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Members of the Coffee County Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution in opposition to proposed legislation from Gov. Bill Lee known as The Education Freedom Act during its regular meeting Monday Dec. 11.

Director of Schools Dr. Charles Lawson said if made into law, the legislation has the potential to negatively impact public school funding in the state of Tennessee.

“The governor has proposed expanding the voucher program in the state of Tennessee,” Lawson said. “Currently it is limited to four different areas.”

Lawson said that while there is no official legislation at this time, when the state’s legislative session resumes the governor is proposing legislation be crafted to make the program statewide.

“…There is little doubt it will impact negatively on the finances of public school districts,” he said. “How much would also be determined by the final language in the legislation.”

According to the office of the Governor, “The Education Freedom Scholarship Act will establish a statewide school choice program available to all Tennessee families over the next two years while prioritizing low-income students and students with disabilities.

Lawson said a voucher of $7,000 would not be out of the realm of possibility. Funding that could potentially leave a public school and follow a student if they choose to attend a private school or be home schooled.

“So we don’t know yet what the financial impact would be on our system,” Board member Gary Cordell asked during the meeting.

“Do we know how much, no,” Lawson replied. “Do we know that the vouchers will take state funding that could otherwise be used for public education, yes. We just don’t know the dollar amount.”

Board member Freda K. Jones asked Lawson about possible district cuts if they were to be negatively impacted by any future legislation

Lawson said it would be difficult to conjecture on what cuts would be made first.

“Obviously it would depend on whether there was a loss of students,” he said. “If there were a loss of students we would have to even look at teaching positions. If it were just a loss of funding without a significant loss of students then we would just have to evaluate programs at that point.”

Lawson said if made into law, the legislation will impact different public school districts in different ways.

“…Part of what is going to have the biggest impact on Coffee County schools will be what language is included in that as far as home schooling because we don’t have a huge private school population,” Lawson said. “We have some obviously that live within our borders but the homeschool population is significant, but until that legislation is crafted I can safely repeat what (the Tennessee School Boards Association and the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents) have both been saying, is that this will impact the funding of public school districts. The degree depends upon the final legislation.”

According to data from the Governor’s Office, 31 states currently offer school choice programs, while nine states have adopted universal school choice. In regards to Tennessee’s current school choice option, it is reported that more than 3,400 families have applied for the program with more than 2,400 students enrolled and participating in non-public schools.

Board member Kathy Rose said there is nothing about the proposed legislation that would be beneficial for public schools in the state of Tennessee.

“We have invested a lot of money into public schools and whether you think you got your money’s worth out of it or not, it is a noble cause that we serve to educate every child that comes through the door,” Rose said. “Any private school has the option of saying, no I don’t think I want to take you. They don’t have to take you, you are not entitled to a private school education. They can take their voucher and shop it around somewhere. I do not see how in any way, shape or form, that this would benefit public schools.”

During the meeting, Board members also approved the purchase of a new chiller for the Coffee County Raider Academy through TRANE of Nashville. The quoted price of the chiller is $219,165 with an additional $15,835 for a five-year parts and labor warranty.

“If the board recalls, back in August we had an issue with the chiller at The Raider Academy,” Lawson said. “It went down for several days and in Aug. that can sometimes create some challenges in a school building.”

Lawson said due to the age of the existing chiller new parts were not available to repair it, and refurbished parts had to be used at that time.

The district will utilize federal ESSER funding to purchase the new chiller.