House district candidates weigh in on private school vouchers and property taxes

The proposal to allow Tennessee families to use public dollars to send their children to private school proved to be a topic of disagreement for three candidates running in Blount County's House District 20 Republican Primary.

Jason Emert, Tom Stinnett, and Nick Bright weighed in on Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act, frequently referred to as vouchers, during a forum held last week by the Blount County Chamber of Commerce.

State Rep. Bryan Richey, R-Maryville, left the seat open for challengers this year when he opted to run for State Senate. Because Richey served on both the House Education Administration Committee and the House K-12 Subcommittee, education-related policies, including "vouchers," were a major point of focus at the forum. Emert said he is completely in favor of the push for “school choice,” partly due to his own experience in public schools.

“I’m all for vouchers and school choice. I’m a product of school choice. School choice saved my life,” he said. “I was bullied so severely [in public schools] that I contemplated my own demise.”

Stinnett, however, took a more cautious approach to his position on the Governor's plan.

“You will have to get something on paper and have me look and see what they want to present for us to vote on it, so [for vouchers], I can’t answer that question,” he said.

Similarly, Bright said his support would depend on the specifics of the legislation.

“I can tell you this – I would not support vouchers unless it was a level playing field between voucher-recipient education and public education … On a level playing field, our public schools can compete with anybody,” he said.

The Governor’s Education Freedom Scholarship Plan failed to reach either the House or Senate Floor this year, after both chambers advanced vastly different plans and failed to reach an agreement on a path to reconcile those differences. The topic has proven divisive, with some believing that the push for school "vouchers" diverts public education funds away from public schools in a state that already consistently ranks poorly in per-pupil public school spending.

Capping property taxes another source of disagreement

Candidates also discussed whether they support caps on property taxes, which are a main source of public-school funding.“I think any time you start putting caps and trying to control the money, that creates a dangerous situation because you’re trying to control the economic growth and direction the economy is going,” Stinnett said, with Bright largely agreeing.

Emert said he would be supportive of property tax cuts, however.

“We’re one of four states that don’t have a cap on property tax increases. That’s absurd. Tennesseans believe in low taxation,” he said. “Being one of four states that doesn’t have a cap on tax increases is embarrassing. You should demand better.”