Image Credit: TSBA & Canva.
Article by David Seal, Tennessee Conservative News –
The Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) is pulling out all the stops to avoid transparency through records requests. That effort includes a lawsuit filed against a citizen who made a lawful records request.
TSBA was deemed the “functional equivalent of a government entity” in 2020 by Chancery Court in Davidson County, Tennessee, making it subject to Tennessee’s Public Records Act. The case that made TSBA subject to the Open Records Act was Marren v. Tennessee School Boards Association, No. 19-1512-I (Davidson Co. Ch. July 6, 2020)
Now after 6 years of being under open records status, TSBA wants the Chancery Court to reverse its 2020 ruling and allow it to operate in secrecy off the taxpayer’s radar. On April 24, 2026, TSBA filed a lawsuit asking for declaratory relief in TSBA v. Peter Maher. The suit was filed just days after Maher made a records request seeking, among other things, TSBA’s records on membership and lobby activities.
TSBA’s 2024 IRS 990 tax filing shows that it has spent $490,439.00 on lobby expenses over 4 years’ time. With closed records, the citizens of Tennessee have no way of knowing what their public funds are being used to lobby for, or lobby against. TSBA admits in court pleadings that around 90% of its funding is from public sources.
A block from TSBA’s lobby expense report (990) to the IRS in 2024 is pictured below.
Subsequently, the Beacon Center of Tennessee, working with the Goldwater Institute, filed a suit of their own asking the Chancery Court of Davidson County to hold TSBA subject to Tennessee’s Public Records Act and maintain its “Functional equivalency” status.
Beacon’s statement to the court on September 22, 2026, filing in Chancery Court, states in part as follows.
“In 2020, on a record, that TSBA itself stipulated, this Court declared in a Memorandum and Order entered in Marren v. Tennessee School Boards Association, No. 19-1512-I (Davidson Co. Ch. July 6, 2020) (“the 2020 Order”), that TSBA “is the functional equivalent of a governmental agency” and that the records in its possession are public records under the Tennessee Public Records Act (“TPRA”)
In the years since the 2020 Order, none of the essential facts that led this Court to hold that TSBA is the functional equivalent of a governmental entity have changed. The General Assembly still recognizes, as it has since 1953, that TSBA is “the organization and representative agency of the members of school boards of this state,” Tenn. Code Ann. § 49 2-2001(a). TSBA still performs mandated legislative services, including developing the open meetings compliance program for every elected school board member in Tennessee and disseminating models of ethical standards for school districts and filing them with the Tennessee Ethics Commission. TSBA still receives approximately ninety percent of its funding from public entities, and every school board in Tennessee is a member of TSBA. Moreover, TSBA still performs the training for a vast majority of school board member training courses.”
For a complete copy of the 241-page Beacon Center court filing, a link is provided to Beacon Center of Tennessee v. TSBA.
The Goldwater Institute made the following statement to the Tennessee Conservative News on September 23, 2026, which states in part:
“In its quest for secrecy, a prominent Tennessee schools association that gets almost all its money from taxpayers is suing a private citizen who requested public records he’s legally entitled to receive. That’s wrong, which is why the Beacon Center of Tennessee and the Goldwater Institute are now teaming up to ensure taxpayer-funded groups like this remain accountable to the citizens who foot their bills. To avoid court-ordered transparency, the TSBA is now trying to game the system to escape public oversight. Citing minor statutory updates, the TSBA claims it has transformed into a “private membership organization” and should no longer be subject to the open records law.”
Goldwater issued the op-ed linked here “Taxpayer-Funded Tennessee Org Cant Be Allowed to Escape Accountability”.
The Beacon Center issued its own statement for this article.
“The TSBA is using taxpayer dollars to sue a citizen who wanted to know more about their activities. No organization whose budget is 90% taxpayer money should be able to fight against transparency and hide from Tennesseans. With our friends at the Goldwater Institute, we have filed a lawsuit defending the ruling we obtained in 2020, so that taxpayers can continue to bring TSBA’s activities into the light of day.” – said Justin Owen, President and CEO, Beacon Center of Tennessee
TSBA has reported lobbying-related expenses to the Tennessee Ethics Commission in the range of $25,000 to $50,000 for the year ending 2025, and some previous years. The image below is a screenshot of their 2025 filing. Their federal tax returns show that TSBA spends on average about $122,609.00 per year on lobby expenses (IRS 990, 2021-2024 tax years).
If you would like to conduct a broader search of TSBA lobby expenses, a link to the Tennessee Ethics Commission is linked here. Under Public Searches choose the Search Reports Tab, then type in TN SCHOOL BOARDS ASSN then click on the Search for Employer tab.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
