Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Executive Director and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee J.C. Bowman in-studio to discuss their non-endorsement of the Tennessee Investment for Student Achievement and Governor Lee’s relationship with Bill Gates.
Leahy: In-studio, our very good friend for many years, J.C. Bowman, the President of Professional Educators of Tennessee. Good morning, J.C.
Bowman: Good morning, Michael. How are you doing today?
Leahy: Well, whenever you’re in, I have to always say thank you, thank you, thank you, because when we started The Tennessee Star, now about five and a half years ago, I went to four local folks and said, hey, would you be interested in advertising with us, and Professional Educators of Tennessee, although having a modest budget, helped us launch with a little advertising for our first couple of months.
So I have to say, without J.C. Bowman and Professional Educators of Tennessee, we might have had a harder time launching The Tennessee Star. So thank you for that, J.C. Bowman.
Bowman: We’re very grateful that you’re here, too. I’ll tell you why. Because you give a really good voice for people who are looking for it.
And I’ll tell you something, the journalism coming out there right now is just really top-notch. And I’m sitting here reading an article you did yesterday. So I thought that that was really well done.
Leahy: We appreciate that. And it’s interesting, because our mission is to actually report the news accurately. And what’s going on in the country is the mainstream media at the national level goes about an inch deep and twists things to the Left.
For the most part, there is no local journalism here except for The Tennessee Star. As far as I can tell, they have this little thing called The Tennessean.
I don’t know exactly what they do or who they are, but usually, you read it and it just is all a bunch of left-wing gobbledygook.
Bowman: Yeah, I’m not going to go there. They’ve been good to me.
Leahy: Now tell us, we want to get your reaction to what’s going on on Capitol Hill here in Tennessee. The Tennessee General Assembly has an education proposal from Governor Lee. It’s called what? TISA.
Bowman: TISA.
Leahy: Which stands for Tennessee something.
Bowman: Tennessee Investment and Student Achievement.
Leahy: So I still haven’t figured out what’s in it.
Bowman: Well, welcome to the club. And I’ll tell you what, it’s another one of those where you have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.
Leahy: That didn’t work so well way back in 2010 when we got Obamacare.
Bowman: It didn’t. And Michael, I know I angered them. They haven’t talked to me in about three weeks. If you notice, there’s been a group of 100 people that have come out and endorsed the program, if you’ll notice. And I’m going to give credit. I mean, the Superintendents Association has not endorsed it.
Leahy: The Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents. TOSS.
Bowman: They did not. TOSS has not endorsed it yet. TSBA has not endorsed the …
Leahy: Tennessee School Board Association.
Bowman: We have not endorsed it.
Leahy: Now let me just stop, because we have been more than a little critical of both TOSS –not you, but we have of TOSS and TSBA. In the past I have always seen them as aligned with the Department of Education, the Commissioner of Education, and the governor’s plans. It’s big news that they haven’t endorsed this. Tennessee … what is it?
Bowman:Â Tennessee Investment for Student Achievement.
Leahy: All these acronyms usually turn into an acronym which equals gobbledygook.
Bowman: When it’s a taxpayer investment or taxpayer money, going out and playing slots with taxpayer money. But let’s be real; back to the thing is that what you’ve got here is that, and then not only that, the Union has not endorsed it.
Leahy: What?
Bowman: The Union has not endorsed it, nor have we. So that’s probably the four largest players in education in Tennessee right now have not endorsed his plan. But groups funded by Bill Gates have been very embraceful of it.
Leahy: Bill Gates, he’s not a Tennessean, is he?
Bowman: According to some of the other people around here, you drive by, you get a residency card now. You stop and have lunch at Loveless Cafe. They give you citizenship now. (Leahy chuckles)
Leahy: He’s a left-wing liberal.
Bowman: He is.
Leahy: So Bill Gates is putting the money up for this deal.
Bowman: A lot of it. Yes.
Leahy: He and Bill Lee are like compadres, right?
Bowman: I want to know the relationship there and I think that’s what, it’s angered people with me raising that question. A lot of people have asked that question. But you know what? It is what it is.
Leahy: Does Bill Gates have governor Bill Lee on speed-dial?
Bowman: I bet you he does. (Leahy laughs) That’s a frequent weekly call, probably.
Leahy: Oh, my goodness. That’s not a good sign, folks.
Bowman: No, it’s not.
Listen to the interview:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
