State Rep. Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) on Tuesday announced he wants members of the General Assembly to issue a vote of no confidence in Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn.
Griffey announced this through an emailed press release as well as a statement he published on his Facebook page.
“I don’t know where to begin with respect to the reasons why out-of-state transplant Commissioner Schwinn should be replaced immediately. There are simply too many reasons to enumerate,” Griffey said.
“Schwinn, who grew up in California and is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, never should have been appointed TN Education Commissioner in my opinion. She has a minimal amount of actual classroom teaching experience – only about two years based on the documents I have reviewed. Additionally, prior to being appointed by Governor [Bill] Lee to her current position, she had no connection with our great state and had a legacy of controversy. She left her prior position with the Texas Education Agency after awarding a controversial no-bid contract to a company known as SPEDx, which utilized a subcontractor with whom she had a personal relationship. Sound familiar? It certainly seems like a pattern based on her actions here in TN.”
Griffey said that Schwinn, among other things:
• Bypassed the legislature and a competitive bid process and awarded $2.5 Million (which exceeded the $750,000 budgeted by the legislature) in a no-bid contract to a Florida company known as ClassWallet to administer the financial aspects of the ESA/school voucher program.
• Recruited a woman, Katie Poulos, from New Mexico, who has since filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against the state, claiming mistreatment.
• Increased the number of chiefs or assistant commissioners from 13 to 23 and allowed them to draw an average annual salary exceeding $135,000, an increase of $1.35 Million over the prior administration.
“She has grown government, not limited or minimized it and limited government is what I believe the majority of Tennesseans desire. Limiting government should certainly be an overriding goal of our Republican supermajority legislature,” Griffey said.
Griffey also said he faulted Schwinn for proposing a literacy bill to Tennessee legislators that “essentially promoted Common Core standards.”
“The icing on the cake has been Schwinn’s flawed handling of COVID-19. She has completely lacked any leadership on this front in my opinion. She drug her feet in sending out a reopening plan for Tennessee schools. She has pressured schools into reopening while keeping the doors to the TN Department of Education closed and allowing employees to work from home,” Griffey said.
“The ‘do as I say, not as I do’ model simply does not work. It is my understanding that she has failed to timely provide PPE and cleaning supplies to schools. The nail in the coffin was her ill-conceived monthly child well-being inspections that sparked a controversy wave across TN due to not only unreasonably expanding teacher workload, but also due to unreasonably expanding government into an overly intrusive, big brother model.”
As The Tennessee Star reported this month, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles called on Lee to remove Schwinn.
Ogles said he formally called on Lee to do this only hours after he read a Star article that quoted three former TDEC higher-ups. Those former employees, speaking anonymously, denounced Schwinn and her alleged on-the-job behavior. They said she falsified government records, ridiculed Lee at TDEC staff meetings, and lied to avoid appearing in public alongside U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Tennessee Capitol” by F McGady. CC BY-SA 4.0.
This newspaper reprinted a piece by Tennessee Square about the projected loss of math and reading skills due to the shut down of schools. If you read between the lines a bit, you will see that it is the “at risk” students that make up the bulk of that impact, i.e, those who are dragging down our educational system even under the best of circumstances. But instead, Comm. Schwinn hopes to make hay with the teachers unions by calling for more money.
Home school, private school, or other alternative is the only rational choice. If you want to “defund” anything, “defund” these public schools that are churning future wards of the state. Support school choice, even Gov. Lee says he wants that – so live up to it Gov. Lee – or suffer a humiliating loss at the next election that will make “Mr. Bill” of Saturday Night Live fame the extent of your legacy.
“Oh nooo!”
I certainly have no confidence in her. Fire her, Governor Lee and correct at lest one of your bad decisions. Then think seriously about saying “NO!” tp refugees coming to Tennessee. That flood will start again once he China virus is deemed under control. So just stop it now while the flow has been paused.
The Liberal Deep State has been in charge of Tenn. Government for generations. That’s why Bill Gate’s has had an open door and meeting with Bill Lee several times. They chose Haslem and they chose Lee knowing both would be easy to control. Neither one was politically educated so they both went into the seat of Governor as blind sheep easily manipulated by their democrat handlers. We all must remind ourselves, deep state is not a R or D. Could Lee clean up the swamp? Only if he repents publicly and humbles himself before man and God. More than one person has said this.
Bounce her out like a rubber ball on the school yard. Send her packing.
Dr. Carol Swain for Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner
Bill Lee deceived the people of Tennessee about his values and beliefs. And now we see the “real” rhino Bill Lee.
Bruce didn’t even mention her condescending letter to the general assembly where she lied about the intent of in-home visits for every child birth-to18 whether they are attending government schools or not. This is a derangement of Schwinn, not unlike Lamar Alexander’s, that the government has an ownership of all human beings from birth, and therefore government has a compelling interest to pre-determine their ability/utility/future disposition in society in their superior knowledge. Like North Korea. We have the best education system Bill Gates could buy. He has purchased TN’s current system through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Actually a bargain, maybe only $200 per child for perpetual control. Your kids come cheap.
“Sound familiar?” It sure does Bruce…sounds exactly like the no-bid contract for common core forced testing that Bill Haslam and Kevin Huffman awarded to their financial conflict of interest, PARCC, while both “worked” for PARCC: Huffman as a governing board member and Haslam as a board member of PARCC’s “project manager” Achieve Inc. Perpetual millions in Pearson testing, no bids. This is illegal. Unless you are in the Unchecked Power class of the executive branch.
Why are we still having to talk about this? Bill Lee…….hello….wake up Bill!!!! Why does this woman still have a job?
Boycott Lee Company. Hire someone else for your Plumbing and Electrical needs.
After her disgusting dog and pony show from yesterday it is obvious they were pumping her up and there will be no such vote of no confidence. We have known from the start she was bad news. I have worked with education activists in TX for years and knew all about her before her name was even mentioned here in TN. I guess Governor Lee chose to ignore her chaotic past not only in TX but throughout her career or was there something or someone else that drove his decision. Regardless she is just another example of Lee’s incompetence.
The ball is now in your court Gov. Lee. Is someone having regular performance reviews with Schwinn, discussing these issues, and providing feedback including expectations? Who is managing this woman?