Of Memories and Priorities
Tennessee policymakers and budget games
So, remember when Tennessee had a giant budget surplus? (We have had them year after year after year for a decade now)
Remember how state policymakers consistently refused to invest in public education?
Now, the state is proposing a $1.6 billion tax break for corporations, in a year when revenue collection is actually down.
So, TN can't be bothered to boost funding for schools when revenue is up but can make budget adjustments to give corporate tax breaks when revenue is down.
Tennessee Has a $3Billion Surplus
Over at Tennessee Education Report, I note that our state currently is projected to have a $3.1 billion surplus when lawmakers return to the General Assembly next week. As the Sycamore Institute explains, this happened because of exceptionally conservative revenue estimates by the state’s Funding Board and because consumer spending in Tennessee didn’t d…
My district and state are almost the same, except the state gave the D.O.E to spend $465 million. The D.O.E. didn't use a penny. They relinquished nearly half a billion dollars because they failed to use it. It was at a time when the D.O.E. added more deputy superintendents and assistant superintendents to the district office.