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Tennessee Republican leaders wormed their way into the hearts and minds of Memphians this week with a partial audit report giving them ammunition to take control of the city’s school district before the legislative session ends.

In a not-so-highly-anticipated press conference in the Old Supreme Court Chamber, GOP higher-ups took turns castigating the Memphis school district, which they’ve kicked around like an old dog for more than a decade.

Officials said the audit is only a fourth of the way done and added that it was complicated by lack of cooperation, even though Memphis schools officials said they’ve been forthcoming.

Costing upwards of $7 million, the report found $1.14 million in payments the state’s auditor deemed “waste or abuse” over three fiscal years, including $1.1 million in contract-related spending and $33,159 in payroll-related transactions. Another $1.7 million in transactions failed to comply with policies and procedures, according to the report by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP.

Annual state audits haven’t turned up nearly as much damage.

Comptroller Jason Mumpower, who led the charge, said the report “raises serious questions about whether the current leadership structure is capable of ensuring accountability.” 

Mumpower said that even though Memphis Shelby County Schools has new leaders and is still shrugging off a state-run Achievement School District that brought few, if any, improvements over eight-plus years but spent about a billion dollars. 

Yet Lt. Gov. Randy McNally called it the worst audit he’s seen in 50 years. His counterpart, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, said he didn’t need to see any more evidence to take action. He already knew things were bad.

It’s little wonder, they surmised, that Memphis students are having troubling learning, even though the state’s own testing shows they are improving their scores.

Republican Sen. Brent Taylor of Shelby County, who’s handling legislation designed to put a state-appointed board in charge of Memphis’ school board’s biggest decisions, claimed that isn’t a “state takeover.” 

He must not have heard that Sexton said in early February the audit would lead to a state “takeover.” The speaker made it plain then that the state needs to step in, and he’s doubling or tripling down now, just in time to pass a bill before lawmakers adjourn sine die in late April. (Plenty of heathens who rarely look to the heavens for spiritual guidance are praying like hell for early adjournment.)

Democratic Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis said she hopes the oversight board would work more as a partner with the Memphis Shelby school board. 

But the bill sponsored by Taylor and Rep. Mark White of East Memphis could run into constitutional questions by usurping the authority of an elected school board. Bills by Taylor and White went through the Senate and House last year, but White’s stricter version has the edge.

Democratic Rep. Antonio Parkinson of Memphis called it part of “the formula,” saying the Comptroller Jason Mumpower similarly targeted Tennessee State University, which has been severely underfunded for decades, and the minority-led city of Mason, even though the previous white administration caused its financial problems, and now the Memphis school district.

“Twenty-five percent of the audit is done. What happens if the other 75 percent comes back stellar?” Parkinson said. “In likelihood, it’s not. But then what? You’ve already pulled the trigger on your justification for the use of the audit.”

None of lawmakers who represent Memphis disagree with the need to improve technology and accounting practices. But they don’t think it justifies a state “takeover.”

“Let’s put this audit in perspective,” Sen. London Lamar said in a statement. “Tennessee taxpayers spent $6 million – with another $1.7 million budgeted for next year – so the state could find less than $3 million in bookkeeping irregularities across a $5.7 billion budget over three years. That’s a fraction of one percent.”

Granted, the audit has a long way to go. But even if it finds the same dollar-figure worth of problems the rest of the way, it still won’t hit $7.7 million. That, Mr. Speaker, raises the question: Should we audit the legislature for waste and abuse? And, who’s gonna pay for the obvious?

No “welfare” today

House lawmakers balked this week at giving FedEx $20 million in corporate “welfare” in a bipartisan argument against tax breaks for the company’s billion-dollar sorting project in Memphis.

Democratic Rep. Sam McKenzie of Knoxville told House members the legislation, HB1978, should be called the “FedEx Welfare Act” and accused the company of trying to extort money.

“I know they threaten you,” he told fellow lawmakers. “But no other state’s going to give them this.”

Tennessee’s largest companies secure sales tax exemptions for everything from jet fuel to water

Rep. Mark White defended his bill by saying FedEx has continued to grow for a half-century but stays in Tennessee. “Why not continue to invest in companies that have been here for 50 years?” White said.

He ran into trouble, though, when House finance subcommittee Chairman Ryan Williams opposed the bill. The Cookeville Republican said he appreciates the FedEx investments, but he pointed out the legislature already gave the company a separate tax reduction on aviation fuel and now it’s coming back for more. That wasn’t the only thing.

“This is, by definition, corporate welfare,” Williams said.

The bill failed on a 37-45 vote with nine present not voting. Both sides had a mixture of Democrats and Republicans, a rarity in this chamber.

“Slip-sliding away”

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance took no action this week on a complaint filed against U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn that alleged she used federal campaign funds to supplement her gubernatorial campaign.

Knoxville Republican activist Gary Loe complained that her spending was “deceitful” and said voters can see what took place.

With amazing speed for this group and without comment, the Registry board opted to drop the matter after Executive Director Bill Young told them no transfer of money took place from Blackburn’s federal account to a state account because she didn’t have the latter when the complaint was filed. 

FEC filings reveal how Blackburn laid the groundwork for governor campaign without personal fortune

Clearly, her handlers know the campaign finance rules inside and out. Or at least they’re smart enough to know federal federal funds can’t be shifted to a state campaign. They’re raised and spent under different rules, making it illegal to use one for the other. 

Yet according to a Lookout article, Blackburn spent more than $10 million to win reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2024, then pumped out $3.2 million more from December 2024 to August 2025 when she announced a run for governor. Everyone knew she was running already.

In comparable situations, we’re told, lawmakers merely need to communicate with constituents.  

Blackburn followed the letter of the law. Whether she skirted the spirit of state and federal campaign finance laws is another thing. 

But that’s nitpicking. 

Getting a leg up

A month after his bill was bottled up in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Sen. John Stevens of Huntingdon pushed SB1958 to a floor vote where it received an 18-13 vote Thursday, narrowly garnering the constitutionally required number for passage.

Stevens’ bill, which was opposed by multiple conservative groups this year, requires people who sue the state to show real injury when they challenge laws on constitutional grounds. In other words, they can’t just disagree, claim a law is unconstitutional and sue – even if it violates the constitution.

Stevens, an attorney by trade, argued that the legislature needs to go back to the way things were a few years ago when people had to prove they were harmed.

He ran into bipartisan opposition but managed to pull out the win, if it can be considered a victory for Tennesseans.

Seven Republicans voted against the bill, including Sen. Bobby Harshbarger of Kingsport, who voted to move it out of Senate Judiciary after initially voting in opposition. Readers might remember this bill failed to advance from the committee the first time.

People who disagree with the state are hamstrung already when waging battle with the state Attorney General’s Office, which consistently questions the standing of anyone to sue the state.

“If we are distracted and pulled into litigation, the people’s work is not getting done,” Stevens said.

Yet the question must be raised: Is this really working for the people or defending the government’s shaky decisions? 

Widening the field

Sen. Ferrell Haile complicated the Senate speaker’s race this week when he entered the fray.

The Gallatin Republican makes it a three-way race to replace outgoing Senate Speaker (Lt. Gov.) Randy McNally, who is leaving the legislature after nearly half-a-century. He joins Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson of Franklin and Sen. Paul Bailey of Cookeville in the hunt.

Haile said the other two candidates are friends and wouldn’t question their leadership ability. Instead, he said he joined the race because of his “Christian walk,” political ambition and encouragement from others to run. He added that he wouldn’t campaign until the session ends.

“We need to honor the gentleman that served here for a long, long time and served the entire state,” Haile said.

Under this scenario, a vote could be split 9-9-9 among the 27 Senate Republicans who hold a supermajority. Somebody’s going to have to make a tough call, but it’ll probably be secret, so whoopty-do. 

A last gasp

In what could be one of his final legislative achievements, Rep. Jeremy Faison of Cosby persuaded the House to ask the secretary of state to put a chapter in the Tennessee Blue Book on the importance of the Appalachian dialect.

Faison, who is stepping away from the legislature this year, extolled the virtues of this tongue in committees and again on the House floor, telling lawmakers they gave rise to phrases such as “fair to middlin’” and “crooked as a dog’s hind leg.”

Who knew, though, that Faison would go out with a perfect description of the Tennessee Legislature? You don’t have to travel a “fur piece” to see that.

“Was it something you could picture / But never could quite touch” *

* Tom Petty, Don’t Fade on Me”

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