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Mitchell’s Bill To Kill Lee’s Vouchers Dies

WATCH: “Delete the voucher program… it’s ILLEGAL… we’re wasting the courts’ time with something we know is wrong.”

Bo Mitchell’s bill to kill Gov. Lee’s “UNCONSTITUTIONAL” private school vouchers fails for lack of a second.
(Thanks to: Byrd, Moody, Dunn, White, Deberry, Cochran)

Republicans Block Hodges’ Virus Worker Relief For the Underemployed

Watch the GOP Block a Jason Hodges Amendment for Tennessee’s underemployed that would cost half ($20 MILLION) of what Bill Lee’s vouchers are costing ($41 MILLION), which remain in the budget.

Rep. Mark White, Who Ripped Lee’s Charter Nominee for OUTING KIDS, Did the SAME To His Opponent

House Education Committee chair Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) is among the Republicans who have spoken out against Mary Pierce, one of the nine people Governor Bill Lee nominated for his new charter school board commission, because she used the children of Reps Mike Stewart & Bo Mitchell against them – naming the schools their children go to in an attempt to discount their opposition to Governor Bill Lee’s public school-harming SCHOOL VOUCHERS.

Problem is, Rep. White once did the VERY SAME THING to his opponent Jerri Green, currently running against him in HD-83.

Governor Bill Lee has nominated 9 people to be members of a new state charter school commission that has the power to overrule local school boards and ram charter schools down the throats of rural communities that may not want them for fear that they will drain resources from already severely underfunded public schools, which is what has happened in California and many places like it.

Tennessee has an “F” in school funding under this Republican supermajority, so the fears of rural school boards would be understandable, but the commission is on the verge of becoming a reality anyway thanks to Governor Lee and his Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn.

2 of Lee’s charter commission nominees, Alan Levine and Mary Pierce have met resistance from opponents.

The pushback to Levine came from Rep. Gloria Johnson, who rightly pointed out that Alan Levine was the mouthpiece for the company HMA, lying on 60 Minutes before they were forced to pay $260 MILLION IN FINES FOR MEDICARE FRAUD, had filed bogus charges against protestors in Kingsport who protested his company for over 200 days, and is the CEO of Ballad Health, which was exposed in the NY Times for SUING THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS WHO COULDN’T AFFORD TO PAY THEIR BILLS.

What a guy.

The resistance to Mary Pierce on the other hand came from Democrats and Republicans alike who took exception to her dragging the children of Reps Mitchell & Stewart into the conversation about school vouchers, going so far as to naming the schools their kids attend.

Rep. Mark White, the chair of the Education Committee, had this to say:

“You should never talk about someone else’s children.”

One problem — White did the EXACT same thing to Jerri Green, his opponent in HD-83, calling out where her children go to school to discount her opposition to Lee’s public school harming school vouchers program, which have been the source of much controversy due to the “bribes and threats” used by Lee to get them passed – including a military promotion – and used a $4 Million slush fund that seems to have appeared to grease the skids, and a problematic “sketchy” rollout around an overly expensive no-bid contract that “robbed” from teacher bonus pay  which has even Republican leaders regretting their vote.

Here’s White outing Green’s kids EXACLY the same way Pierce did, in the Daily Memphian:

Hypocrisy much, Rep. White?

It’s worth noting that the school White mentions IS a public school – not a magnet or private school – it just has a special contract with the University of Memphis to help train teachers.

“It was our neighborhood school,” says Green.

If you feel like letting White know how you feel about his blatant hypocrisy, holler at him HERE.

And to learn more about Green’s campaign to unseat him, find more info HERE.

 

VIDEO: Gov. Bill Lee’s “FRAUD” Charter Board Appointment Alan Levine BLOCKED

Rep. Gloria Johnson protests Charter School Commission nominee Alan Levine – subject of a 60 Minutes expose on MEDICARE FRAUD after which his company paid $260 MILLION in fines, and CEO of Ballad Health, recently ripped in the NY Times FOR SUING THOUSANDS OF POOR PATIENTS. 

Ballad was protested for 200 days in Kingsport for a reason. Do better, Governor.

Senator Bowling Doubles Down Against Early Childhood Ed, Denies Telling Moms To Stay Home

We caught up with Senator Janice Bowling about her controversial comments about early childhood education and implying moms should stay home like she did – which she denies saying and says we twisted.

You be the judge!

 

VIDEO: Senator Janice Bowling Vs. Early Childhood Education

TN GOP Senator Janice Bowling says TN should encourage moms to stay home as she did rather than use federal ? to help TN families with child care.

Her message: “Parenting is not a part-time job” and ““Early Childhood Education is NOT in the best interest of the Child.” ?

Worth noting: Bowling represents the POOREST county in TN – Grundy County – yet resists helping families with daycare costs using FEDERAL ? because she believes moms should stay home and early childhood education is bad (which study after study shows it is NOT).‬ Early Childhood Education is a good thing.

Bowling clearly has no idea what it’s like to be poor in Tennessee, where we lead the nation in minimum wage jobs (because her party won’t raise it), are at the bottom in poverty, ‬#1 medical bankruptcies, etc.

People work 2 jobs and still barely get by, yet Bowling sits in judgment of them and resists helping with federal funds that are there for exactly that reason?

This is the mentality that caused us to have a $732 TANF reserve, the biggest in the country, and lose hundreds of millions in child care funds which reverted back to the federal government.

Holler at her HERE.

What’s Bob Corker Up To?

Is Former TN GOP Senator Bob Corker getting back into politics in his hometown? Has he decided to throw his weight behind an effort to eliminate neighborhood schools in Chattanooga?

Corker was recently spotted leaving a meeting with well-known radical right-wing political consultant and sole staffer for a new anti-public education group, the  ‘Good Government Coalition’, which is aiming to eradicate local public schools in Hamilton County.


The group recently boasted that an effort to raise $200k for upcoming school board races was going as planned.

Is the former Senator leveraging his personal fortune to install a right-wing majority on the Hamilton County School Board?
What’s Bob Corker up to?

VIDEO: THE TENNESSEE ANTI-LUNCH SHAMING ACT

Rep. John Ray Clemmons pushes his bill to stop schools from punishing kids to force parents to pay meal debt.

GOP Reps Terri Lynn Weaver & Jerry Sexton struggle with it, while Rep Ragan wants to make meal debt a child abuse/DCS issue.

PODCAST: A Charter School In California Shows What Can Happen

A new WNYC podcast episode discusses the concerns brought up in charter commission hearing this week.

It centers on Marin County, California, where a new charter school took resources from a public school, leaving many (black) kids behind and segregating the schools.

If you have the time, it’s a worthwhile listen— not that it will change the hearts of pr0 “school choice” legislators, but it offers some perspective that the legislators pushing back against what they call “choice” are actually thinking about the kids left behind – who this podcast gives voice to – not trying to hold the kids they’re trying to help back.

Unfortunately at the end of the day education funding is a zero-sum game, which is why adding money to the pot – as Democratic legislators called for this week – is really the best way to help all our kids.

HIGHLIGHTS: TN STATE CHARTER SCHOOL COMMISSION CANDIDATES

WATCH Rep. Jerry Sexton – who said “we all make mistakes” about a child sex abuser and a KKK Grand Wizard – press candidates to ignore potential harm caused to cash-strapped public schools.

“That ? belongs to those parents, not traditional public schools.”

The GOP disdain for public schools on full display. This logic will further devastate them. www.TNHoller.com