools are sorely underfunded and under-resourced. This problem could be made worse by loss of funding due to non-compliant IEPs, in addition to the strain being placed on special education and general education teachers with increasing caseloads but no increased resources. The position that was offered by the IDEA Partnership for Systemic Change Grant is a first step to closing gaps for students with disabilities and empowering staff with the resources they need to support all students. By rejecting these funds, the Board is ignoring an immediate need of our schools and potentially harming the chance to receive federal grant funds in the future.

Our school board leaders passing this resolution, along with similar resolutions across the country, can help galvanize this moment to shed light on the critical funding needs in our schools.

Our school board leaders passing this resolution, along with similar resolutions across the country, can help galvanize this moment to shed light on the critical funding needs in our schools.

Vibrant, high-quality public schools are the key to thriving communities like ours.  Signing this petition – and urging others to sign as well – is an easy and effective way to get our school board to step up and help us protect public education from this attack. This measure would hurt public schools and threaten their funding. Public schools need more teachers, better teacher pay, and smaller class sizes. This measure will only make it harder to fund those improvements by opening the door to taking money from public schools—which serve 95% of Colorado students—to fund private schools.

Vibrant, high-quality public schools are the key to thriving communities like ours.  Signing this petition – and urging others to sign as well – is an easy and effective way to get our school board to step up and help us protect public education from this attack. This measure would hurt public schools and threaten their funding. Public schools need more teachers, better teacher pay, and smaller class sizes. This measure will only make it harder to fund those improvements by opening the door to taking money from public schools—which serve 95% of Colorado students—to fund private schools.

Vibrant, high-quality public schools are the key to thriving communities like ours.  Signing this petition – and urging others to sign as well – is an easy and effective way to get our school board to step up and help us protect public education from this attack. This measure would hurt public schools and threaten their funding. Public schools need more teachers, better teacher pay, and smaller class sizes. This measure will only make it harder to fund those improvements by opening the door to taking money from public schools—which serve 95% of Colorado students—to fund private schools.

Signing this petition – and urging others to sign as well – is an easy and effective way to get our school board to step up and help us protect public education from this attack.

The TIF Illumination Project is a people-powered civic investigation of TIFs operated by Chicago-based Tom Tresser. He estimates that America has over 40,000 TIF districts and they remove over $40 BILLION in public funds FROM serving the public annually. This means that America's public schools are being robbed of at least $20 BILLION every year! Anyone who is a champion of public education must oppose this scam. You can sign a petition here -> www.endtifsnow.org. You can get more information by contacting [email protected].