Macon County Director of Schools Shawn Carter updated the county commission this month on the passage of Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Act and what effect it will have on the county school system.
Carter said he was previously opposed to the bill because it would have a definite negative impact on Macon County Schools and the quality of education the school system would be able to provide in the future.
“Last year it didn’t pass, so they re-worked it for this year, and it flew right through both the House and Senate,†said Carter.
“The governor did add some things into it which are of interest to our county. The main thing that it boiled down to is just giving students the right to enroll in a private school from a public school. They would get the base amount that the state funds districts for. There are specific private schools that they can go to. It must be category I, II or III.
“It’s how they are set up and funded. The closest ones are in Cookeville, Lebanon and Gallatin. The base won’t even cover the cost of tuition, so I don’t know whether we’ll lose any students or not. We may lose one or two.â€
He said the Governor also “put in a one-time bonus for classroom teachers in the amount of $2,000.â€
“My understanding is just classroom teachers, so guidance counselors, instructional leaders, principals, they’re not eligible, which I think is awful,†he said. “I think if you’re going to give one, everyone should get it. The part that had me totally against this bill last year was the fact that it was going to give homeschoolers funding. When he took that out, I was less against it. Then he added something that I found intriguing. There is $70 million that is supposed to be available annually to schools for various purposes. This will be generated through a luxury tax that they will obtain through sports betting. These funds will go toward capital projects. That interested me because I want to get a vocational school here in Macon County. Seventy million dollars sounds like a lot of money, but when it covers the entire state of Tennessee, that isn’t going to be much for everyone. There is an application process, and just because you need or want it doesn’t mean you’re going to get it.â€
He said the funding has “three tiers of eligibility.â€
“You must be a distressed county, and at the moment Macon County does not qualify for that,†he said. “Two, you must have been hit by some sort of natural disaster. Three [is] ‘needed,’ and we do fall into this one. The groundwork for the need has already been laid. We met with the governor, and I’ve reinforced that need to the senator as well as our representative. That doesn’t assure us of anything. As it stands, we’re the third one at the table to eat and there are going to be many other counties wanting money as well. It isn’t set up where so much goes to one tier or another, it’s first-come, first-served. I don’t know when or if we will get some of that money to help us build a vocational school, but I am hopeful that we will.â€
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.