Jackson Mayor Questions How School Choice Helps Students, but Majority of His Students Fail to Meet Tennessee Standards

Jackson Mayor Scott Conger questioned the utility of the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, which would offer universal school choice in Tennessee, in a post on social media, even as Tennessee state data reveals the vast majority of students in his city are failing to meet the state’s education standards.

Conger (pictured above) wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that “average annual tuition for private schools” in Jackson “is $9,227,” and questioned, “How is a $7,000 voucher going to help economically disadvantaged student?” Conger claimed lawmakers instead should “[f]und early childhood education” to “change educational outcomes.”

Michael Lotfi, of Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN), wrote on X that the vast majority of students in Jackson are failing to meet math and English standards on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP).

Lotfi wrote that subtracting $7,000 from a $9,000 tuition would be “life-changing” for parents, and added that “no one is even proposing a voucher.” This, Lofti wrote, is evidence Conger “doesn’t even have the slightest idea what he’s talking about.”

Jackson, TN's @MayorConger opposing @GovBillLee's efforts to allow students a path out of the Mayor's failing public schools. 84% of 9-12 graders, 81% of 6-8 graders, & 73% of 3rd-5th graders are failing to meet basic math & ELA standards in his schools. You'd think someone… https://t.co/tdCgANJaDL

— Michael Lotfi (@MichaelLotfi) December 1, 2023

Data provided publicly by the Tennessee Department of Education reveals that just one-third of students enrolled in Jackson-Madison County Public Schools were considered proficient in reading and math when the TCAP was most recently administered.

Only 23.2 percent of students enrolled in third through fifth grades received proficient scores, while 18.9 percent of sixth through eighth-graders were considered proficient. Results were the worst for high school students, with 16.6 percent of those enrolled in grades nine through 12 considered proficient by state standards.

Data indicates that the problem may also be worsening for younger students in Conger’s city. District averages for third-graders showed just 19.59 percent scored proficient in Jackson-Madison County Public Schools.

The district ranks far below Tennessee’s state average, which saw 33.8 percent of all students receive proficient scores on the TCAP during the same time span.

Additionally, 29.8 percent of students in the school district are considered to be “chronically” absent, and 14.3 percent of students its students do not graduate. The district has 11,696 students enrolled in it.

Governor Bill Lee (R) announced the school choice legislation in a press conference that included state Republican leaders, education activists, and Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders of neighboring Arkansas.

According to the governor, the legislation would create 20,000 scholarships in the 2024-2025 school year for students at or below 300 percent of the poverty line and an additional 10,000 scholarships for any students entitled to attend public school.

By the 2025-2026 school year, school choice would expand to offer “universal eligibility for all students entitled to attend a public school,” with returning students prioritized.

AFP-TN State Director Tori Venable supported the bill in an appearance on The Tennessee Star Extra. Venable told Michael Patrick Leahy, the Tennessee Star editor-in-chief and CEO, that the current school system is “fiscally and morally reprehensible” and said the legislation will give “people their own tax dollars back to choose what school works best for their child.”

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].