Consistently Disappointing

School funding in Tennessee continues to come up short

Photo by Marcel Strauß on Unsplash

Tennessee consistently ranks near the bottom in school funding. One analysis says the state ranks 45th in per pupil funding and 44th in investment in teachers.

And, it’s been this way for a while.

Back in 2018, I noted that a breakdown of school funding that rated state investment gave Tennessee a grade of “F” for effort:

Tennessee earns a grade of F when it comes to funding effort compared to funding ability. The researchers looked at Gross State Product and Personal Income data in order to determine a state’s funding ability then looked at dollars spent per $1000 (in either GSP or Personal Income) to determine effort. Tennessee spends $29 on schools for every $1000 generated in Gross State Product. When it comes to Personal Income, Tennessee spends just $33 per $1000 of average personal income. That’s a rank of 42 in both.

This data comes from Education Law Center’s National Report Card on School Funding Fairness.

Since 2018, of course, Tennessee has scrapped its old school funding formula (the BEP) for a new one (TISA). TISA is designed to be a “student-weighted formula.”

But, some question whether TISA will actually improve the state’s funding for and investment in schools.

Back in 2022, when TISA was signed into law, Gov. Bill Lee said the formula would take us to a “new frontier.”

So, how is Tennessee doing now - with TISA in full effect and schools reaping the “benefits” of this “new frontier” of funding?

Turns out, not so great:

While in 2018, Tennessee ranked 42nd in the nation in school funding effort, today we rank 47th. On overall funding level, there has been no change since 2018 - that is, we’re still at 43rd.

So much for that new frontier Gov. Lee promised. Seems like the same old frontier of inadequate funding combined with the newness of even LESS effort to actually fund schools.

All of this continued lack of investment in school happened while the state enjoyed multiple years with huge (multi-billion dollar) budget surpluses. Rather than invest those funds in schools, Lee and his legislative allies gave out $1.6 billion in corporate tax breaks and $500 million to the Tennessee Titans to build a new stadium.

That same $2.1 billion could give every teacher in the state a 15% raise and allow us to provide free school meals (breakfast and lunch) to every kid, every day.

Budgets are a statement of priority - and whether we’re using the BEP or TISA to fund schools, state policymakers are not making investing in it a priority.