Governor Lee makes case for universal school choice to sometimes skeptical Nashville business leaders

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee made the case Monday for his plan to let parents use taxpayer dollars to send their kids to private school to a group of business and community leaders who aren’t necessarily supportive.

Lee told members of the Rotary Club of Nashville that he became a champion of universal school choice after working at an at-risk inner city youth program years ago that served the most disadvantaged kids who were in the schools with the worst educational outcomes.

“And that just didn’t seem right to me, and I thought those kids ought to have the choice as the kids that lived across town,” said Lee. “I just don’t think that only wealthy families should have access to private education. I think that the poorest children in our communities, their families too, should also have access to that education that they think is the best one for their family.”

Governor Lee created the Education Savings Account program in 2019 to provide universal school choice, frequently referred to as “school vouchers,” to a limited number of families in Davidson, Shelby, and later Hamilton County.  This year Lee attempted to expand upon the concept statewide with the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship plan, but disagreements between House and Senate leaders ultimately derailed it.Governor Lee has vowed to bring universal school choice back next year.

The concept itself has divided opinions statewide, with opponents arguing “school vouchers” will divert funds away from public schools in a state that already consistently ranks poorly in per-pupil public school spending.

Lee faced similar challenges about his plan from multiple Rotary members who were provided an opportunity to ask the governor questions.

“Why is it more important to fund people to send their kids to private schools,” asked one Rotary member. “Why not fund public schools so our public schools are not consistently next to the bottom?”

Governor Lee responded that he doesn’t believe Tennessee needs to choose one option over the other.

“What I say is why don’t we do both,” said Lee. “Why don’t we do all the things that are important for our public school systems and why don’t we allow the citizens who do pay taxes to use their tax money for the educational system that they choose for their child.”

Backing candidates who support universal school choice

In recent weeks the Governor has taken his push for universal school choice statewide by backing three candidates in open House races who support it along with incumbents who are running for re-election.

One reason why the plan failed this year is that leaders in the House and Senate advanced drastically different plans and could not reconcile those differences.

Governor Lee said Monday that the process was a learning experience that he’ll take lessons from next year when a new General Assembly, with new members, begins discussing his plan.

“I think we learned a lot.  We learned what people in both chambers were most favorable to, the things that they agreed upon, the things they disagreed upon. So, we’ll continue, and we’ll once again work with both the House and the Senate, their leadership, their membership, to find the common points of agreement so that we can move forward and get it accomplished.”