‘Obviously trying to shame you into support of vouchers’- Dale Cantrell

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- At Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, school board members briefly discussed the recent Education Freedom Act, also known as school vouchers, which was recently passed by the state legislature.

Prior to its passing, the Campbell County BOE, along with many other BOE’s across the state had passed a resolution against the bill. Part of the Education Freedom Act includes a $2,000 bonus for teachers, if the school boards will pass a resolution in support of it.

School Board Chair Jeffrey Miller brought the topic up on Thursday evening.

“There will be a thing coming before the board before June on the $2,000 bonus for teachers. I don’t know how the wording on that is going to be yet, but this board will have to decide one way or another on that. I feel like the legislature is trying to get us to take a back road to what we felt in the resolution opposing them by saying we will support some part of it. For me, I have to have a heart felt discussion with myself, I usually don’t backtrack on what I believe in,” Miller said.

He added that “hopefully the Tennessee School Board Association will have a model policy.”

Director Jennifer Fields asked the BOE attorney Dail Cantrell if the school board “could do the resolution and add any other language they want to the resolution that they still oppose it.

Cantrell said that the two realistic proposals the board could make was one, “just go along with the state, which is obviously trying to shame you into support of vouchers or two, do like a one-time bonus of $2,000 that you can do that does not affect your reoccurring fund balance, so, yes, in answer of your question you could do a resolution saying you still oppose this, while you work out budgetarily how you want to handle that,” Cantrell said.

School Board member Brandon Johnson said that TSBA did have a draft resolution out already that “seems to be worded quite well.” Johnson also said he would like the Campbell County School System to send out a survey to the teachers to their emails giving them the opportunity to weigh in on the situation.

“I would like to hear from the teachers if they think we should do this or not. This is impacting the teachers directly, let’s send out a survey and put it in their hands and if they want the $2,000 and to go along with the resolution, they I say we do it, and if they say no, then we know where we need to stand on it as well,” Johnson said.

Board attorney Cantrell suggested the survey go through committee and said when the survey was done, the wording needed to reflect that it would not be a $2,000 raise, but a onetime bonus.

He said they would also have to decide who qualified under and that under the incentive proposal from the state, certified personnel was all that qualified.

Director Jennifer Fields said before the survey was done, the school system needed to know specifically who would have input.

Board of Education members decided to put it through the policy committee to decide which avenue to address it. Johnson said he would bring a draft survey in that he recommended that they use. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-02/14/2025-6AM)

Related