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Comptroller Sees Tennessee Vulnerable to Lawsuit Over Public Education Quality

Posted on: Friday, 28 April 2006, 21:00 CDT

By David Keim, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.

Apr. 28--State Comptroller John Morgan told members of the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership that Tennessee is vulnerable to a lawsuit challenging the adequacy of public education in the state.

His comments Thursday are the latest in his effort to draw attention to what he considers the comparatively poor quality of Tennessee's public schools.

"I don't think our current system is going to be successful in preparing our children in Tennessee to compete in a global workplace," Morgan told about 70 people gathered at a breakfast at partnership headquarters.

Morgan presented information comparing Tennessee's test scores, graduation rates, college enrollment and funding with those benchmarks in other states and around the world.

Just slightly more than 20 percent of Tennessee eighth-graders showed proficiency in math last year, for instance, a lower percentage than all but six states and the District of Columbia.

In funding, the state's per-pupil expenditure of state and local dollars put Tennessee ahead of only Utah and Indiana, at $6,564 compared to a national average of $9,456 and an average among Southern states of more than $8,000.

In 2002, Morgan said, 41 percent of students didn't graduate from high school in Tennessee, compared with 32 percent nationwide -- numbers that haven't really changed.

"I believe that's a crisis," Morgan said. "I believe that has implications for the state and the state's economy."

A survey by the National Association of Manufacturers last year found 84 percent of manufacturers surveyed don't think public schools from kindergarten through high school are doing a good job.

Manufacturers don't just need workers who can operate a particular machine, Morgan said. "What they want are (smart) workers who have problem-solving skills."

State law says the state's Basic Education Program is to provide funding "necessary for our schools to succeed," and a court ruling regarding disparity in funding between small and large school systems already requires "adequate funding," Morgan said.

"I think the state is vulnerable to an adequacy lawsuit," he said, adding, "Historically, what we've seen is sometimes it takes court intervention" to move state initiatives forward, from prison construction to changes in education funding.

Morgan is appointed by the Legislature every two years and is responsible for auditing state operations.

He believes the state should fund public schools' operating budgets, not rely on local supplemental funding. In support, he cited a provision of the state constitution saying that the General Assembly "shall provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools."

Said Morgan, "It doesn't really say county commissions or school boards."

Local districts still should operate schools and be accountable for their performance, in Morgan's opinion, but the state could fund education by claiming half of maximum local sales taxes and by imposing a new state property tax.

His proposal would increase per-pupil revenues from $5,108 to $7,218, with BEP funding rising from $4.38 billion to $6.2 billion.

Morgan has said the impact on taxpayers would be negligible because of reductions in local taxes.

"Elevate this discussion to a place where those of us in Nashville have to deal with that," Morgan told his audience Thursday. "You are people that people listen to."

Contacted after Thursday's breakfast, Rep. Harry Brooks, a Knoxville Republican and former Knox County school board member, questioned whether Tennessee is in as bad a shape as Morgan portrayed.

"If you utilize the evaluation of the federal "No Child Left Behind" (program), Tennessee's doing quite well," said Brooks, a member of the House Education Committee.

In addressing funding needs, emphasis should be placed on outcome rather than raw funding, said Brooks, who believes educational improvement will come as the state makes education its top priority instead of TennCare.

With that priority, increased revenue that results from a growing economy can be focused on education, Brooks said, and he's particularly interested in rewarding the highest-performing systems, schools and staff.

"We need to provide bonuses for high achievers -- the systems, the schools, the teachers, the individual staffs. That's an idea we've begun to develop and we're going to have discussions this summer with the governor and his people."

Brooks doesn't like the idea of putting all operating funds in state hands. He believes the local policymaking body needs a financial stake to have power to implement its policies.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.

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Source: The Knoxville News-Sentinel

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