WATCH: “Commissioner, did you hear the calls for you to resign? Are you legally qualified?” @TNDemocrats say @GovBillLee’s @TNedu commissioner isn’t legally qualified. (She points to her “decades long career” — translation: a lobbyist here to push Lee’s private school vouchers) pic.twitter.com/yz4L46Dzdy
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) January 23, 2024
As Governor Lee pushed his TISA education funding overhaul, many of us were hollering from the Smoky Mountaintops that the new “student-based funding formula” was intended to enable MORE money to follow kids OUT of the public schools system MORE EASILY to private schools through vouchers, charter schools and the like.
We knew this because we saw it happen in OHIO, where step 2 of their plan is already in progress, and already harming public schools.
We repeatedly asked Governor Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn if their Ed funding overhaul TISA will help steer public money to private schools. They denied it.
But this week, The Beacon Center of Tennessee, a group behind much of the TISA push, just admitted in an op-Ed in the Washington Examiner that Governor Lee’s Ed funding overhaul TISA is in fact intended to help steer PUBLIC
TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
There it is in black and white.
It seems with the formula passed, they now feel comfortable saying what it was really all about.
We warned about this. We posted about it daily. We even asked Governor Lee about it-– 
FLASHBACK: “Isn’t this just the VOUCHERIZATION of our public education system?” (of course, he ran from us)
But Education commish Penny Schwinn denied this repeatedly when we asked her
SHE LIED RIGHT TO OUR FACE: “Step 2 after Ohio’s funding overhaul was private school vouchers & charters—can you guarantee it won’t happen here?”
COMMISSIONER SCHWINN: “I haven’t been part of any of those kinds of conversations.”
So many lies. Right to our faces.
And the marketing blitz now being unleashed on Tennessee to sway public opinion in favor of PRIVATIZERS should tell you how much taxpayer is at stake. #HillsdaleHeist
Who is paying for this marketing? Us? Is this where that $32 million in the budget went that you gave them in the budget, Governor Lee?
Yes. Governor Lee gave teacher-trashing Hillsdale $32 MILLION of our money — for what, Exactly? Where’d that go?
And now HILLSDALE is texting Tennesseans that they’re not getting taxpayer money ?
The lies never stop.
As a reminder, Lee’s RIGGED STATE CHARTER APPEAL BOARD is poised to help Hillsdale-affiliated schools overturn rejections by local school boards.
Meet the (Privately Run) Charter School commission Governor Lee picked to overrule locals that reject (Hillsdale) charter schools seeking taxpayer
email: [email protected]
We’re going to keep yelling the truth about this, but the truth is a lot of damage has already been done.
If your reps supported TISA, and vouchers, and the creation of the state charter commission, they supported the dismantling of our public schools, which Republican Rep. Bob Ramsey told us last week is Governor Lee’s goal.
And they should be held accountable for it.
People need to know. Spread the word. You can’t support Governor Lee if you support public schools. Period. Hopefully Tennessee will choose another option, which they have in Dr. Jason Martin.
We’ll keep yelling the truth about all this. Please consider chipping in monthly if you can. We depend on your support.
– The Holler
(CHIP IN MONTHLY HERE)
Please consider chipping in even just $5 or $10 monthly to help us continue this work.
BUYING OR SELLING A HOME IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE? HOLLER AT REALTOR ELISA PARKER!
SERVING MIDDLE TN FOR 20+ YEARS… SUPPORT US BY SUPPORTING HER! CLICK HERE:
Interested in sponsoring? Email:[email protected]
REPUBLICAN REP: “GOVERNOR LEE WANTS TO DO AWAY WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS”
Yesterday, for the first time ever, we had a Republican legislator on the Holler.
The lack of Republicans hasn’t been by choice – we’ve invited them, they just haven’t accepted our invitations. Until now.
Rep. Bob Ramsey out of Maryville agreed to come on, having just been unseated in a primary by a challenger backed by a big war chest from school privatization PACs who were mad at him for standing against Governor Lee’s efforts to steer public dollars to private schools through privately run charter schools, vouchers, and his TISA ed funding (privatization) overhaul.
The main takeaway from Ramsey’s appearance was that he confirmed everything we’ve been warning about when it comes to the privatization attacks on our public schools, which Governor Lee is spearheading. Rep. Ramsey, a Republican, even SAYS LEE WANTS TO END PUBLIC EDUCATION: “I do believe Governor Lee’s goal is to do away with public education.”
Here’s the FULL PODCAST (19 mins) with Rep. Ramsey, the first Republican legislator ever to come on the Holler. (FULL STREAM)
REP. RAMSEY also says “Preparations have been made to make overturning local rejections (of Hillsdale-affiliated schools) a slam-dunk, and that LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITIES REALLY HAVE NO POWER.”
As we’ve been saying, Lee’s state appeal board is rigged to strip local control and push Charter Schools through even where locals have rejected them.
And Ramsey’s reward for standing up for public schools? He lost his seat. Governor Lee and his privatization pals sent a message to Ramsey and Weaver that standing against their attacks on public schools will not be tolerated.
Meanwhile, GOVERNOR LEE is out there blatantly lying about his connection to Hillsdale, telling reporters “I’m not engaged in Hillsdale’s efforts.”
Lee tries to distance himself from Hillsdale’s teacher-trashing as their (privately run) charters try to get local rejections overturned by his rigged state board, but he already gave them $32 MILLION of ourin the budget.
Ramsey is telling the truth. Governor Lee wants to do away with public education. You can’t support Lee and public schools, which is why we hope people will get behind Jason Martin in November.
We’ll keep covering this attack on our schools, and trying to talk to Republicans like Bob who will tell us the truth.
Please consider chipping in monthly if you can. We depend on your support.
– The Holler
(CHIP IN MONTHLY HERE)
Please consider chipping in even just $5 or $10 monthly to help us continue this work.
10 minutes after the vigil outside Governor Lee’s office, he had the memorial for #Uvalde & #Buffalo victims removed, along with a letter signed by dozens of clergy. Unconscionable.
WATCH: “IS THIS MEMORIAL FOR DEAD CHILDREN GOING IN THE GARBAGE?”
10 minutes after the vigil outside @GovBillLee’s office he had the memorial for #Uvalde & #Buffalo victims removed, along with a letter signed by dozens of clergy.
Heartless. #HowManyMore 🇺🇸 💔 pic.twitter.com/17tWqbiyJt
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) June 1, 2022
Today a number of organizations have come out in support of Governor Lee’s education funding (privatization) overhaul, which many public school advocates say will be inadequate, bad for public schools and help education privatization efforts in the long run.
Lee will boast of their support just in time to push his plan through key committees and onto the floors of the house and senate, but what he won’t mention are the organizations involved with that alliance that DID NOT SIGN ON, and how most of the ones that did have one common thread: THEY GET A LOT OF MONEY FROM THE GATES FOUNDATION, which has a heavy interest in getting this funding
Below is a number of tweets by TC Weber, public school advocate, pointing out how many of these organizations – including the NAACP, Memphis Education Fund, Tennessee PTA, Tennessee Department of Education, Sycamore Institute, Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, Knox Education Foundation, Sycamore Institute, and even Chalkbeat, the journalists who cover this tuff – have received HUGE SUMS OF MONEY from the Gates Foundation, which is a big part of the push for Lee’s funding overhaul:
FOLLOW THE MONEY.
We spoke with Rep. Mark White for 10 minutes about charter schools and Governor Lee’s potentially poisonous ed funding overhaul.
Last week Tennessee Democratic representatives Bo Mitchell & John Ray Clemmons held a press conference calling for Governor Lee to impose a 90-day gas tax moratorium to help Tennesseans with the pain of higher gas prices – which is a global issue Republicans have incorrectly blamed on Biden. (Oil production is UP under Biden, so the idea that he’s choking off supply is ridiculous on its face)
By some calculations the state gas tax moratorium would mean Tennesseans keep hundreds of millions of dollars they would’ve otherwise had to spend at the pump. Since Governor Lee regularly brags about the BILLIONS in surplus funds Tennessee has, partly because we’re #1 in hoarding funds intended for poor folks, it would seem we could’ve handled the moratorium – but Lee has said he has no plans to implement it.
Lee’s exact quote:
“We’ll look at proposals, but what we need to do—and I’ve been working with governors across the country—is to reach out to the federal administration and say ‘Here’s what needs to be done. We need to reinstitute energy policies that take the burden off of Americans for higher energy prices.”
Anyone who follows this administrations knows that’s Lee Speak for saying he won’t do anything.
That decision looks even more heartless now that a similar measure has passed UNANIMOUSLY in Georgia, and their Republican governor is planning to sign it right away, giving them a gas tax break through May, and saving their citizens $300-$400 million by some estimates.
From the Athens Banner-Herald:
The Georgia Senate unanimously passed legislation Thursday temporarily suspending the state sales tax on gasoline, but not before a lengthy debate over who is to blame for record-high pump prices.
The bill, which the state House of Representatives passed last week, now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for his signature.
The governor and lawmakers acted after gas prices surged following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Suspension of the tax will save Georgians 29.1 cents per gallon of gasoline, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, said before Thursday’s vote.
“The 29 cents is not going to completely solve the problem,” he said. “But it’s a start and a statement.”
LEE’S NEW PUBLIC SCHOOL MONEY GRAB COMES INTO VIEW
Previously, Governor Lee did all he could to get private school vouchers passed, even reportedly offering military promotions as bribes to squeak it through the house. Unfortunately for him, the courts held up his unconstitutional plan (SO FAR).Now, instead of steering public dollars to private schools, Lee has begun a partnership with HILLSDALE COLLEGE, a private Christian school in MICHIGAN with close ties to BETSY DEVOS led by Larry Arnn, who Trump appointed to lead his history-whitewashing “1776 Commission” in response to the 1619 Project.
In the State of the State, Lee talked about bringing in Hillsdale to teach our kids to be “informed patriots”, by which he means he wants to fill their heads with propaganda and avoid them learning the the harsh truths of our past.
What Lee didn’t mention in his speech was the fact that he has apparently asked Hillsadale to bring 50-100 CHARTER SCHOOLS to Tennessee, which Arnn mentioned at a meeting in Franklin last September in AUDIO WE UNCOVERED THIS WEEK:
“Governor Lee wanted 100 charter schools in TN.”
When asked about it at a press conference yesterday, Lee did not deny it. He instead leaned into it, saying CHARTER SCHOOLS are a big part of his plan, and repeatedly making a point to call them “PUBLIC” schools – by which he means they’ll be taking our PUBLIC SCHOOL funds.
So instead of strengthening our public schools and funding them properly, Lee is telling us he’s willing to pour another $1 BILLION into our schools BUT ONLY IF WE ADOPT HIS STUDENT-LED FUNDING PROGRAM – which would mean those dollars would follow kids to Charter schools like these Hillsdale schools.
Charters are privately run enterprises. Now Lee thinks he can dodge the accusation of “Steering public funds to private schools” by saying these charter schools are “public schools”, but as someone said recently: Calling charter schools “PUBLIC” because they get public funds is like calling defense contractors public companies.
This has clearly been the plan for a long time. Even the MOMS FOR LIBERTY WILLIAMSON COUNTY CHAIR has been posting about the Hillsdale Charter school planned for Williamson since last year – and we’re told a petition has been pulled in Montgomery county as well.
They want our (underfunded) public school funds to send their kids to what will essentially amount to a publicly-funded private school.
It’s an attack on our public schools. A heist. They’re steering our public school funds towards a network of private schools by another name, run by a Trump loyalist who wants to whitewash our history and fill kids’ heads with propaganda.
And to top it all off, Lee has rigged the charter approval process. So even when communities vote to REJECT these schools, a state board handpicked by the governor can overrule these local decisions.
Worried yet? You should be. Strengthening our public schools should be our top priority. This new “STUDENT-BASED FUNDING FORMULA” SCHEME is just a new way for Governor Lee to steer our public dollars to private companies run by his friends, and he’s using these “PUBLIC” Charter schools as a vessel to do it… and our public schools will suffer.
Florida’s ed commish praised Lee and put it in this distasteful way at Hillsdale College
WATCH: “YOU CAN’T PUT THE ANIMALS BACK IN THE BARN”
– meaning once kids go to a charter school, we have no choice but to keep sending them money because you can’t force them to go back.
OUR QUESTION: Is Gov. Lee’s attempt to use public funds to create a network of private schools (while calling them “public”) even constitutional? Hopefully someone smarter than us can figure that out.
We’ll be here to cover it, and that’s thanks to your support, so Please consider chipping in monthly if you’re not yet doing so, even if it’s just a few bucks – the monthly support truly keeps us going.
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!
CLICK HERE:
Interested in sponsoring? Message us or email: [email protected]
VIDEO of the protestors who showed up to make their disapproval of Governor Lee known at the capitol this week.
WATCH: THE PEOPLE’S STATE OF THE STATE
“@GovBillLee has failed us! They don’t care about us!” — protestors at Gov. Lee’s state of the state yelled the truth about what’s really going on in Tennessee, and who Lee & the @TNGOP supermajority really represent. pic.twitter.com/smSTCCWqWa
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) February 1, 2022
This week at the propaganda-filled State of the State Governor Lee went on a diatribe about “informed patriotism”, saying schools have become “centers of anti-American thought” it would be a priority of his to make sure Tennessee kids learn “unbiased” history – by which he meant very biased history viewed only through his own white, Confederate-uniform-in-college-wearing prism.
To *help* TN kids learn that Deformed Patriotism, Lee said he was going to hire HILLSDALE COLLEGE, a Christian school in Michigan headed up by Larry Arnn, who Trump appointed to lead his “1776 Commission” to write a report to county the harsh truths of the 161 Project. (the first thing Biden did was unpublish its whitewashing view of our history… Arnn once made headlines for calling minority students “dark ones”)
Lee’s speech contained few details about the contract, but we’ve since uncovered some audio from a meeting in FRANKLIN, TN in September of last year (see below) when Arnn revealed that Governor Lee had asked him to bring 100 CHARTER SCHOOLS (!) to Tennessee.
Arnn says he only promised to deliver 50.
We know from sources that charter school applications have already been submitted in WILLIAMSON and MONTGOMERY Counties at least – possibly more.
This is more evidence that Governor Lee is no friend to public schools. The $1 BILLION in new funding he promised our public schools is coming with strings, and the goal is clearly to fund a network of private Christian schools in Tennessee, where he can steer our money to through his vouchers – and the state-level charter school approval board he has rigged to overrule local officials that may not want charters in their area is clearly also part of the plan.
This is an attack on public schools. All of it. From the book censorship, to history-whitewashing, threatening teachers, the mask fight, vouchers, Lee’s charter program…
There is a LOT of money in education, and they’re coming for it.
Are you paying attention yet?
👂LISTEN: “@GovBillLee talked me into starting 50 CHARTER SCHOOLS IN TENNESSEE BY HIS SELL-BY DATE”
9/29/21 in FRANKLIN, @Hillsdale prez @LarryArnn says anti-public schools Gov. Lee wanted 100 (!)—Lee just announced a “patriotism” partnership with the Christian Michigan college pic.twitter.com/kroIFF7dhW
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) February 1, 2022
Here’s the part of Lee’s speech we’re referring to:
WATCH: “INFORMED PATRIOTISM” 🧐@GovBillLee announces he’s hiring a Christian school in Michigan to teach TN kids to be better “patriots” with “true 🇺🇸 history” (according to who? ☹️) — calling colleges “centers for anti-American thought” (because they teach the truth).
Yikes. pic.twitter.com/lOuqi8Ux7Z
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) February 1, 2022