Knox County School Board members are split over Governor Bill Lee’s proposal to let families across the state use taxpayer dollars to attend private school.
Governor Lee unveiled the Education Freedom Scholarship Act earlier this year to expand upon the framework of the existing Education Savings Account (ESA) pilot program and offer families a $7,075 scholarship to cover private school tuition and other fees such as uniforms and textbooks.
Board member Jennifer Owens proposed a resolution at Monday night’s work session to publicly denounce the Education Freedom Act, saying the program is not in the best interest of public-school districts.
“I think we really have to look at the grand scheme of things and our legislatures keep telling people that it’s not coming from the same bucket of money, but the bottom line is our tax dollars are a big bucket of money. And when you’re taking out of that bucket, it’s not going into our bucket. So that’s the biggest thing that’s concerning to me,” said Owens.
Board member Daniel Watson also criticized the Governor’s proposal, calling it premature.
“I think my biggest concern with vouchers in terms of where we are currently within the state is the current voucher program was proposed as a pilot. That pilot’s been running for less than two school years,” said Watson. “Typically, you want to give a pilot time to succeed or fail and to learn from. And to at this point as a state legislature say, ‘hey we feel like we’ve learned enough, we’re going to actually roll this out statewide’ to me is very premature.”
The Governor’s proposal is technically not a voucher program, but many opponents have been using the term to describe it.
Multiple board members, including Steve Triplett, disagreed with the criticism of the Education Freedom Scholarship Act.
Triplett said he feels the proposed program would give parents options that the district may not provide.
“We ought to do our best to make this system the very best it can possibly be. I would argue that I think it would be somewhat arrogant to think that this system could meet the need of every student and every child in Knox County,” said Triplett. “I feel that this would give parents the opportunity in various situations. I’m blessed with great schools, and our community and I appreciate them, and appreciate our folks and I know the rest of you do as well. But there are situations where I think there are better options than what we can provide, and I think this gives parents a choice.”
Board chair Betsy Henderson also spoke in favor of school choice and competition.
Henderson said the Governor’s proposal would help give those who are economically disadvantaged the same opportunities as those who are not.
“I think parents know what’s best for their children. I do agree that we’ve seen gains in our school system. I think we’ve done a good job with student outcomes and focusing on our four priorities, but with that said, maybe the school system isn’t the best choice for every child. And I think that every child should have those opportunities, every child should have those choices and every parent should as well,” said Henderson.
The board will vote on the resolution at a later meeting.
