The Metro Nashville School District and the State Department of Education is set to hold a town hall meeting Wednesday night at 6:30pm. Parents, students, teachers, and community members are encouraged to share their thoughts on state education funding. The meeting is scheduled to last an hour.
The town hall will take place at In the MNPS boardroom at 2601 Bransford Ave, with parking available at the Berry Road entrance.
The announcement for the town hall on the MNPS website states:
State education leaders will join MNPS Board of Education members for the town hall, which is part of Gov. Bill Lee’s review of the state funding formula for education. Community members are encouraged to share their thoughts on the funding needed for Tennessee public schools to ensure student success.
Each speaker will have up to two minutes to share their thoughts focused on student funding. Community members will have the opportunity to sign up to speak while at the event. The funding town hall will also be streamed on the Metro Nashville Network.
Gov. Lee and Commissioner Schwinn invited Tennesseans last fall to participate in a full review of the state’s education funding formula and explore possibilities for a more student-centered approach. There’s additional information on the state website.
This comes as the Tennessee General Assembly is in session and education is a priority issue.
As previously reported, one previous town hall in Pulaski had a majority of the comments made on education funding. Half of those that spoke at that town hall were either current or former teachers, worked in education, or were related to teachers. Comments by many speakers largely focused on more money in schools.
Another town hall in Hendersonville saw similar activity. Claims were also made that there are not enough resources for students in the schools and that the lack of resources inhibited learning.
At those previous town halls, the Basic Education Funding (BEP) formula was discussed and will come up again at the Nashville town hall. The Tennessee State Board of Education website states, “The Basic Education Program (BEP) is the funding formula through which state education dollars are generated and distributed to Tennessee schools. The Board annually reviews and approves school system allocations generated through the BEP formula.”
The current funding formula will remain in place until a new one is submitted to and approved by the Tennessee General Assembly.
To submit comments to the Tennessee Department of Education on this topic, send an email to [email protected].
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Metro Nashville Classroom” by Metro Nashville Public Schools.
