Charter schools seem to have a bottomless bucket of money, while public schools are scrimping by on beans & rice.  Intense lobbying (funded by out-of-state interests) for the charter school industry has resulted in some pretty sweet laws created in Tennessee that are now making charter operators and investors rich, rich, rich and are destroying our public schools.

A smart group of TN citizens did a little research and are now requesting that the IRS investigate this illegal lobbying for charter schools:

Click HERE to download the letter

TN Parents has blogged on this issue before (click here)  TN Parents are tired of their voices being trumped by people who write checks.

Note to rich people:  If you want to start a "grassroots" movement, don't put it in your 3-year business plan and pay people big salaries to do it for you.  That is not grassroots, that is fluffy, expensive astroturf.
 

1) This bill, as written, does not apply to charter schools; therefore, county commissions will not have the authority to control lobbying expenditures by charter schools. This seems extremely unfair because charter schools use public money just like zoned schools. This is just another example of how charter schools are treated differently than traditional, zoned schools in our state. 

2) There are actually 59 registered lobbyists (not 31 as we originally reported) that are pushing privatization and/or testing agendas that, in our opinion, are undermining public schools in Tennessee.  

Here is an UPDATED list of all of these groups and the number of lobbyists they employ:
1. Tennessee Federation of Children (charters, vouchers): 5 lobbyists
2. Tennessee Charter Center: 8 lobbyists
3. Stand for Children (charters, vouchers): 2 lobbyists
4. Beacon Center of TN (vouchers): 2 lobbyists
5. Pearson, Inc. (high-stakes testing): 1 lobbyist
6. K-12, Inc. (for-profit virtual charter schools): 5 lobbyists
7. Aspire Charter Schools: 1 lobbyist (They've had as many as 3.) 
8. National Heritage Academies (for-profit charter company): 3 lobbyists
9. Charter Schools USA (for-profit charter company): 3 lobbyists
10. Education 2020 (K-12, Inc. competitor): 2 lobbyists
11. Connections Education (for-profit virtual charter school): 1 lobbyist
12. SCORE (charters): 2 lobbyists 
13. Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce (They support this bill and lobby for charters.): 5 lobbyists
14. Rennaissance Learning (testing): 4 lobbyists
15. Parent Power Fund (parent-trigger bill): 1 lobbyists 
16. Public Consulting Group: 1 lobbyist 
17. Americans for Prosperity (They support vouchers, charters, and HB 2293): 2 lobbyists
18. Catholic Public Policy Commission of TN (vouchers): 3 lobbyists 

     And last, but definitely not least, 

19. StudentsFirst (charters, vouchers, and Michelle Rhee!): 8 lobbyists

Final Score:
PRO-PUBLIC EDUCATION = 6 lobbyists
PRIVATIZATION/TESTING = 59 lobbyists

3) We have heard from some Tennesseans in a particular county that they asked the current sponsor, Rep. Jeremy Durham, to introduce the bill because they are upset with a particular lobbyist their school district is using to lobby for them. We agree on many issues with them, so we hope to not offend them, but we also hope that they understand that this bill, which is a reaction to something that is happening at a local level has serious repercussions for the rest of our state. And the fact that a group such as StudentsFirst supports this bill should set off alarm bells because this organization has made no effort to hide their belief that elected school boards should be bypassed and handed over to other elected officials, including mayors and governors. 

How this bill could be devastating for other districts across Tennessee:

This bill could really hurt the newly formed municipal public school districts in Shelby County and Memphis.  Over the past 2 years, the Shelby County Commission sued the municipal districts.  There is no doubt that the animosity that the Commission has towards these districts will result in them cutting lobbying out of their budgets. (Please note that the bill is not clear in how it relates to municipal districts and commissions, but based on the overriding theme of the bill, it appears that the Shelby County Commission would likely have the authority to veto municipal-district lobbying monies.) 

In Metro Nashville the Mayor is very much in favor of charters and vouchers and there is little doubt that he will attempt to pressure the City Council to cut lobbying out of the school board budget as well. (It should be noted that the lobbyists that represent Metro Nashville Public Schools lobby against vouchers, for-profit charters, and the state charter authorizer.) 

Some claim that, in the state of Tennessee, county commissions currently have line item veto power over every other county department except for school districts and this would just allow commissions to exercise that same authority over them. But, and this is a very big BUT, the departments over which they exert this authority are appointed by the commissions--they are not elected by voters. School boards, which oversee the development of budgets, are elected by their constituents for the sole purpose of overseeing the function of their schools. County commissions were not elected for this purpose and, thereby, should not have the authority to override the will of the voters who selected, by virtue of their votes, the members of  a  school board.

Some Knox County residents and teachers have been very unhappy with the actions of their school board and school superintendent. But instead of pushing for legislation that could override the will of every elected school board in the state, they are clearly expressing their disapproval for the school board's actions and will this year elect school board candidates who will support their agenda. It seems that this approach would be effective for the county in question because it will help resolve their concerns and it will continue to give elected school boards the right to determine if they need to pay for lobbyists. And it will protect the county if, in the future, a pro-privatization commission is elected and denies money for lobbying, which will leave the county district with little defense against a variety of destructive bills such as for-profit charters, a state-level charter authorizer, and vouchers that will interject Common Core into private schools. And, believe us, the costs of these lobbyists is far cheaper than the costs taxpayers will incur if the lobbyists for "privatizers" have free reign at Legislative Plaza! 

With all due respect for some of the supporters of this bill, this seems to be the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to kill a fly when a simple fly swatter would do. We respectfully urge you to attempt to work out your concerns with your locally elected school board rather than pushing this bill onto the entire state. This will have very serious repercussions for many counties and, ironically, could very well end up backfiring and creating problems for those in the very county who support it. 

We urge those of you reading this to contact Rep. Jeremy Durham and ask him to pull HB 2293. If you are in Williamson County and/or are one of his constituents, it is vitally important that you contact him and let him know that you feel it is a very dangerous bill that sets a terrible precedent. His phone number is 615-741-1864 and his email is rep.jeremy.durham@capitol.tn.gov. You can also contact the members of the Local Government Committee that is meeting on Tuesday and ask them to vote against the bill:

Good grief... with all those lobbyists, legislators must be worn out!  As one parent said, "it must be like a swarm of mosquitoes at the Capitol, all hungry for our children's education dollars." 

It is no wonder our legislators think our public schools are failing and that the only way to fix it is with the magic charter school or voucher recipes they've been sold by well-paid, professional lobbyists with PR staff who are masters at manipulating data and creating glossy pamphlets.

Legislators, our schools are NOT what you've been told.  Believe US, the parents.  We're in these public schools daily.  We talk to teachers.  Trust us, we know.  We are public school parents from across the Tennessee.  (note from this TNParent author: My kids proudly attend Title 1 schools)

• Yes, our children are bombarded with too many tests.
• Yes, our children's hard-working teachers are beaten down from the testing mandates and unfair evaluation systems.
• Yes, Common Core is making it all much, much worse.
• Yes, our schools need more funding because they've been doing miracles with the meager dollars they've had to work with.

But, NO... we do not need charter schools, not vouchers, not Common Core, not more standardized tests or testing products, and certainly not more oversight or micromanaging by the TN DOE.  Let teachers teach.  

Please, listen to parents.  We are telling the truth.  We are not paid one penny for writing these emails.  Honestly, we have no clue what we are doing, no lobbying experience among any of us, but it seems that our voices ARE being heard by some of you.  We greatly appreciate your responses and questions.  We will continue to share our voices because our children are worth it.
   

The Rutherford County Board of Education is not dumb.  They know that the Governor and his appointed leaders are stealing control from local school districts and giving them to entrepreneurs to profit from.  They also know that lobbyists funded by out-of-state interests are hounding legislators to pass laws to dismantle our public schools and benefit their wallets.   

Tennessee Parents give a standing ovation to Rutherford County Board of Education for this excellent Resolution:

A bill has been introduced in the TN legislature that would allow city councils/commissions to remove funds for lobbying from school district budgets. (HB 2293/SB 2525). This would set a dangerous precedent because it would allow a municipal-level, elected body to dictate how another municipal-level, elected body uses its money. If some councils/commissions decide to exercise this veto authority, they would effectively silence our voices in the halls of the legislature because these lobbyists represent our elected school boards who, in turn, represent us--the voters.  And once our voices have been silenced, the lobbyists from wealthy groups intent on destroying public education will have free reign in the halls of Legislative Plaza.

If you are wondering why a school district/board might need lobbyists, look no further than what is happening with StudentsFirst (SF), a group founded by Michelle Rhee who also happens to be the ex-wife of Tennessee’s Education Commissioner, Kevin Huffman. The Sacramento.-based organization backs charter schools and vouchers and is funded by donations from extremely wealthy individuals, corporations, and foundations—including the Gates and Waltons. SF currently has an office in Nashville, along with 8 lobbyists. 

There are other similar lobbying groups in TN, (who don't have you or your children's best interests at heart) including the following: 

• Tennessee Federation for Children: Supports charter schools and vouchers. 5 lobbyists. 
• TN Charter Center: Supports proliferation of charter schools. Employs 8 lobbyists. 
• Stand for Children: Supports charter schools and vouchers. Employs 2 lobbyists. 
• Beacon Center of TN: Supports vouchers. Employs 2 lobbyists. 
• Pearson, Inc.: Publishes Common Core materials and tests. Employs 1 lobbyist.
• K12 Inc.: Runs K12 for-profit virtual charter school.  Employs 5 lobbyists. 

(Go to this link https://apps.tn.gov/ilobbysearch-app/search.htm to find documentation of these lobbyists.) 

Why do local school boards need lobbyists?
School board members in TN are part-time positions and these representatives do not have the time to follow all of the bills that are going through the legislature. They need the help of lobbyists to help them keep track of bills that directly affect their schools and constituents. And just in case you are keeping score, here are the lobbyists school boards/districts use in our state:

• Coalition of Large School Systems: Represents Shelby, Nashville, Hamilton, and Knox County school systems. Employs 2 lobbyists
• Tennessee School Board Association: Represents all school boards who pay dues to it. Employs 1 lobbyist.
• Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents: Represents interests of school board directors who pay dues to it. Employs 3 lobbyists. 

Final score: 
StudentsFirst & Company = 31 lobbyists!!!
School boards/districts = 6 at the most. 

As you might suspect, StudentsFirst, Stand for Children, TN Charter Center, and other groups reportedly support these bills. They apparently have no problem suppressing the voices of our elected officials and, subsequently, our voices in the legislative process—especially when the views expressed by these officials run counter to their agendas.  

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:  This law does not apply to Charter Schools.  They can hire as many lobbyists as they want to support them.  

(Note: All Momma Bears are volunteers.  We are concerned parents who do this solely because we care deeply about public education.)