This year’s legislative session in Nashville has brought a flurry of activity on education issues, with the biggest splash being the Governor’s proposed revisions to the state’s funding formula. 

Last week, the State Funding Board confirmed a significant surplus in state revenues, which brought about the usual flurry of activity about how to spend it.  Seems to me that the best policy would be to first fund those priorities that we’ve put off in recent years because there wasn’t enough money (i.e., improvements to school funding, health initiatives, etc.) and scuttle the inevitable pork projects and last minute ideas.

However, the newfound surplus does make it more challenging to pass the proposed 40-cent increase in the cigarette tax — a revenue source that might not be critical this year to fund BEP 2.0, but will most likely be needed in the future to continue implementation of the Governor’s improvements over the next few years.   Although I feel a tinge of guilt for advocating that they go ahead and pass this tax, knowing that no longer affects me personally (three months and a day without a cigarette — WOOT!), recognizing that we’d still be at about 60% of the national average in tobacco taxation seems fair enough.

*  *  *  Legislative Shenanigans
Other issues abound in Nashville, though.  Last week, Rep. Frank Nicely pulled a sneaky one, trying to add an amendment allowing elected superintendents an obscure bill having nothing to do with such; fortunately, the amendment failed on the House floor, but other bills remain that would achieve the same.

From the Tennessee School Boards Association’s TLN Notes:

Niceley is a vocal supporter of elected superintendents and made the same attempt last year. During his comments in support of the amendment, Niceley, who didn’t begin his House service until recently, stated that the appointed director of schools provision was "snuck in" back in 1992 and that legislators did not know what they were voting for. Speaker Jimmy Naifeh (D-Covington), who most certainly was around in 1992 and greatly involved in the discussions, quickly set Niceley straight, informing him that legislators were very aware of what they were doing. No question Niceley was mistaken, as more provisions than any other in the Education Improvement Act dealt with the appointed director of schools.

The case for keeping appointed Directors of Schools is summarized nicely here.

*   *   *  Locally…
Tonight, the Oak Ridge Board of Education will hold a work session on the subject of the BEP 2.0, and how the various implementations of the proposed changes might affect us.   The most difficult part of the school system budget is that we must enact it before any of our funding sources (the City, the County, the State, and Congress) pass their budgets, so the best we can do in formulating the revenue side is projections and educated guesses.

However, we’ve received assurance that there will be increased funding from the State in some fashion, and provided that the City approves it’s budget on second reading in the form that passed on May 7, we’ll be okay.  I think.  I’ll know more tomorrow.