Gov. Bill Lee’s proposed budget for this upcoming fiscal year includes a $1 billion increase for public education. He plans to use that extra money to raise teacher salaries, continue the state’s summer camps and invest in career and technical education.
“Time and time again, we have heard the same message: we need a smarter, more transparent, accountable education funding formula, and the time is now,” Lee said during his annual State of the State address. “If we do this right, then and only then, can we feel confident investing the dollars that are needed for our public schools and the future of Tennessee.”
The announcement also comes as education officials work to reform how the state divides education dollars. From the beginning, many school advocates have said a new school funding formula would only be successful if there’s more money along with it.
That’s why some school leaders and advocates are excited about the prospect to increase the state’s nearly $6 billion education budget. The question now is where those state dollars would go based on a new school formula.
“The next step is we need to now see details on what the actual new formula would look like,” says David Mansouri, the president of education nonprofit Tennessee SCORE. “What are the specific weights in the new formula? Are they weights that, as an example, we know will support students with the greatest learning needs? Will there be the right kind of reporting and transparency on spending?”
Last month, the education department released a four-page draft framework of a new funding model, but the specifics, like how much money schools will get for serving students with higher needs, hasn’t been released. That part will be left to the state legislators to decide.
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