Maury County legislators displeased with new public school funding formula

As Tennessee’s public education system begins the transition to a new school funding model, some of Maury County’s key state legislators are expressing concern for the new system that was recently signed into law.

The new K-12 education funding plan signed by Gov. Bill Lee late last month will add $1 billion statewide to education funding and change how that money is distributed across the state.

The new formula will provide a base allocation of $6,860 per student.

Under the new plan, Tennessee’s annual allocation toward public school funding will grow to about $9 billion in state and local funds. 

More:Maury County leaders weigh-in on proposed school funding formula

More:Gov. Bill Lee signs new education plan into law at Franklin alma mater

More:How Tennessee's new education plan is changing the share of the pie for school districts

The new student-weighted funding formula, the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, marks the first major transformation in the way the Volunteer State pays for the education of its public school students in three decades and follows years of concerns shared by politicians and advocacy groups from both sides of the political spectrum.

TISA replaces the Basic Education Funding Formula, or BEP, which was introduced in 1992, following a court-ordered reform of the state’s school funding system to better support rural school districts.

The Senate passed the bill, 26-5, while in the House, it passed 63-24.

Along with Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, who represents part of Columbia and Maury County, and Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, who represents constituents in Giles, Lawrence, Lewis, Maury, Perry and Wayne counties said he was among those who did not support the new plan.

More:How much will Maury County Schools get through the state’s new funding model?

“I think we rushed it,” Hensley told The Daily Herald. “I thought we should have spent more time coming up with the new formula. I did not vote for it because I think it did not change the way students are taught.”

Hensley, a member of the Senate’s Education Committee said he feels the new funding model does not do enough to address key issues including increasing students reading proficiency by the third grade.

He said TISA will also bring an additional burden to county governments, requiring them to spend more on their public school systems.

“It really does not change the way teaching is done,” Hensley said. “It is another way to get funds to schools, but in the coming years, it is going to cause local Hensley to put in more money.”

More:Cepicky: The future of Tennessee’s education system is up to the General Assembly

Cepicky said that he's concerned about the funds reaching the students who need it most.

"There is no language to tell school districts how to spend the funds," Cepicky said. "Districts get a large amount to serve students, but we don't know how school boards will use it. Technically, it could go to other things such as salaries or even capital expenses. How do we know it's going tot he children?"

Also, in four years, local governments will have to match some of the funds, which could eventually cause financial strain, Cepicky said.

"We will get hit the hardest," Cepicky said. "In four years, it will cause a tax increase."

He said that next legislative session, he plans on introducing a bill that would review all K-8 standards to streamline basic skills, based on increasing performance in reading and math across the state.  

"We have too much testing. We need to allow teachers to teach and spend more time on helping students master skills, especially reading and math," Cepicky said. 

Hensley agrees. He said there's no guarantee that the funds would go to directly to helping students.

“It is still just going to be a lump sum of money that goes to the school and each school does not necessarily need to use that money on students,” Hensley said.

Hensley reiterated that the state should put an emphasis on providing students with a firm understanding of the basics, including ensuring that all public school students can read on grade level by the end of the third grade.

The benchmark is commonly used to measure a student’s future success.

Hensley said the new funding formula was ultimately a rushed solution and that true improvement will only be achieved through a long-term review of the system.

“We seem to change things before we see if it is going to help,” Hensley said. “I don’t think just throwing more money at it is the answer. We still have time to change the things we need.”

Cepicky also said money is not the full solution. 

"TISA doesn't change the classroom. So many standards have to get back to the basics," he said.

Reach Mike Christen at mchristen@c-dh.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeChristenCDH and Instagram at @michaelmarco. Please consider supporting his work and that of other Daily Herald journalists by subscribing to the publication.