Lee, Schwinn opt for all-GOP steering committee

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s efforts to review how the state funds education continues to miss opportunities for bipartisanship, some lawmakers said after the state named 12 members Monday to the steering committee.

The committee, which includes Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, features legislative leaders and Finance Commissioner Butch Eley — but not a single Democrat.

The legislator members are the chairs of both Senate and House education and finance committees and “have a direct hand in major decisions for education in our state,” Brian Blackley, spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Education, said in an email.

But questions about the steering committee’s membership come as Lee and the education department are already facing pressure to replace at least one of the chairs of the 18 subcommittees working on the funding review effort.

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition released a statement last week decrying the appointment of Raul Lopez, founder of the conservative group Latinos for Tennessee, to chair the subcommittee charged with reviewing school funding for English language learners.

Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, questioned Tuesday whether Lee is serious about engaging all stakeholders.

“You can’t lead a legitimate effort to modernize school funding in Tennessee from an echo chamber,” Yarbro said. “Around 40% of Tennesseans tend to vote Democratic, and their perspectives shouldn’t be ignored unless the goal is to just jam through a partisan, political agenda. The governor is supposed to lead the whole state, not just a political party.”

State Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, also questioned the state’s objectives last week.

“Why do we need 18 committees to tell us that we are 45th in funding in the country for education and at the bottom in our region, just barely edging above Mississippi?” she said. “If you want to be serious about parent, teacher and community input, you start a year, maybe a year and a half, to come up with a plan.”

The steering committee will review input and feedback from the subcommittees and the general public and consider how to create a new student-centered funding model, according to an education department news release.

“This conversation is timely as we think about how to innovate on behalf of our students,” Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, chairman of the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement.

“Everything we do in education and workforce development starts with the investments that we make in our students. I am excited for the work of the steering committee and subcommittees to commence, and I am excited for Tennesseans across the state to be involved in this important work.”

But Yarbro said the best results will come from bipartisanship.

“The best ideas don’t tend to emerge from one-sided, partisan plans. And real leaders can’t be scared of having their ideas challenged, engaging diverse perspectives, or confronting real facts,” he said.

Lee spokesperson Laine Arnold said the effort is bipartisan.

“With 18 subcommittees, more than 200 respective members and opportunities for general public engagement, bipartisan input has obviously been prioritized,” Arnold said in an email Tuesday. “The steering committee is one layer of a very comprehensive approach, and we thank the named legislative leadership and committee chairs for serving in this capacity.”

She declined to say if any Democrats had been invited to serve on the steering committee.

Blackley also noted that subcommittee members — who have not been named yet — “include bipartisan representation.”