RESOLUTION OF THE RUTHERFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION IN OPPOSITION TO SCHOOL VOUCHERS
WHEREAS, the Legislature for the State of Tennessee has resumed session and a number of paid lobbyists and private for profit companies are seeking to have the State of Tennessee adopt a voucher program by which public school funds are diverted to private companies and private interests; and
WHEREAS, many of these lobbyists and private companies and organizations are out of state companies and organizations spending significant sums of money to advance their agenda through a voucher program; and
WHEREAS, the public education system of Tennessee is best managed by Tennesseans for which it serves and not by out of state companies and organizations; and
WHEREAS, voucher programs hurt public education by taking dollars that would otherwise go into the public school system and giving those dollars to private interests; and
WHEREAS, every public school system in Tennessee has costs to maintain a free public school system and any funds taken from the public school system for private vouchers are not likely to be replaced by the State; and
WHEREAS, school vouchers likely will lead to tax increases as local governments would need to increase property taxes to pay for the lost revenue from the State going to private voucher programs; and
WHEREAS, a loss of tax dollars will reduce funding available for academic programs and teaching staff at public schools; and
WHEREAS, school vouchers send public dollars to private schools creating a two-tier school system not open to all students; and
WHEREAS, studies of voucher programs in Indiana, Louisiana, and Ohio have shown that students enrolled in private schools through vouchers perform academically worse than they performed in public schools and the New York Times has reported such problems; and
WHEREAS, studies have shown that students attending private school through vouchers in Indiana and Ohio score lower on reading and math tests compared to similar students in public schools;
WHEREAS, voucher programs do not fix lower performing schools, but undermine such schools' ability to improve and perform better;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved unanimously by all of the Board Members on this 9th day of March, 2017 that the Rutherford County Board of Education:
The Rutherford County Board of Education opposes legislation establishing school vouchers in Tennessee as school vouchers hurt the free public education system, divert limited State education dollars to private interests, and have been shown to hurt the academic progress of students.
RUTHERFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
By: Jeff Jordan, Chairman
By: Jim Estes, Vice-Chairman
By: Wayne Blair, Board Member
By: Terry Hodge, Board Member
By: Aaron B. Holladay, Board Member
By: Lisa Moore, Board Member
By: Coy Young, Board Member
A signed copy of the resolution is attached.