School vouchers opposed at the local level
While newly elected Gov. Bill Lee may favor school vouchers, those who represent the county on a local level do not.
And that’s not just true for Anderson County, but for Knox and Campbell Counties as well.
State Rep. John Ragan was recently named the chairperson for the Tennessee education committee, and at one time leaned toward being more pro-voucher, according to Clinton City Schools directory Kelly Johnson.
“His viewpoint is that it helps failing districts,” Johnson said during last month’s Clinton city council meeting.
“In the conversations I’ve had with him, he feels like all three school systems in Anderson County are quality, and I don’t think he realizes the impact it would have on effective school districts as well.”
But Ragan, in a conversation with The Courier News, said that although he supports the voucher system that is already in place for failing students and failing schools, he isn’t in favor of pursuing a change in policy.
“I’m not going to take a firm position because of my committee leadership,” he said, “but the likelihood of the legislation surviving is very limited. If a voucher system was proposed that had some very finely drawn limits around it and addressed a specific educational problem that wasn’t addressed otherwise, it might have a chance.
