By a vote of 32-0, Tennessee’s State Senate unanimously approved legislation that bolsters the Volunteer Public Education Trust Fund designed to assist the state’s K-12 public schools. A notice released after the Senate floor vote said the bill, SB 0625, sponsored by Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson), Chairman of the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee, “makes improvements to the fund’s structure to expand the pool of donors and create an endowment where the interest could be used to assist with improvements or projects outside a school’s normal funding stream.” The release offered an explanation about the Fund by the bill’s sponsor, Senator Watson, “This fund was created in 1985 to be similar to the Tennessee Chairs of Excellence endowment which has been very successful for our colleges and universities.” Senator Watson went further to describe the difference in performance between the higher education endowment and that of the K-12 fund, “While the Chairs of Excellence Fund has raised $395.5 million since its creation, the Volunteer Public Education Trust Fund for K-12 schools has only received $171,147.” To address the many reasons the K-12 fund has not performed as well, including lack of information, marketing and management of the K-12 fund,…
Read the full storyLegislation Bolstering The Volunteer Public Trust Fund For The State’s K-12 Public Schools Receives Unanimous Approval By The State Senate
