Tennessee Committee On Federal Education Funding Begins Today

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The Center Square [By Jon Styf] –

A Tennessee committee is scheduled to begin its review on the state’s use of federal funding for K-12 education at 2 p.m. on Monday with presentations from Tennessee’s Office of Research and Educational Accountability and the state’s Fiscal Review office.

The Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding is scheduled to hear from education and financial experts during two weeks of committee meetings as state leaders evaluate the possibility of rejecting federal education funding coming to Tennessee.

Federal funding sent $10.4 billion coming to the state’s schools between 2019 and 2023. The state’s 142 school districts received between $314 and $2,500 per student in federal funds, a Sycamore Institute report showed.

The committee currently has meetings schedule for Monday afternoon, throughout Tuesday and then Wednesday morning before having additional meetings schedule Nov. 14 and 15.

The United States Department of Education is expected to give a presentation at Wednesday’s meeting along with the National Conference of State Legislators.

Sycamore Institute Executive Director Brian Straessle is expected to present the group’s research on Tuesday.

Later Tuesday, school district leaders Matt Hixson of Hawkins County, Marlon King of Jackson-Madison County and Toni Williams of Memphis-Shelby County will attend the meeting.

Districts received an average of $7.9 million in funding with Shelby County schools receiving $192.5 million on the high end and the single-school Richland City Special School District in Marion County receiving $311,000.

About the Author: Jon Styf, The Center Square Staff Reporter – Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.