Tennessee Department of Education Names Steering Committee to Advise on Implementation of New School Funding Formula

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) released on Wednesday the names of appointees to the newly created Tennesseans Investing in Student Achievement (TISA) steering committee.

The state is transitioning to a new public school funding model. The newly created committee will advise on implementing the new, student-based K-12 education funding formula, which goes into effect for the 2023-24 school year.

“I think this committee is going to be critical,” Tennessee State Senator John Lundberg (R-Bristol), who chairs the Senate Education Committee and TISA steering committee member, told The Tennessee Star, “This is where the rubber meets the road. Legislators passed the law and now we need to see what needs to be added, and figure out what are the unintended consequences.”

The makeup of the steering committee is designed to reflect the wide diversity of those invested in Tennessee public schools. While the list includes educators, it also makes room for parents, elected officials, and community partners:

• Senate Education Chairman Jon Lundberg;
• House Education Administration Chairman Mark White (R-Memphis);
• House Education Instruction Chairlady Debra Moody (R-Covington);
• Warren Wells, member, State Board of Education;
• Bo Griffin, director of schools, Millington Municipal Schools;
• Cat Stephens, director of schools, Tullahoma City Schools;
• Steve Barnett, director of schools, Johnson City Schools;
• Justin Robertson, director of schools, Hamilton County Schools;
• Sara Carpenter, executive director, The Memphis Lift;
• Christy Carroll Highfill, parent;
• Jennings Wilson, parent;
• Jen Aprea, parent, The ARC;
• Melissa Collins, Teacher of the Year, Memphis-Shelby County Schools;
• Kyle Loudermilk, Principal of the Year, Kingsport City Schools;
• Guy Respess, data management director, Knox County Schools;
• Teresa Winter, CFO, Bartlett City Schools;
• Teresa Sloyan, executive director, Hyde Family Foundation;
• Victor Evans, executive director, Tennessee CAN;
• Jack Powers, regional legislative director, ExcelinEd; and
• Gini Pupo Walker, executive director, EdTrust.

Noticeably absent from the appointment list is a representative of Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), the second-largest school district in Tennessee. When asked about that oversight, MNPS spokesman Sean Braisted told The Star that he’s “not clear on the scope or purpose of the steering committee, so it is difficult to say what impact the lack of representation would have on MNPS, but more representation is generally better.”

MNPS is in the early budget planning stages for the 2023/2024 school year. Braisted said MNPS has “not yet received an estimate on how much state funding will be reserved for charters authorized by the charter commission or ASD.” Therefore, they don’t have an exact figure on how much state funding MNPS will receive.

Braisted said, “The Mayor’s Budget ordinance estimates $280 million which is part of the overall $1.2 billion proposed for MNPS in the budget and represents an increase of about $22 million in state funding over what was budgeted last year.”

Several proposed committee members have affiliations beyond those listed above.

Gini Pupo-Walker served on the MNPS School board from 2018 until 2022. In 2019, she served as policy director for Conexión Américas, an organization that assists Nashville Hispanic families. The organization was also a founding coalition member of the Tennessee Educational Equity Coalition. 

Steering committee appointee Christy Carroll Highfill is a parent who serves as council president for the Hamilton County Parent Teacher Association Council. 

Hyde Family Foundation Executive Director, Teresa Sloyan, is a former State Board of Education Member. She serves on the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) boards, Catholic Memphis Urban Schools Trust, Compass Community Schools, Memphis Education Fund, Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation, Brooks Museum of Art, and the Memphis River Parks Partnership.

Jen Aprea is a parent but also works with the ARC as a special education advocate and serves on the Williamson County School Board as the representative for the 5th District.

ExcellinEd’s Jack Powers recently served as the Director of Policy at the Tennessee Department of Education. ExcellinEd, founded by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, is also the current employer of the new Tennessee State Superintendent of Education, Lizzette Gonzales Reynolds.

Lundberg, State Representative Mark White, and State Representative Debra Moody are the only holdovers from the previous school funding steering committee drafted in 2021. It is unclear how long a term each of these new appointees will serve or when the first meeting will be scheduled.

Tennessee changed the formula for how it funds K-12 education for the first time in 30 years with the passage of the TISA Act. The TISA school funding formula empowers each student to read proficiently by third grade, prepares each high school graduate for postsecondary success, and provides resources needed to all students to ensure they succeed.

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TC Weber is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. He also writes the blog Dad Gone Wild. Follow TC on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]. He’s the proud parent of two public school children and the spouse of a public school teacher.