Commission, councils, school boards oppose vouchers plan
The Anderson County Commission, Anderson County Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Schools, Clinton City Council and Clinton City Schools have approved a joint resolution opposing the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, which Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has proposed.
The County Commission passed the resolution, though not unanimously, on Monday, Dec. 18. Commissioner Joshua Anderson made the motion, and Commissioner Tracy Wandell seconded.
Lee’s bill would allow parents to have vouchers -- paid from taxes -- that they could spend on tuition for private schools for their children, rather than sending them to state-supported public schools.
The resolution passed by the County Commission says the vouchers divert funds from public schools to schools without “the same accountability and performance standards.”
But Commissioner Anthony Allen said he opposed the resolution because even though Lee had promoted the bill, no one had filed it in the General Assembly yet. He said state Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, had called the county’s resolution “excessively premature.”
“What does the bill say? What’s in it? I want to find out what’s in the bill first,” Allen said.
But Commissioner Sabra Beauchamp countered: “It’s there. They’re talking about it. So I don’t know why Rep. Ragan would say it’s premature.”
Wandell said, “I have no problem letting anybody in this state know that I don’t want any dollars taken away” from the public schools.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said at the meeting that public schools were declining in number of students already, and that Anderson County Schools need to emphasize their competitiveness.
“I would just challenge Anderson County to be in a posture of preparation for change,” she said. “We can’t sit here and say Anderson County Schools are the best in the state of Tennessee, and fear some level of competition or change.”
At the same meeting, the County Commission:
• Passed a resolution asking Frank to work with the Roane County government to promote career training opportunities.
• Also passed a resolution urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to extend its deadline for drought relief for farmers and ranchers.
Currently, the deadline for the program, which includes people in Anderson County, is Jan. 30.
The commission’s resolution asks for it to be extended 30 days.