BOWMAN: Universal Vouchers Are Back (and Gov. Lee is mis-leeding folks)

/in , , /by
J.C. Bowman of Professional Educators of Tennessee says despite what privatizer polls say, Tennesseans don’t want vouchers when they have all the info: “It is concerning when Governor Lee does not clearly explain his universal voucher proposal when discussing his latest initiative. Many politicians use this tactic to mislead the public purposely.”

Let’s suppose Governor Bill Lee has the votes for his universal voucher bill. In that case, he will likely convene a special legislative session in the final week of January to advance his private school voucher bill. His latest proposal seeks to allocate $7,075 per student in Tennessee for private school attendance while providing financial aid to local school districts. The fiscal note will likely increase rapidly if no caps or limits are in place, like a similar program in Arizona.

Despite polling from various organizations or universities, school vouchers have consistently failed to pass when subjected to a popular vote in 2024. States such as Kentucky, Nebraska, and Colorado rejected them at the ballot box. School choice allows families to select schools outside their neighborhoods, but a lack of transportation can be a barrier. In Tennessee, 42% of rural districts do not have private schools, and 84% have three or fewer, which makes it challenging for students to participate.

“School choice” is a popular concept in various forms. In fact, over a quarter of students no longer attend traditional public schools, and this number continues to grow. According to Tulane Professor Doug Harris, this trend is mainly driven by inter-district and intra-district choice options and charter schools. Still, the local public school is considered an essential institution within every community in the state.

It is concerning when Governor Lee does not clearly explain his universal voucher proposal when discussing his latest initiative. Many politicians use this tactic to mislead the public purposely. As a result, the conversation surrounding universal vouchers does not align with state criteria for evaluating other public education policies or the values expressed by supporters of vouchers. Recipients of vouchers in the current ESA pilot project have demonstrated improvements, but they still underperform compared to their peers in public schools.

Tennessee taxpayers must understand that most of the funding under the new proposal will be directed toward children already enrolled in private schools. Private schools across Tennessee have a maximum of three to four thousand open seats. This indicates that the primary goal is not actually to improve public schools.

Universal voucher programs have been criticized for their lack of transparency and accountability. Many detractors, including some conservatives, argue that an actual free market requires parents to have access to information about schools’ backgrounds and performance history to make informed choices.

Parents should make informed decisions to ensure their child is educated to their full potential. The voucher program proposed by Governor Lee raises concerns. It does not require voucher schools to undergo vetting, which supporters say compromises their standards and oversight. Consequently, parents may enroll their children in schools without a proven track record or fundamental legitimacy, including those operating from unconventional locations. The minimal requirements and the absence of transparency and accountability measures are particularly alarming, especially since these institutions will receive public funding.

Prominent conservative voices, such as Michael J. Petrilli from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, argue that if taxpayer dollars fund private schools, they should adhere to the same standards as public schools. This statement highlights our position.

Many conservatives in Tennessee also suggest waiting for President Trump’s tax break proposal, which would offer tax credits to those who donate to private school scholarship funds, rather than pursuing new voucher legislation. This plan would not provide direct federal funding to private schools.

There are some excellent private schools across the state. However, the perception that all private schools are superior arises from their selective admissions, rejection, and expulsion policies rather than the actual quality of the classroom educational environment.

This situation highlights a double standard: private school parents can engage in public school governance. At the same time, public school parents will encounter barriers in accessing information about private institutions that will also benefit from public funds. Board meetings are not open to the public. For parents to fully experience education freedom, any legislative proposal must include robust transparency and accountability for taxpayer dollars.

Last session’s attempt to pass a universal voucher bill failed due to difficulties reconciling different proposals. Sam Stockard from the Tennessee Lookout points out that critics question the need for compromises if the plan is genuinely advantageous, suggesting it could be detrimental to public education. Parents and taxpayers should
consider this a valid concern. One legislator admitted, “We’re going to end up taking funds from public schools because the students won’t be there.”

We have seen Governor Lee’s political advertisement in support of his voucher legislation. It illustrates a concern that political donors and special interest groups exert too much influence in Tennessee, reducing the power of ordinary citizens. This creates a loss of trust in our government institutions. Concerns about money in
politics and potential corruption are compelling, as many believe financial interests motivate elected officials.

The upcoming trial of former Tennessee Speaker of the House Glenn Casada, scheduled in Federal Court in Nashville on April 22, 2025, could focus on that loss of trust.
Policymakers should openly share their decision-making processes, including how they plan to allocate taxpayer funds and disclose political contributions to taxpayers. They need to represent their constituents’ views and engage in discussions that support public education.

Voters need to feel that their voices are heard. Their
representatives must be attentive to their concerns, and the government must value their opinions. We strongly encourage policymakers to prioritize transparency during the ongoing debate surrounding universal vouchers.

#####

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the association are properly cited. For more information on this subject or any education issue please contact Professional Educators of Tennessee. To schedule an interview please contact [email protected] or 1-800-471-4867.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS. WILL DEMS ANSWER?

/in , /by

The MAGA Civil War Over the H-1B Visas Is a Chance for Dems/Progressives to Re-Establish Themselves As the Party of the American Worker And Drive A Wedge Between Trump And His Base


Trump hasn’t even taken office yet, and his besties are already at each other’s throats. It all started when he named Indian-American Sririam Krishnan, an Elon Musk aide, as Senior Policy Adviser for Artificial Intelligence, and Vivek Ramaswamy let loose with a Twitter post disparaging American workers as he and Elon Musk and the tech oligarchs issued full-throated support of increasing the supply of H-1B Visas to bring in foreign workers.

The Ramaswamy rant was unhinged and ill-advised, and caused an uproar among the MAGA faithful who oppose immigration in any form – some for obviously racist, xenophobic reasons, but also some in genuine defense of American workers, who have been largely left behind by many anti-union anti-worker policies our country has adopted over the years – on both sides of the aisle.

Granted, the story told about H-1B Visas sounds good: We don’t have enough skilled workers in the United States, and we want the best and the brightest, so we allow employers to poach 85,000 skilled workers yearly to come help our companies. Sounds great, right?

But there’s more to the story. As Senator Bernie Sanders says, these Visas are “abused” by tech oligarchs like Elon Musk, and “The main function of the H-1B visa program is not to hire “the best and the brightest,” but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad. The cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make.”

Bernie points out these are not just workers being hired for high level jobs – but also as massage therapists, dog groomers, cooks, etc… as evidenced by the fact that Trump admitted he has them working on his properties when he sided with Elon.


Trump said he hasn’t changed his position on H-1B Visas, but as usual Meidas Touch has the receipts👇🏽 – In 2016 he said it was “very bad for workers” and “I shouldn’t be allowed to use it, we shouldn’t have it”.

Elon & the tech bro money changed all that real fast.

That’s why there is actually a progressive, pro-American worker case to be made that Bannon, and Laura Loomer, and other MAGA loyalists have a point about the visas being abused by the oligarchy and the H-1B Visa program needs real reform – a position shared by the AFL-CIO: “Our unions will never accept policies that relegate millions of workers to an exploitable subclass.”

Elon has made it clear this issue is a big reason why he and his tech oligarch buddies helped buy Trump the presidency. A REPORT says “Tesla has replaced some of its US employees who were let go as part of a big wave of layoffs earlier this year with foreign workers using H-1B visas.”

Which is why Elon lashed out so hard at the Bannon crowd over this, calling them “Subtards” and saying he will go to “war” over it, and agreeing people who disagree are “the retarded right” and “unrepentant racists”.

Elon even went so far as to expose his “free speech absolutism” as hypocrisy by censoring conservatives on Twitter.


BANNON responded to Musk by saying “The converts sit in the back… We’re gonna rip your face off… You can’t beat us… we’ll never surrender… If you go low, we’ll go to the center of the earth.”

To which Elon eventually erupted with this “FUCK YOURSELF IN THE FACE” rant…

…and Bannon called Elon a “toddler”  👇🏽👀

Trump’s traveling buddy Laura Loomer even went in on Elon on a spaces, calling him a “liability” for Trump and a “national security threat” because of his ties to foreign governments.

NEWSWEEK calls it a “MAGA Civil War”.

And the headlines roll in.


And despite all that, Trump sided with Elon over his own base.

Money is a helluva drug.

The bottom line is it all creates a very real opportunity for Democrats to stand with Bernie, and the unions, and take up the mantle of defending American workers against the abuse of the H-1B visa system by Elon and the tech oligarchs.

The natural inclination for Dems will be to have an aversion to the idea of opposing legal immigration and siding with Bannon on anything – but to borrow a phrase, there are “not-so-fine people on both sides”. Defending Elon and the tech oligarchs isn’t a great place to be either.

As Bernie says, the system is being abused by the rich and corporations, and the very workers that are feeling left behind and voting for Trump because of it are the ones who are paying the price.

We all know Trump never actually cared about American workers. We all know he is a fraud. Now is a moment where he is showing that to be true.

If Democrats are still the party of American workers that they once were, this is a time to stand up for them.

Granted, it means standing next to, or at least near, the likes of Steve Bannon and others who are doing it with a not-so-subtle thread of racism and xenophobia. But there is a way to support immigration and what it means to this country while also calling for reforms to the H-1B Visa program so that it does not harm American workers by allowing tech oligarchs a supply of indentured servants.

This is an opportunity to show who really has the back of the American worker, and prove Trump never did.

Opportunity is knocking. Will Dems answer?

Please consider chipping in a few bucks to help – make it MONTHLY and get a Holler hat! (or on SQUARE) 

The Holler

PHD ED POLICY RESEARCHER TO THE TENNESSEAN: “ISSUE A CORRECTION FOR SEN. JACK JOHNSON’S FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT LEE’S VOUCHERS”

/in , , /by

Below is a letter from PHD Ed Policy researcher Ezra Howard to Tennessean opinion editor David Plazas, in reaction to a recent op-ed from Senator Jack Johnson, who is sponsoring Governor Lee’s voucher bill this upcoming session. Johnson parroted Lee’s claim that the vouchers will not negatively impact public school funding, which is simply not true. Public schools will only be held harmless for one year, but after that year their funding will drop if kids leave for private schools and take their funding with them. 

 

Hello Mr. Plazas,

My name is Dr. Ezra Howard. My day job is the data and evaluation manager for the Nashville After Zone Alliance within Metro Nashville. However, I came back to my hometown of Nashville after a career as an ESL teacher, then district ESL administrator, as well as educational researcher while completing dual PhDs.

I was reading Sen. Jack Johnson’s recent op-ed in the Tennessean. I must insist that the Tennessean issue a correction for his opinion piece as on the point of funding Mr. Johnson is either incorrect or sharing misinformation.

In particular, Sen. Johnson states:

“Despite the false claims of many critics, there will be no decrease in funding for any public schools as a result of this legislation. Two things can be true: we support public schools and school choice.”

This is not a false claim. In fact, it is the Senator misrepresenting the language of his own bill and he has done almost immediately after submitting the bill and saying himself funds would decrease over time.

As the language of the bill states on page 10:

“Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c), beginning with the TISA allocation for the 2025-2026 school year, an LEA’s allocated education funding shall not decrease from one (1) year to the next year due to the disenrollment of students from the LEA. If an LEA’s calculated TISA allocation decreases from the LEA’s TISA allocation for the prior school year, then the department shall allocate additional funds to the LEA in an amount such that the LEA’s TISA allocation for the current year is not less than the prior school year. For purposes of this subsection (i), “disenrollment” means that the LEA’s non-virtual average daily membership for the current school year is lower than the LEA’s non-virtual average daily membership for the prior school year.”

With a professional background both in ESL and as a researcher, I am well practiced in reading policy. Though I also practice due diligence and consulted with a local lawyer working within educational spaces as well as a colleague in higher education whose focus is on law and education. My reading as well as theirs is that Senator Johnson is patently mis-representing his bill. Funds will go down as enrollment goes down and the stated intent of vouchers is enrollment in local public schools decreasing. It is simply that there will be a year lag. 2025-26 TISA allocation will be based on 2024-25 enrollment. 2026-27 will be based on 2025-26 enrollment. So on and so forth.

Furthermore, House Speaker Cameron Sexton was recently on Inside Tennessee on a local affiliate in Knoxville to discuss this bill and Mr. Sexton goes into a good deal of depth explaining that funds will indeed go down in the exact manner I state above.

As such, I respectfully ask that the Tennessean issue a correction on Sen. Johnson’s piece and retract the false statements both in the excerpt above as well when he states “Public schools will retain their full resources, while families gain access to new opportunities that better meet their children’s needs.

There are other issues such as the “success of pro-school-choice candidates” when many purposefully either downplayed or did not run on school choice, but those can be construed as a matter of opinion. Funds decreasing over time is a matter of fact. And on that fact, Sen. Johnson is not correct.

Regards,

Dr. Ezra Howard

(If you would like to contact David Plazas and join Ezra in asking for a correction, his email: [email protected])

EDITOR’S NOTE – TO EZRA’S POINT, JACK RECENTLY ADMITTED THE BILL WOULD HURT PUBLIC SCHOOLS AFTER 1 YEAR TO NEWSCHANNEL 5, THEN WALKED IT BACK:

“FIGHT LIKE A MOM” (Rep. Shaundelle Brooks Arrives)

/in , , , , /by

INTERVIEW: Tim Miller on Leaving the GOP, Elon, Bannon

/in , , , , /by

“You don’t have to love Kamala to vote for her, given the threat on the other side – but that’s not me. It was very easy.”

Ex-GOP Tim Miller of The Bulwark on a too-close race, the steal threat, confronting Bannon, the danger of Elon and more.

Read his ⁠plea to Haley voters HERE⁠.

Guy Banned From CNN For Racism Took Credit For Replacing 33% of Williamson County’s School Board

/in , /by

A CNN conversation went off the rails this week when right-wing commentator Ryan Girdusky made a wildly racist comment to Mehdi Hasan, saying “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off” when Hasan said he supports the Palestinian people.

Watch it happen:

The comment was a reference to Israel killing a number of Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon by making their pagers explode, an attack that also took the lives of some innocent people, including children, causing even NPR to wonder if it was a violation of international law.

Others were impressed by it.

Girdusky’s comment was not only incorrect on the facts – the pager attack was in Lebanon, not Gaza – it was also wildly offensive and racist, as he was equating support for “Palestinians” by a Muslim man with support for Hamas, and implying he thought Israel may? should? kill Hasan for it.

Hasan took offense immediately, as did the rest of the panel. After the following commercial break, Girdusky was gone thanks to quick work by host Abby Phillip, and CNN announced he was banned from the network.

Girdusky took to Twitter and whined about it, trying to deflect blame and call it a “joke”, as is the standard Republican way in the Trump era. But the question isn’t why did they kick Girdusky off, it’s why were they platforming him in the first place.

Girdusky previous was a writer for Richard Spencer, a proud white supremacist. He allegedly worked for Milo Yiannopoulos, which would be problematic for a number of other reasons. So for him to say openly racist stuff on CNN should not have come as a surprise to anyone, CNN included.

And here’s why we’re telling about this: the incident also has ties to Tennessee.

Williamson County and Wilson County, specifically.

Girdusky runs a right-wing “1776 Project PAC” out of New York, which claimed credit for the victories of 4 school board members in Williamson (Hibma, Reeves, Bostic, Driggers) and 1 in Wilson (Hohman) this past cycle.

How tight were those school board members with Girdusky? Did they court and approve his PAC’s support? Did they know about his problematic past? And do they support what he said to Hasan?

These all seem like fair questions to ask of them. And if someone capable of such open racism is proud to have backed these candidates for School Board, what does it say about their priorities for the kids in Williamson and Wilson counties?

Here’s Mehdi Hasan’s response to the incident. It’s worth your time:

It’s worth noting that the very first thing these far right school board members did was rescind the previous board’s anti-private school voucher scam resolution, which was likely not a coincidence. Backing Governor Lee’s push to privatize our public schools and steer billions of taxpayer dollars to private religious schools was almost certainly a prerequisite for Girdusky’s PAC’s support.

Girdusky’s 1776 Project PAC is openly hostile to public schools. It stands to reason deep down these school board members are as well. Sadly, this is what low voter turnout gets us.

2 Conversations: Adam Brody & Rob Huebel Talk Politics

/in , , , /by

Kanew just had 2 conversations about politics. One with Adam Brody:

And one with Rob Huebel:

Holler Hats!

/in , /by

MORE HOLLER HATS ARE HERE! To get yours, we just ask that you become a monthly supporter of our Hollering and chip in $10 per month or more (or make a one-time contribution of $40) – then email us at [email protected] and say “I just became a monthly supporter, send me a hat y’all!” – and include which color (see below for options… If paypal isn’t your thing you can also use square)

MORE HOLLER HATS ARE HERE! To get yours, we just ask that you become a monthly supporter of our Hollering and chip in $10 per month or more (or make a one-time contribution of $40) – then email us at [email protected] and say “I just became a monthly supporter, send me a hat y’all!” – and include which color (see below for options… If paypal isn’t your thing you can also use square)

Your monthly support truly keeps us hollering and allows us to keep shining a light on what’s really going on here in Tennessee, and we are deeply grateful for it.

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to get our 2x weekly emails… and spread the word!

The Holler

COLORS:

Blue & White

Orange & Black

Grey & Green

Black & Gold

Green & White

Blue

 

Gray & Neon Pink

Gray & White

Black & White

Gray & Aqua

Gray & Black

Purple & White

Black

WILSON COUNTY SCHOOLS REMOVES 400+ BOOKS THANKS TO GOP LAW

/in , /by

At the start of the school year there were reports that Wilson County Schools would start the year with their library closed as they worked to comply with the new state Republican “Age Appropriate Materials Law”. Wilson Schools explained:

“We will fully comply, and the process to remove materials will happen in a productive and expedited process.”

So what does the law say? From the Tennessean:

“The legislation prohibits materials containing nudity or describes or depicts sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence or sadomasochistic abuse, according to state obscenity laws. It also mandates material that “appeals to the “prurient interest” should not be considered appropriate for school age students.”

Obviously wildly broad, vague, and confusingly up for interpretation.

And what does compliance look like in Wilson County? Now we know.

400+ books have been removed from Wilson County Schools libraries. Here’s The List, which we understand will be presented at the Wilson County School Board meeting Thursday Night at 6pm.

Maybe parents should show up and make their voices heard.

5 of the books were removed from elementary schools, nearly 40 from Middle School, and the rest, nearly 350, from High School libraries.

The list includes classics like Slaughterhouse 5, Pinkalicious, Ready Player One – there’s really something for everyone on the banned list.

To make sure they are in compliance and not open librarians and teachers up to liability, Wilson Schools is understandably making sure nothing remotely edgy is available to students, who Republicans believe are unable to handle books that have been in school libraries for decades.

Sad. Is this really the world we want for our kids? A world where libraries are devoid of anything challenging? How will this prepare them for an inevitably challenging world?

It’s important to keep in mind these book bans are part of a much bigger push to villainize our public schools, with a focus on librarians – part of a privatization effort that ends with billions of dollars landing in the pockets of private church schools and privately run charter schools, which has been Governor Lee’s main priority since the day he took office.

Lee’s rigged charter appeal board, the TISA funding overhaul, the push for universal vouchers – all of this is an effort to villainize public schools and make it easier for kids to leave, taking public taxpayer dollars with them over to privately run religiously affiliated schools and charter schools.

That’s the backdrop here. This book ban law gives the impression our librarians and schools have been peddling pornography, which is anything but the case. Obscene books are already illegal in our schools. The difference is now we have the Rep. Susan Lynn and Senator Mark Podys of the world deciding what ALL of our kids can read. How is that parental choice?

Rutherford County and other counties are also banning books over the vague legislation, which has drawn criticism that includes PEN America’s Freedom to Read Director Kasey Meehan, called  “draconian.”

Book bans are now the norm in Tennessee. Is this really what we want to be known for? Hard to find a time in history where the book banners were on the right side of it.

JC Bowman of the Professional Educators of Tennessee tells us:

“The law creates more problems than it solves.”

There have been questions about whether the new legislation would apply to the Bible, since the Bible includes a ton of violence, terror, rape, and even depicts 2 daughters getting their father drunk and raping him.

But all that is totally fine, according to the bill’s Republican sponsor Susan Lynn: “any standard in Tennessee, the Bible has always been acceptable.”

Sure, Susan.

SAVE THE DATE – U.S. SENATE DEBATE! (Oct. 16th)

/in , /by

SAVE THE DATE: U.S. SENATE RACE DEBATE!

October 16th in Franklin, at city hall, we have invited both Gloria Johnson and Marsha Blackburn to participate in a debate. Gloria has accepted. No response from Marsha yet.

Ok y’all, after months of pounding the table to try to get another outlet to hold a U.S. senate race debate with or without Marsha Blackburn, we have decided to do it ourselves.

We invited Marsha Blackburn and Gloria Johnson to participate in a debate at City Hall in Franklin, TN on October 16th at 530PM CST.

Gloria has confirmed she will be there.
Marsha has yet to respond.

If Marsha is a no-show, there will be an empty podium in her place – just like they did in Georgia when Perdue refused to debate Ossoff.

We were hoping other outlets would step up and do this, but since nobody else is going to, we will.

There are around 150 seats inside the room give or take, plus an overflow hallway. It will be accommodated on a first come first served basis.

It will also be STREAMED LIVE on all our social media feeds, so if you can’t be there in person definitely plan on being there online.

And please share the announcement posts so as many people as possible know this is happening: On Twitter, On Facebook, On Instagram, On TikTok, On Threads

We are not charging for tickets or making any money here, but there are a few costs associated with it so if you feel like Chipping in a few bucks to support what we do in general, as always we appreciate it! Make it MONTHLY and get a Holler hat!  (or on SQUARE) 

See you October 16th in Franklin!

The Holler
BUYING OR SELLING A HOME IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE? HOLLER AT REALTOR ELISA PARKER! SERVING MIDDLE TN FOR 20+ YEARS… SUPPORT US BY SUPPORTING HER! 

LOOKING FOR AN ATTORNEY? HOLLER AT ABBY RUBENFELD.   FAMILY LAW, CIVIL RIGHTS, EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION, PERSONAL INJURY, WILLS,  DUI… ABBY STRONGLY BELIEVES EVERYONE SHOULD BE PROTECTED REGARDLESS OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS.  SHE ROCKS.

Interested in sponsoring? Email:[email protected]

DONATE