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.
“I’m not certain those in favor of leaving that bust there recognize how hurtful it is to African-Americans.”
Senator Brenda Gilmore spoke with us after the state Capitol Commission’s meeting about moving the KKK GRAND WIZARD BUST out of our state capitol.
Chairman Stuart Mcwhorter & Governor Lee have STILL not set a date for the vote.
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!
Watch the Resolution to call CNN and The Washington Post “FAKE NEWS” – proposed by Rep. Micah Van Huss, who one cited the Onion in a committee hearing – pass subcommittee, to waste more taxpayer? – simply to “troll liberals”, as he himself admitted to us.
THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY SEEN ON THE TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT… For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
On Feb. 5, Gov. Bill Lee’s education chief presented the department’s “Best for All” plan to layout the administration’s goals for future of education in Tennessee.
During the 27-slide presentation, commissioner Penny Schwinn briefly described a new initiative to increase the number of charter schools operating in rural school districts.
Schwinn told the audience of mostly legislators and staff that a $24 million line item for “Charter Schools Facilities Funding” in the governor’s budget included a $10 million, one-time grant for high school charter facilities called “Innovative High School Models.”
Schwinn said:
“…and Innovative High School Models. The thing that I want to touch on there is the governor proposed $12 million recurring, $12 million one time for charter school facilities funds.
One of the things that we’re proposing with the one-time funds is $10 million that would go to help build public charter schools with districts — in partnership with districts — to create more opportunities for students in rural communities.
One would suspect that rural districts would be very interested to know the Commissioner’s plans for expanding charter schools into their territory. Perhaps the new school privatization commission will be the vehicle to make this happen?
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
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.
Gov. Bill Lee’s public school-harming vouchers barely passed thru “sketchy” “bribes & threats” after disgraced former speaker Glen Casada held the board open for 35 minutes — until Rep. Jason Zachary finally flipped his vote and pushed through a program that will ONLY effect Nashville & Memphis, whose reps voted AGAINST it. (Zachary’s math was way off, but we digress)
Many reps say they were bribed and threatened, even with military promotions.
The FBI supposedly opened an inquiry.
There’s a $4 Million Slush fund that seems to have been used to bribe rural reps for their votes, but nobody wants to talk about it.
Lawsuits have begun.
Today, I announced that the Metro Government, including our Board of Public Education, has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the State of Tennessee’s controversial 2019 school voucher law.
— Mayor John Cooper (@JohnCooper4Nash) February 6, 2020
Now it seems the Tennessee Department of Education “robbed” a teacher bonus program to fund a no-bid $2.5 MILLION Class Wallet contract to implement the program that far exceeds what the allocation was… without the comptroller even reviewing it “for merit.
A mess. The mess is so bad even TN GOP House Caucus chair Jeremy Faison regrets his vote, and Appropriations Committee Chair Matthew Hill wants answers. He voted for the bill also.
Meanwhile Governor Lee blames everyone but himself, as he always does.
Let’s keep in mind, this is not the only way Lee is coming after public schools. A charter school commission has now been formed to overrule local school boards, even in rural communities.
Watch what he does, not what he says.
Rep. Bo Mitchell & Rep. Mike Stewart grill Gov. Bill Lee Finance commish Stuart Mcwhorter about a reported 50-60 grant commitments from a $4 MILLION SLUSH FUND TO GET VOUCHERS PASSED.
As Bo reminds McWhorter of a perjury law, Rep. Martin Daniel CUTS OFF his mic.
Rep. Mike Stewart & Rep. Bo Mitchell confront Gov. Bill Lee Tennessee Department of Education commish Penny Schwinn about a no-bid $2 MILLION ClassWallet contract that exceeds the total?allocated for his voucher program, echoing controversy from her past.
Here’s more on Class Wallet: http://www.mommabears.org/blog/whos-in-your-wallet
The extra funding came from a Lamar Alexander-era program intended for teacher bonuses. Yes, taking from teachers to pay for the voucher program.
As Senator Sara Kyle & Senator Brenda Gilmore push for a brief tax holiday for feminine products, Senator Joey Hensley says girls may buy too many, laments $130,000 in lost?— but backed a $40 MILLION tax break for brokers/lawyers.
Hensley was also divorced 4 times, cheated on his wife with his cousin, and got popped for prescribing pills illegally to his family… maybe not the guy to judge what women need?